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Geographically varying associations between personality and life satisfaction in the London metropolitan area.


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Authors

Jokela, Markus 
Bleidorn, Wiebke 
Lamb, Michael E 
Gosling, Samuel D 
Rentfrow, Peter J 

Abstract

Residential location is thought to influence people's well-being, but different individuals may value residential areas differently. We examined how life satisfaction and personality traits are geographically distributed within the UK London metropolitan area, and how the strength of associations between personality traits and life satisfaction vary by residential location (i.e., personality-neighborhood interactions). Residential area was recorded at the level of postal districts (216 districts, n = 56,019 participants). Results indicated that the strength of associations between personality traits and life satisfaction depended on neighborhood characteristics. Higher openness to experience was more positively associated with life satisfaction in postal districts characterized by higher average openness to experience, population density, and ethnic diversity. Higher agreeableness and conscientiousness were more strongly associated with life satisfaction in postal districts with lower overall levels of life satisfaction. The associations of extraversion and emotional stability were not modified by neighborhood characteristics. These findings suggest that people's life satisfaction depends, in part, on the interaction between individual personality and particular features of the places they live.

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Keywords

geographical psychology, life satisfaction, neighborhood, personality, person–environment, Geography, Humans, London, Personal Satisfaction, Personality, Urban Population

Journal Title

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0027-8424
1091-6490

Volume Title

112

Publisher

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Sponsorship
This study was financially supported by Kone Foundation and the Academy of Finland (grant no. 268388).