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Physical topography is associated with human personality.
Friedrich M Götz1, Stefan Stieger2, Samuel D Gosling3,4
1Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. fmg33@cam.ac.uk.
Nature Human Behaviour
|September 8, 2020
Summary
Frontier settlement theory suggests topography shapes personality. Mountainous US regions showed lower agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness, but higher openness to experience.
Area of Science:
- Psychological science
- Environmental psychology
- Regional personality differences
Background:
- Regional variations in personality are linked to significant life outcomes.
- Understanding the drivers of these regional personality differences is crucial.
- Frontier settlement theory posits that physical topography influences regional psychological traits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between topography and regional personality variations in the United States.
- To test the predictions of frontier settlement theory regarding landscape's psychological impact.
Main Methods:
- Utilized multilevel modeling on a large dataset (n=3,387,014) of US residents.
- Employed conditional random forest algorithms to validate findings against control variables.
- Conducted East-West comparisons to explore ecological versus sociocultural influences.
Main Results:
- Mountainous regions were associated with lower levels of agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness.
- Openness to experience was higher in mountainous regions.
- Topography emerged as a significant predictor of personality traits, even with controls.
Conclusions:
- Findings support frontier settlement theory, linking physical topography to regional personality differences.
- Mountainous terrain is associated with a distinct personality profile (lower in some traits, higher in openness).
- Further research can explore the interplay of ecological and sociocultural factors in shaping personality across diverse landscapes.
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