Your personality influences your life satisfaction more than your circumstances, a study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Tartu in Estonia recognised that self-reported happiness might be biased, so they also questioned people who knew the 20,000 participants.
Their findings indicated that 80 percent of the differences in life satisfaction could be attributed to personality. Dr Rene Mottus, the lead researcher, explained, "Generally, more satisfied individuals were emotionally stable, extroverted, and conscientious. Specifically, those satisfied with their life felt understood, excited, and decisive, while less satisfied individuals felt envious, bored, used, and unrewarded."
"Personality is relatively stable, shaped gradually by a combination of countless experiences and genetic factors. Thus, the more satisfaction is linked to personality, the less it is expected to fluctuate with life's ups and downs," added Dr Mottus.
The study, published in the Journal of Personality and Psychology, also found that while life satisfaction did fluctuate, it tended to return to consistent levels.
