How Long Will You Live? Ask Your Friends

[madokie]

Peer estimates of personality are a surprisingly good predictor of mortality.

When actor James Gandolfini died in the summer of 2013, at age 51, a prominent cardiologist described him as "a heart attack waiting to happen." The Sopranos star was overweight and inactive, and on the evening he died, he had indulged in a diet of rum, beer and fatty foods. In short, he didn't take care of himself, and this lack of self-discipline no doubt contributed to his untimely death.

Scientists have long known that personality is a good indicator of future health and mortality. In fact, character traits are better prognosticators than either intelligence or socioeconomic status, not just for heart attacks but in general for poor health and early death. But it's not easy to measure personality in a reliable way, since self-reports are notoriously biased and misleading.

That's why psychological scientist Joshua Jackson, of Washington University in St. Louis, turned to friends instead. He and his colleagues decided that, instead of asking subjects about their own temperaments, they would combine the assessments of several close friends, to see if these peer estimates of personality were a better predictor of mortality.

They used an existing data base called the Kelly/Connolly Longitudinal Study. Back in the 1930s, 600 individuals in their mid-20s—300 engaged couples—volunteered for a study of personality and newly formed marriages. This study had included personality ratings by five close friends, most of them members of the wedding party. It also included self-ratings of personality. Last year, 75 years after the original study began, the scientists tracked down most of the original volunteers; or at least their obituaries. So they were able to compare friends' views with the volunteers' views of themselves, and see which was a better predictor of life and death.

http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/how-long-will-you-live-ask-your-friends

[GreatGazoo]

1. Inrteresting. They only name 4 of the 5 traits there or did I miss one?

conscientious, open to experience - for males
agreeableness, emotional stability - for females

Seems like some gender bias in the 1930 design but interesting results none the less.

[Quantess]

2. People have difficulty judging themselves accurately,.

That makes sense. Interesting read.