What is Neuroticism?
Do you know how our feelings change all the time? Some people have more mood swings than others, and this is often linked to a personality trait called neuroticism.
A personality trait is something that stays pretty consistent about a person’s behavior over time. Neuroticism is one of these traits.
Understanding Neurotic People
People who have high neuroticism often feel negative emotions more intensely and frequently. They are usually very self-critical and don’t handle criticism from others well.
They often feel like they’re “not good enough.” Studies show that this trait is usually the strongest in late adolescence and then reduces as people get older.
The Research at Leipzig University
A group of psychologists at Leipzig University decided to study neuroticism and how it affects our emotions.
The lead researcher of the study, Nina Mader, explains that past studies have shown that neurotic people experience stronger negative emotions in their daily lives.
How Did They Study Neuroticism?
To study this, the researchers developed a new way to analyze the data. They used something called Bayesian statistics to make sense of their findings.
They asked over 2,500 people about their emotions and used this new method to study their responses.
The Result of the Study
What they found was that people with high levels of neuroticism do indeed experience greater mood swings, especially when it comes to negative emotions.
More About Neuroticism
Neuroticism is not simply a matter of being neurotic or not. Instead, there are many shades of gray. It’s not a “black-and-white” situation. All of us have different levels of neuroticism, which makes us unique.
Neuroticism in Everyday Life
People who score high on neuroticism often experience more negative emotions in their daily lives.
They may overreact to small things, like getting extremely angry over a minor disagreement or feeling intense stress about a potentially crowded train.
The Impact of Neuroticism
Understanding neuroticism is important because it can have a big impact on a person’s life. It can affect how they react to situations, how they feel about themselves, and how they deal with their emotions.
By studying this trait, psychologists hope to find better ways to help people who struggle with high levels of neuroticism.
If you care about health, please read studies about how dairy foods may influence depression risk, and ultra-processed foods linked to common bowel disease.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about tooth loss linked to inflammatory bowel disease, and extra-virgin olive oil could reduce depression symptoms.
The study was published in PNAS.
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