Search This Blog

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Unemployment changes your core personality

The psychological damage caused by unemployment is greater than previously thought, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Stirling.
It’s well known that being unemployed for a significant amount of time can have a negative effect on your physical and emotional wellbeing. It’s likely to raise your risk of depression and suicide. But according to a new study, being unemployed can actually alter your personality too, making you less agreeable and influencing your levels of conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness.
"Personality is typically considered stable across time but the researchers found that the experience of unemployment led to reduced levels of conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness; signifying that individuals lose motivation, become less considerate and sympathetic, and less curious about the world around them. These changes were greater the longer an individual spent unemployed."
Source: Boyce C, Wood A, Daly M, Sedikides C. Personality Change Following Unemployment. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2015.

No comments:

Post a Comment