14 DAY TRIAL // Studies conducted on the influence on personality on happiness have revealed that those who tend to focus on positive experiences are more likely to experience greater personal happiness. In a new study, scientists provide an explanation for why this connection exists.
Popular wisdom has it that people who tend to focus exclusively on negative experiences they had in the past are less likely to be sanguine and full of life than those who do the exact opposite.
But this correlation has intrigued scientists for many years, and numerous research teams have tried in vain to establish the connection, The new work proposes that the way a person thinks about the past, future and present is the most influential factor on their level of personal happiness.
“We found that highly extroverted people are happier with their lives because they tend to hold a positive, nostalgic view of the past and are less likely to have negative thoughts and regrets,” explains scientist Ryan Howell.
“People high on the neurotic scale essentially have the exact opposite view of the past and are less happy as a result,” says the expert, who holds an appointment as an assistant professor of psychology at the San Francisco State University (SFSU).
“This is good news because although it may be difficult to change your personality, you may be able to alter your view of time and boost your happiness,” he adds, quoted by PsychCentral. In the new study, he and his team subjected participants to five personality tests.
As such, one of the ways that immediately stands out for increasing one's level of life satisfaction would be to reminisce only over beautiful memories from the past. People should also try to avoid remembering negative past experiences, as this would diminish their overall levels of happiness.
Experts have known for more than three decades that a person's personality can be used as a predictive factor in establishing how happy he or she will be later on in life. Now that they know why this connection exist, they may actually start using these information in practical applications.
“Personality traits influence how people look at the past, present and future and it is these different perspectives on time which drive a person’s happiness,” Howell explains. Details of his new work appear in the latest issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences.