Floridians have a bit of a reputation for being weirdo hot heads. Just check out our WTF Florida archives, but ACCORDING TO SCIENCE most Floridians are actually pretty chill folks.
A new study lead by Peter J. Rentfrow, Ph.D., of the University of Cambridge, identified three distinct personality clusters in the United States and found that Floridians fit into the "friendly and conventional" clusters, and that we're actually one of the least neurotic states.
According to Psych Central, the study took personality analysis date from "1.5 million people who voluntarily participated in website personality tests, the "My Personality" Facebook application and from an online survey that recruited participants using a design that mimics random digit dialing." The study also considered state-by-state "political, economic, social and health factors."
The study found three distinct personality groupings.
"Friendly and Conventional" - which included most of the South (except for Texas, but including Florida), Midwest and Great Plains.
"Relaxed and Creative" - Which included most of the West Coast, the southwest and, to a lesser degree, North Carolina.
"Temperamental and Uninhibited" - Which included most of the North East and Texas. Which anyone whose been to a sporting event in either the North East or Texas should know.
Though, being "Friendly and Conventional" isn't all a good thing. The study found people in that region are "typically less affluent, less educated, more politically conservative, more likely to be Protestant and less healthy compared to people in the other regions."
The study also broke down states based on five personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness.
Turns out Florida is the fifth most conscientious state and the 7th least neurotic. We were on the higher side for extraversion and openness, and just about average when it came to agreeableness.
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