Geographical psychology examines links between location and psychological phenomena, such as how and why personality traits, life satisfaction, and social behavior differ from place to place—or cluster in certain areas. These differences may appear across hemispheres, regions, states, cities, or neighborhoods.
How Place Connects to Personality
Why might people be more helpful to strangers in smaller cities? Why are those who live in temperate locales apparently more extraverted , on average? Why might different cultural traits emerge in two regions of the same country depending on whether their economies rely on rice or wheat production? It could be that particular environments influence the minds of those who live there. But in their research, Peter Rentfrow and colleagues have suggested that multiple factors lie behind place-trait associations, including local social influences, environmental features such as climate, and population density, as well as what’s known as selective migration—the idea that people with certain traits, such as high openness to experience , may be more inclined to move to places like big cities. A place, then, can shape its people, or people can shape a place.
To learn more, see Cross-Cultural Psychology .
Feeling that you belong in your community , and that you are welcome, appear to be significant boosters of mental health. Researchers who examine “place attachment ” describe it as a combination of emotion , belief, action, and behavior. In a study in Japan, elderly women who felt attached to their neighborhood were more likely to be alive five years later than women who did not feel the same way. And people who remain in a community long-term appear in research to be much more social than those who move frequently, and to volunteer more regularly.
Consciously or not, research suggests, we come to see those who share our neighborhoods as one of our “in-groups,” and we may be influenced by the group’s values and routines or seek out places where people whom we believe are like us live. Some researchers believe they can predict a great deal about one’s personality simply by learning their ZIP code, due to the location’s ecological influences (the way they environment shapes psychological characteristics) and social influences (the way residents affect each other’s thoughts and attitudes as they interact). Selective migration , or one’s interest in living in, or moving to, places that suit their personality, also plays a key role in shaping community personality. For example, people who place a high value on social relationships tend to favor small towns, while people who value novelty and excitement may leave their small town to move to a big city as soon as they are old enough.
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