The Way We Share Our Good News is Rather Revealing

Posted on February 21, 2017

Photo: flickr

When sharing good pieces of information, there are multiple ways people tell others, including posting on social media or making phone calls. Cara Palmer and her colleagues conducted a study published in the Journal of Individual Differences about how the different ways one reveals good news can reveal aspects of personality, according to the Big Five Factors.

The study suggests that people who capitalize on the event, who are more often women than men, are also the ones who tend to have higher ratings of agreeableness, a trait associated with greater empathy. For people who brag about good news, they have lower levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness, a trait associated with diligence and determination. This is regardless of gender and is consistent with the idea that those who brag are more insensitive to others' emotions and reactions. Another result that Palmer and her colleagues found is that people who mass-shared their good news on social media are more likely to have higher levels of narcissism, a trait associated with egotism and pride.

These findings on individual differences in capitalizing, bragging and mass-sharing reveal more about which personality factor one emphasizes on. Although it is a good thing to share positive experiences, as past research suggests that acknowledging such is beneficial for our well-being, be careful not to push it in front of your audience's face!


Source material from Research Digest