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The personality traits of children in the first five years of their life may help predict alcohol use during teenage years, a new study shows. The study, detailed July 10 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, reveals certain temperaments of kids that are correlated with teen drinking. "People don't enter adolescence as blank slates; they have a history of life experiences that they bring with them, dating back to early childhood," Danielle Dick, a psychologist from at Virginia Commonwealth University and a co-author of the study, said in a statement. "This is one of the most comprehensive attempts...

ATT:The Mormon Milquetoast Mitt baby, you have me worried. You have turned your other cheek to Obama so often, that I fear you might never be able to sit down. Here is some instant "personality" for you. Practice these comebacks. Look in the mirror, smile, then sneer like Elvis and repeat at least 25 times a day. Have your wimp advisers videotape and send to me for critique. Come on Mitt, baby. We know you Mormons can have a mean streak. Show us some of that Mountain Meadows Massacre killer instinct. You want to see my tax returns? Show me...

"It's in their genes" is a common refrain from scientists when asked about factors that allow centenarians to reach age 100 and beyond. Up until now, research has focused on genetic variations that offer a physiological advantage such as high levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol. But researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University have found that personality traits like being outgoing, optimistic, easygoing, and enjoying laughter as well as staying engaged in activities may also be part of the longevity genes mix. The findings, published online May 21 in the journal...

A study conducted by Daniel Bartels, Columbia Business School, Marketing, and David Pizarro, Cornell University, Psychology found that people who endorse actions consistent with an ethic of utilitarianism—the view that what is the morally right thing to do is whatever produces the best overall consequences—tend to possess psychopathic and Machiavellian personality traits. n the study, Bartels and Pizarro gave participants a set of moral dilemmas widely used by behavioral scientists who study morality, like the following: "A runaway trolley is about to run over and kill five people, and you are standing on a footbridge next to a large stranger;...

Here is a very interesting and revealing article (exerpt) about Obama's personality and how it affects his presidency. "Barack Obama is unique in American presidential history. By virtue of his biracial identity and international upbringing, Americans believed they were breaking the mold when they elected the first African American president in 2008. Yet, for all the distinctiveness of his life experiences, there is still something else that sets Obama apart in the hall of presidents - his innate, natural temperament. According to personality psychologist David Keirsey, temperament is the part of our personality that we are born with. It is...

It is a common saying that nice guys finish last - and when it comes to pay packets, at least, research shows the genial really do end up at the back of the queue. A study which looked at the link between personality and wages has found that 'agreeable' workers earn significantly less than their meaner colleagues. The gap is particularly telling when broken down by gender, with the difference in pay between mean and nice men almost $10,000 a year. The study, titled 'Do Nice Guys - and Gals - Really Finish Last?', examined levels of 'agreeableness' attributed to...

Narcissistic personality disorder, characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance and the need for constant attention, has been eliminated from the upcoming manual of mental disorders, which psychiatrists use to diagnose mental illness. As Charles Zanor reports in today’s Science Times, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — due out in 2013 and known as D.S.M.-5 — has eliminated five of the 10 personality disorders that are listed in the current edition. The best known of these is narcissistic personality disorder. It is a puzzle why the manual’s committee on personality disorders has decided...

The Cost of Faking it Published on May 25, 2010 There's a saying that clothes don't make the man, but a lot of times the clothes we wear (accessories and tattoos included) do actually say something about who we are. (If you're famous, it may even happen that the clothes you don't wear say something about who you are). Besides signaling to others, clothes obviously also have an effect on how we feel about ourselves, and as a recent study shows, this sense of self that we derive from certain clothing produces measurable behavior changes. In particular, the study which...

The personalities we develop as children stay with us throughout our life, says a new study. "We remain recognizably the same person," Live Science quoted Christopher Nave, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Riverside. "This speaks to the importance of understanding personality because it does follow us wherever we go across time and contexts." Researchers compared teacher personality ratings of the students with videotaped interviews of 144 of those individuals 40 years later. They examined four personality attributes — talkativeness (called verbal fluency), adaptability (cope well with new situations), impulsiveness and self-minimizing behavior (essentially being humble to the...

As Charles Krauthammer has pointed out, Obama "has never been overly modest about his own powers." Obama certainly has an inflated sense of his own importance. After all, he declared that history will mark his ascent to the presidency as the moment when "our planet [began] to heal."

But in Japan, whether someone is A, B, O or AB is a topic of everyday conversation. There is a widespread belief that blood type determines personality, with implications for life, work and love. It is Saturday night and a speed dating session is under way in a small building in the backstreets of Tokyo. It is for women who want to meet men with blood group A or AB. One says she decided to narrow down her search for a boyfriend after a bad experience with a man with type B. "Looking back it seems trivial," she said. "But...

Multiple Personality Day When : Always March 5th Multiple Personality Day is an opportunity to get in touch with yourselves. Someone with a split personality has two personalities. Someone with multiple personalities has more than two personalities. Its a psychological disorder that I hope none of our readers have. Don't be surprised to find yourself surrounded by people who are talking to themselves today. You might find yourself talking to yourself, too!  When you wish someone "Happy Multiple Personality Day", you may need to do so multiple times, once for each personality. New Tax Form MPD-1040 Form MPD-Certain deductions...

A new study gives new meaning to being blue — or red — in the face. People can pretty accurately discern whether someone is a Democrat or Republican just by looking at their mugs, according to research by two Tufts University social psychologists. In a series of experiments, college students were shown headshots of people and asked to guess their party affiliation. The students were correct 60% of the time, according to the study, greater than random chance would indicate. The researchers said students made their decisions based on their stereotypes of what Republicans and Democrats looked like.

What kind of survivor and thriver are you? Discover your Survivor Personality with this fast quiz...

A video posted on YouTube appears to show a New Jersey elementary school class being taught to sing praises of the "great accomplishments" of President Obama. Just like Obama, Romania's dictator Ceausescu started as an extremely popular leader. He promised change from the Stalinist type of communism imposed by the Soviets and people put all their hope in him to liberalize and open the country towards the Western world. Just with Obama, the media quickly become Ceausescu's personal lap dog, always praising him and his wife, never criticizing them. Just like with Obama, his cult of personality grew and grew...

For 14 years, my wife, Claire Fitzgerald, and I have worked at Stanford University as counselors assisting hundreds of couples prepare to be married at the campus' Memorial Church. Because Stanford stresses diversity in its student population, the couples come from all over the world - China, Russia, South Africa, Mexico - and from all over the United States. This diversity has sometimes presented us with challenges, but marriage has commonalities: It can enable each partner to grow in generosity, compassion, understanding and patience. To help brides and grooms reflect on each other's personality traits, the university requires they complete...

During his first 100 days as president of the United States, Barack Obama revealed how different he is from all the white men who preceded him in the Oval Office, and the differences run deeper — in substance and style — than the color of his skin. Barack Hussein Obama is the nation’s first hip president. This, of course, is subject to debate. But watch him walk. Listen to him talk. See the body language, the expressions, the clothes. He’s got attitude, rhythm, a sense of humor, contemporary tastes. This much is clear: Whether dealing with the Wall Street mess,...

Scientists may one day be able to find out what a young child’s personality will be like by simply scanning their brain, new research has shown. New research has found that the shape of your brain gives a clue to what type of person you are. The differences in the shape of the brains of 85 people were scanned and measured. They found that larger or smaller amounts of tissue in certain areas of the brains were linked to specific personality traits...

In Japan, "What's your type?" is much more than small talk; it can be a paramount question in everything from matchmaking to getting a job. By type, the Japanese mean blood type, and no amount of scientific debunking can kill a widely held notion that blood tells all. In the year just ended, four of Japan's top 10 best-sellers were about how blood type determines personality, according to Japan's largest book distributor, Tohan Co. The books' publisher, Bungeisha, says the series — one each for types B, O, A, and AB — has combined sales of well over 5 million...

CHICAGO — Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind. The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment. ... Experts praised the study's scope — face-to-face interviews about numerous disorders with more than 5,000 young people ages 19 to 25 — and said it spotlights a...