Who we are depends on where we are, according to Stanford co-

authored research

A new study found that places can change people’s personality, and the opposite is also true: Certain personalities
are drawn to different places.

If complying with shelter-in-place orders has made you feel more disorganized or less kind than usual, it may be
because that’s what happens when you spend more time at home instead of public spaces, according to a new
Stanford co-authored study.

New research could help explain why some people may be coping better than others with recommendations to
shelter in place at home.

The research found that people’s personalities and the places they spend time in seem to influence one another.
“We found that when people spend time in social places, they tend to be more open-minded, extraverted,
agreeable, conscientious and less anxious compared to when they spend time at home,” said study co-author
Gabriella Harari, an assistant professor of communication in Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences.

The findings suggest that the places we choose to frequent can affect not only our thinking, feelings or behavior in
the moment, but may actually change our personalities over time.

“You typically have your home as a restorative base to come back to after engaging with the world, and it’s a way to
break up your routine. Now, we’re constantly in just one place and people might feel that this impacts how they see
themselves,”. “If you currently feel less creative than usual, for example, that might be the effect of just staying at
home and not having the change in your environment.”

Studying people and places

To study the relationship between people’s personalities and the places they spend time in, Harari and Matz
recruited 2,350 college students at a U.S. university campus.

Participants completed a standard personality test and then answered short surveys several times a day over a two-
week period. The surveys asked them about the places they spent time in and how they felt at that particular
moment. In total, some 63,000 responses were gathered. The researchers identified 10 different types of places that
included home, work, the library, cafés or restaurants, campus, a fraternity or sorority, a friend’s house, the gym, a
place of worship, a store or mall, and being in a vehicle.

Using the “Big Five” model of personality traits that is a common tool of psychologists for understanding how people
differ, the researchers were able to map how certain places can draw out certain aspects of a person’s personality in
the moment and over time.

To measure how people experienced this spectrum of feelings, the researchers asked participants five questions in
which they rated the extent to which they had been: “Quiet?” (which was used to evaluate extraversion);
“Compassionate, has a soft heart?” (agreeableness); “Disorganized?” (conscientiousness); “Emotionally stable, not
easily upset?” (neuroticism); and “Having little interest in abstract ideas?” (openness).

While the researchers found that places can draw out certain aspects of people’s personalities, their data also
showed that people with certain personality traits are drawn to certain places.

“Our findings provide a unique window into the ways in which people interact with their environment on a daily
basis.”

“These findings suggest that people may be able to change their psychological experiences by changing their
physical environment,” Harari said. “For example, if a person is feeling anxious and moody at home, they might
benefit from spending time in a social or public place like a friend’s house, a café, the gym or a religious institution.”
Do you agree that different places hold different levels of attraction for people,
depending on how extroverted or introverted they are?

Answer: yes, I agree with this statement. Each person has a different perception of the world
and a different range of emotions. Extroverts are those people who are open to the world,
they are very communicative, they look for places where there are a lot of people, because
communication is very important for them. Perhaps they are attracted to public and crowded
places, which gives them joy. If we are talking about introverts, then for them the best places
are deserted, where they can be alone with themselves. They may be repulsed by crowded
people, because they are uncomfortable being around them. I think that introverts can get
pleasure even from unsightly and ordinary things, because they see their hidden thoughts in
them.

Do you believe that agreeableness and conscientiousness will definitely open a lot of
doors for you? Which personality traits do you think are the key to success in career?

Answer: Agreeableness and conscientiousness are very good qualities, but for certain
situations. It is impossible to be like this always, because you will not be able to achieve any
success or high positions if you constantly obey other people. But there are people who
appreciate these qualities of a person, help him in advancing in his career, but as a rule, such
people are very useful for their own purposes. In my opinion, Career growth can be achieved
not only due to acquired skills and knowledge, but also due to some personality
characteristics. In this article, let's look at the key personality traits that can influence career
growth and examples of successful entrepreneurs and leaders who possess these qualities.

In my opinion, one of the most important qualities that can help a person excel in their career
is determination. This quality allows one to set clear goals and go for them, overcoming all
difficulties and obstacles. Perseverance is a quality that allows a person to keep working on
achieving all set goals, despite the obstacles. Creativity is the ability to think outside the box
and find new solutions to complex problems. Creative people know how to stand out from
the crowd and offer unusual ideas that can be the key to success. Self-discipline is a quality
that is the foundation for success. The ability to allocate and manage time effectively is
essential to achieving goals.

How can we change the way we think, feel or behave?

Answer: I think changing all of that is possible. In order to change our thoughts, we should
first of all listen to ourselves, to our body language. There is an interesting practice where
people write down all their thoughts in a notebook for a certain period of time and later
analyze what thoughts or problems bother them the most. It is also worth learning to conduct
an internal dialog with yourself, convincing yourself that all problems are solvable, if there is
a failure, it is one of the steps to your success. I believe that negative emotional state together
with bad thoughts and thinking manifests itself in bad posture, frown, anxious movements
and so on. By writing down your emotions you can assess their outward manifestations as
well. This is good for mindfulness, and you will also learn to notice how thoughts affect your
emotions and body. By assessing your environment, you may realize that bad thoughts are
formed because everything around you contributes to it. But especially important are the
people around you. They have a very strong influence on how you think and what you think
about. If you are a secretive person by nature, you should learn not to hide your real
emotions, to be able to speak your mind and act according to your desires and thoughts.

This finding could also help explain why some people may be coping better than others
with suggested recommendations to shelter in place at home, the researchers say. Did
you have a hard time complying with shelter-in-place orders? What did it feel like?

Answer: I am an introvert by nature, I really enjoy spending time at home, doing my own
thing and relaxing in a cozy environment. Sometimes I may prefer to stay at home rather
than go for a walk or meet friends. I like being alone with myself, thinking about my future,
my goals that I want to achieve. But lately I've been rethinking my existence, I realized that I
really like people and I like to spend time with my friends, I like walking, because it also
helps your moral recovery. I realized that I can be alone when I want to be alone, but it
became very important for me to be in society, because you can emphasize something very
useful for yourself.