Psychology: This one question reveals a person’s character

psychology
That one question reveals a person’s character

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Whether on a first date or while meeting you by chance on vacation: This one question will help you to assess a person’s personality very quickly.

In trying to assess a new person while getting to know each other, some look at the stars, others at the choice of shoes, and still others at the condition of the fingernails. A much more certain indicator of how the other is ticking, however, offers a single – scientifically proven – question. This is what a study at the US American Wake Forest University found out about the PsyBlog reported.

A single question brings light into the darkness

For his study, the psychologist Dustin Wood asked his test subjects to assess the personality of acquaintances. And found: Your answers said more about yourself than about the people who judged them.

The more often the test subjects described others as warm-hearted, happy, reliable or courteous, the more often they saw the same character traits in themselves – and the more often outsiders confirmed this point of view. “Seeing others in a positive light reveals your own positive qualities,” Wood concludes.

The same thing works with negative character traits. People who like to manipulate others are also more likely to suspect other people of being manipulative. “The mere tendency to see others in a negative light suggests a greater likelihood of being depressed or having other personality disorders,” said Wood.

What someone says about others says a lot more about himself

So if you want to know if someone has a certain trait, you just ask them what they think, how often other people have that trait. For example, in the form of a (admittedly somewhat mean) trick question: “Do you also have the feeling that people are becoming more and more unreliable?” If he says, “No, actually not”, you can assume that he is more reliable himself.

The more often the other sees a quality in other people, the more likely it is that he is himself like that. Simple, isn’t it?

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Brigitte

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