This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A recent study published by Time magazine ranks Utah as “the most agreeable state in the country”. It also lists the Beehive State as the “least neurotic”.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. collected data for over 13 years from the 48 contiguous states to chart the county’s mood, personality and temperament patterns. Not enough responses were returned from Alaska or Hawaii to include them in the study.

Using a personality test, lead researcher Jason Rentfrow collected data points based on responses to questions from five categories; openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. He then built an interactive map based on the data collected.

Utah topped the charts for agreeableness. Out of a sample size of 20,714, Utah came in with an average agreeable score of 69.4. 50 is the national average, putting state residents 19.4 points ahead of the norm. The District of Columbia was ranked as the least agreeable region.

Utah also came in with a "nuerotic" score of just 30.4, 19 points under the national average of 49.

The questions given in the personality test were posited using a 1-5 scale, from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Responders analyzed 44 statements ranging from topics like creativity, personal bravery, ability to handle stress, and reaction to various social settings.

Rentfrow and his team were able to collect a surprisingly large amount of responses, the lowest amount coming from Wyoming with 3,166 tests collected to California, where they netted over 177,000.

Those wishing to take the test can do so here. The test places responders in the state with the most similar mood attributes to their given answers.

Photo credit: Time

Rentfrow said he admits the data can be misread, and shouldn’t be used to pigeonhole certain geographic areas.

“Political values may exaggerate the temperamental differences and a sense of tribalism may emerge,” Rentfrow said. “But these things all come from a mix of common personality types. The Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic may be very different from the Rockies and the West, for example, but openness is a big part of both personality profiles.”

×

Related Links

Related Stories