'Wild West' mentality lingers in modern populations of US mountain
regions

Date:
September 7, 2020
Source:
University of Cambridge
Summary:
Scientists looked at links between the personality profiles
of over 3.3m US residents and the 'topography' of 37,227 ZIP
codes. Distinct psychological mix associated with mountain
populations is consistent with theory that harsh frontiers
attracted certain personalities. Researchers argue this may be
residual from US frontier expansion during the 19th century,
as personality pattern is strongest in the West.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
When historian Frederick Jackson Turner presented his famous thesis
on the US frontier in 1893, he described the "coarseness and strength
combined with acuteness and acquisitiveness" it had forged in the
American character.


==========================================================================
Now, well into the 21st century, researchers led by the University
of Cambridge have detected remnants of the pioneer personality in US populations of once inhospitable mountainous territory, particularly in
the Midwest.

A team of scientists algorithmically investigated how landscape shapes psychology. They analysed links between the anonymised results of an
online personality test completed by over 3.3 million Americans, and the "topography" of 37,227 US postal -- or ZIP -- codes.

The researchers found that living at both a higher altitude and an
elevation relative to the surrounding region -- indicating "hilliness"
-- is associated with a distinct blend of personality traits that fits
with "frontier settlement theory." "The harsh and remote environment
of mountainous frontier regions historically attracted nonconformist
settlers strongly motivated by a sense of freedom," said researcher
Friedrich Go"tz, from Cambridge's Department of Psychology.

"Such rugged terrain likely favoured those who closely guarded their
resources and distrusted strangers, as well as those who engaged in
risky explorations to secure food and territory." "These traits may
have distilled over time into an individualism characterised by toughness
and self-reliance that lies at the heart of the American frontier ethos"
said Go"tz, lead author of the study.



========================================================================== "When we look at personality across the whole United States, we find
that mountainous residents are more likely to have psychological characteristics indicative of this frontier mentality." Go"tz worked
with colleagues from the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Austria, the University of Texas, US, the University of Melbourne in
Australia, and his Cambridge supervisor Dr Jason Rentfrow. The findings
are published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

The research uses the "Big Five" personality model, standard in social psychology, with simple online tests providing high-to-low scores for
five fundamental personality traits of millions of Americans.

The mix of characteristics uncovered by study's authors consists
of low levels of "agreeableness," suggesting mountainous residents
are less trusting and forgiving -- traits that benefit "territorial, self-focused survival strategies." Low levels of "extraversion" reflect
the introverted self-reliance required to thrive in secluded areas,
and a low level of "conscientiousness" lends itself to rebelliousness
and indifference to rules, say researchers.



========================================================================== "Neuroticism" is also lower, suggesting an emotional stability and assertiveness suited to frontier living. However, "openness to experience"
is much higher, and the most pronounced personality trait in mountain
dwellers.

"Openness is a strong predictor of residential mobility," said Go"tz. "A willingness to move your life in pursuit of goals such as economic
affluence and personal freedom drove many original North American
frontier settlers." "Taken together, this psychological fingerprint
for mountainous areas may be an echo of the personality types that
sought new lives in unknown territories." The researchers wanted to distinguish between the direct effects of physical environment and
the "sociocultural influence" of growing up where frontier values and identities still hold sway.

To do this, they looked at whether mountainous personality patterns
applied to people born and raised in these regions that had since
moved away.

The findings suggest some "initial enculturation" say researchers, as
those who left their early mountain home are still consistently less
agreeable, conscientious and extravert, although no such effects were
observed for neuroticism and openness.

The scientists also divided the country at the edge of St. Louis --
"gateway to the West" -- to see if there is a personality difference
between those in mountains that made up the historic frontier, such as
the Rockies, and eastern ranges e.g. the Appalachians.

While mountains continue to be a "meaningful predictor" of personality
type on both sides of this divide, key differences emerged. Those in the
east are more agreeable and outgoing, while western ranges are a closer
fit for frontier settlement theory.

In fact, the mountainous effect on high levels of "openness to experience"
is ten times as strong in residents of the old western frontier as in
those of the eastern ranges.

The findings suggest that, while ecological effects are important, it
is the lingering sociocultural effects -- the stories, attitudes and
education -- in the former "Wild West" that are most powerful in shaping mountainous personality, according to scientists.

They describe the effect of mountain areas on personality as "small but robust," but argue that complex psychological phenomena are influenced
by many hundreds of factors, so small effects are to be expected.

"Small effects can make a big difference at scale," said Go"tz. "An
increase of one standard deviation in mountainousness is associated with
a change of around 1% in personality." "Over hundreds of thousands
of people, such an increase would translate into highly consequential political, economic, social and health outcomes."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Cambridge. The original
story is licensed under a Creative_Commons_License. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Friedrich M. Go"tz, Stefan Stieger, Samuel D. Gosling, Jeff
Potter, Peter
J. Rentfrow. Physical topography is associated with human
personality.

Nature Human Behaviour, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0930-x ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200907112337.htm

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