Psychologists say the way we choose to share our good news is rather revealing

By Alex Fradera When you get a great piece of news, who do you tell? Do you get on the phone to your best friend? Launch the news onto Facebook to sail the sea of Likes? Do you congratulate yourself in front of someone you know doesn’t enjoy the same fortune or ability? Or do you keep it to yourself? Let me share some good news with you: according to research published recently in the Journal of Individual Differences, your answers to these questions may say something about you. Cara Palmer and her colleagues had 251 US undergrads take a personality questionnaire, then asked them to imagine they’d experienced a number positive events like getting a good grade or hosting a great party, and to say how likely it is that they would share this news in one of three ways. One way was to tell a good friend or family member about the news, to capitalise on the event, squeezing the juice out of the good experience by revisiting it with an encouraging audience. The women in the sample more often than the men said that they would probably do this. The personality trait Agreeableness, and having more empathy, were also associated with capitalising on good news. Another way of sharing that the researchers asked the participants about was whether they would brag about the event, enhancing their self-image by announcing their achievement to someone liable to be envious, like a classmate who struggled on the exam that they themselves had aced. Bragging is normally considered more prot...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Personality Social Source Type: blogs