FitSugar

What Pinnochio Knew - Your Nose Gives You Away

TresSugar — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:30:26 -0800

Ever thought of your nose as a character reference? Outside of fabled children's literature, I never gave much thought to what my nose might say about me. And I didn't think other people did either.

Actually, they do. New computer software called the PhotoFace scans your nose and uses the information to classify your nose "identity" into one of six categories. Turns out, the features of a nose are hard to change, even with plastic surgery, and can't be manipulated like iris scans with contacts or hidden like fingerprints by wearing gloves. Besides, our noses are smack-dab in the middle of our faces (duh!) making them hard to cover up or conceal. So, maybe noses don't grow or change when we're lying, but it turns out, they don't even have to.

Interested in what your nose says about you? Then check it out and let us know what you think of your nose-based character assessment.

What Were You Like as a Kid?

TresSugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:15:53 -0800

I once posed this question to my parents, expecting a why-would-you-ask-that answer. But they surprised me, in unison, with an emphatic answer: pensive. "Really?" I was about to ask, but then my mom added, "and you loved it when we said 'pensive.'" Apparently I knew they were talking about me, so pensive was a word I loved before I could read. What have you heard about little you?

Source: Flickr User Stuck in Customs

People Are Actually Honest on Facebook!

TresSugar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:15:08 -0800

So much for the Web of lies! When it comes to Facebook, and other social-networking sites (note not dating sites), people are "remarkably honest."

Psychologists studied 236 US and German college students by comparing their social-networking profiles to the results of a personality test. The test looked at the big-five personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. And then measured it against a survey of their idealized personalities — or the people they'd like to be. Independent observers were then shown the online profiles and asked to rate participants' personalities. And, voila! The personalities the observers perceived were closer to students' actual personalities than their idealized.

If we're talking Facebook, and we mostly are, is this really so surprising? Your full name is on it. Your real (generally) pictures are on it. Even your mom is on it! But worry not, I bet we'll be lying again tomorrow.

Source: Flickr User luc legay

Regretting the Error: We Apologize to Blondes, Science

TresSugar — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:15:30 -0800

Yesterday we jumped on a BBC story that said blond women are more aggressive, determined, and warlike - "warrior princesses" to be exact - than their dark-haired counterparts. Well today we're happy and embarrassed to say that story was utterly bogus.

Gawker reported that the BBC took the story from the London Sunday Times, who apparently found it in the thin air. True/Slant's Ryan Seger contacted Aaron Sell, the scientist credited with the findings, and received a quick and angry reply. "I’m afraid you, and thousands of others for that matter, have been badly misinformed," Sell wrote. "I have never done any research that shows blondes are more aggressive, entitled, angry or ‘warlike’ than brunette or redheads.”

Has he done research like it? Sort of! In fact, the Times reporter who wrote the original story contacted Spell and asked him to break down his study on human anger by hair color. Spell wrote this back.

"Based on our data:

Blond women do not feel more entitled.
Blond women are not more prone to anger
Blond women do not feel more attractive than other women.
Blond women are not more militaristic."

So there you have it. Far be it from us to admit when the London Times makes a mistake!

Personality and Hair Color: Blondes Have More War

TresSugar — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:00:17 -0800

A study by the University of California found that fair-haired women are more aggressive, determined, and ready to go to war than brunettes and redheads.

Why so tough? The demurely named "princess effect" - a sense of entitlement from years of being treated as special - is said to be the culprit. The study found that the more special a woman felt, the more likely she was to get angry in order to attain social goals. And most often, these women were blonde, though natural blondness was not necessary as those who dyed their hair were equally likely to feel special.

I wouldn't reach for the bleach yet though. The study was small and the sample specific - 156 college women in Southern California. But it does seem to suggest one thing: hair color has nothing to do with personality and everything to do with buying into stereotypes.

Which Diet Matches Your Personality?

FitSugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:00:24 -0700

The same diet or way of eating doesn't work for everyone since we all have such different needs, goals, likes, and dislikes. So if you've struggled with your weight and what eating plan matches your lifestyle, check out which diet fits your personality.

Personality Type	Traits When It Comes to Food	Recommended Diets
The Structured Eater	likes orderliness prefers rules and regulations likes lists, knowing what they can and can't eat likes knowing what amounts are OK to eat pays attention to details	Atkins, South Beach Diet, The Zone

To see the other types of eaters read more.

Personality Type	Traits When It Comes to Food	Recommended Diets
The Flexible Eater	laid back adaptable likes structure but not rigidity flexibility allows them not to feel deprived wants to have freedom to choose; a little "wiggle room"	Weight Watchers, Volumetrics
The Organizational Eater	lack of choice is comforting thrives on long-term plans such as a monthly meal schedule enjoys extreme structure, being told what to do	Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, HMR
The Social Eater	emotional eater doesn't manage stress well turns to food for comfort loves connecting with other people	All types of diet can work as long as the program offers emotional support either through community boards, support groups, regular one-on-one visits, emails, or encouraging text messages

Which type of eater are you?

Your Personality Quirks Come Out When You Eat Out

TresSugar — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:00:00 -0700

People say you really get to know someone when traveling with them or living with them. To that I would add - and when you go out to eat with them.

New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni would agree. He recently wrote about the odd quirks and desires people bring to the dinner table. Whether your quirks are about sharing food, hoarding food, being picky, or pretending to make a big show of eating when you've left most of the food you started with on your plate - it seems that your relationship to eating, especially when you eat out, can be a key to your personality. "People are as strange about eating as they are about love," he says. "They want what they want."

I have to say - I’m definitely a hoarder type. I hope this doesn’t mean I’m a selfish person in other ways, but I’m not big on family-style eating. One of my biggest pleasures is going to a restaurant, poring over the menu, and after an anguished process of elimination I take dead seriously (salad or soup? steak or risotto?), I settle in and hope I chose well. (But yes - you can have a bite!) I'm a sharer when it comes to bills, however. Folks who pull out the calculator (mentally or literally) drive me bananas. And don't get me started on people who are rude to wait staff or cheap tippers!

What are your quirks when eating out?

What Your Music Says About Your Personality

TresSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:00:00 -0700

One glimpse at the top-25 tracks in your iTunes can tell a lot about you. A 2006 study revealed music is the most popular topic of conversation in the first six weeks of platonic and romantic relationships, surpassing books, movies, TV, football, and clothes.

Introversion and extroversion are perhaps the two characteristics that most affect what music people tune into. Though both temperaments will roll - or rock - with their moods and activities, extroverts are more likely to reach for upbeat music that's heavy on vocals while introverts gravitate towards slower tunes with complex movements.

One surprise is that there's no connection between the abrasive lyrics common in rap and heavy metal and aggressive or sexual behavior. Listeners of heavy metal, particularly, have shown to be sensitive and gentle souls. In fact, they have a lot in common with classical music lovers. They're both creative, easy-going, and introverted.

Whether you listen to pop and rap or indie and classical, see what it says about you.

Photo by Flickr User Alina

View Slideshow ›

Blood Type and Your Personality

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:30:00 -0800

We've heard about the school of thought that says blood type should dictate the kinds of foods we should eat, and there's also an idea that blood type defines our personality. A popular presence in Japanese culture, the topic was the subject of four books which were rated among Japan's top 10 bestsellers for the past year.

Much like the way eating for your blood type tells you to eliminate certain foods and eat more of others, the philosophy around blood type and personality says your blood should play a role in the jobs you take and the people you date. Japanese TV offers blood horoscopes, while employers may use blood type in hiring decisions and dating agencies include this information in their profiles.

The Guardian found a few examples of blood type and personality; to find out what your blood type might say about your personality read more.

Type A: Reserved and prone to worry, sensitive perfectionists such as Britney Spears and Adolf Hitler.
Type O: Decisive, self-confident, curious, and ideal for sport, including Elvis Presley and the Queen.
Type B: Cheerful, caring, flamboyant free-thinkers such as Jack Nicholson.
Type AB: High-maintenance, distant, suited to arts, such as Mao Zedong.

What do you think of the idea of blood type affecting personality? Do you buy it?

Source

Does Your Personality Match Your State of Residence & Mind?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:00:00 -0700

Think you can judge a person by the state they live in? It might not be such a crazy notion according to new research on the geography of personality. Controlling for factors like race, income, and education, the study profiled 600,000 Americans with a 44-question personality test that evaluates five traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness.

Using those results and cross-checking them with stats on crime and health seem to seal the deal on one's state of mind lining up with one's state of residence. High amiability means lower crime, high anxiety points to poor health and lowered life expectancy.

Of course the results spark questions like whether certain states encourage specific personalities by culture, climate, or common history - or whether we just choose to live where we feel most at home. Those questions aside, the results and the interactive maps? Fun times! Very nicely done, Wall Street Journal.

To see some of the most unusual findings, read more.

North Dakota was pegged the most outgoing state in the union.
Despite Puritanical stereotypes, New England ranked at the bottom of the "conscientious" scale.
Scoring well on the "openness" scale strongly correlates to liberal social values and Democratic voting habits - however three of the top ten "open" states (Nevada, Colorado and Virginia) tend to swing Red.
Most conscientious? Florida. (Maybe there's a tie between living in a coastal paradise and pitying others who don't?)
Anxiety isn't just tied to high-powered jobs and a fast lifestyle. States stressed by poverty, like West Virginia and Mississippi also proved highly neurotic.

Where does your state stack up? Is it possible to make generalizations about the personality of an entire state's population? Do you match yours?