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The region is defined by moderately high levels of Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, moderately low Neuroticism, and very low Openness. This configuration of traits portrays the sort of person who is sociable, considerate, dutiful, and traditional…

Jason Rentfrow and his team at the University of Cambridge analyzed a total of 1.5 million online surveys to create a psychographic survey of the U.S.  The results, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, cluster traits together, with the darker colored areas indicating higher correlation… and reveal three distinct regions: “Friendly & Conventional” (blue), which extends across the Midwest into the South; “Relaxed & Creative” (green), made up mostly of Western states; and “Temperamental & Uninhibited” (orange), which takes in the Northeast, plus Texas.

The psychological profile of this region is marked by low Extraversion and Agreeableness, very low Neuroticism, and very high Openness… In general, the qualities of this region depict a place where open-mindedness, tolerance, individualism, and happiness are valued.

The psychological profile of the region is defined by low Extraversion, very low Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, very high Neuroticism, and moderately high Openness. This particular configuration of traits depicts the type of person who is reserved, aloof, impulsive, irritable, and inquisitive.

Read more in the American Psychological Association’s announcement of the work and at CoExist.

* Jack Kerouac, On the Road

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As we self-diagnose, we might spare a thought for Thomas Phillip “Tip” O’Neill, Jr.; he died on this date in 1994.  Elected to the Massachusetts State House of Representatives in 1936 (at age 24), he rose to become that body’s first Democratic Speaker in 1949, a post he held until he was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1952.  In 1977, at the same time that Jimmy Carter became President, O’Neill became Speaker of the House.  He retired in 1987, making him the only Speaker to serve for five complete consecutive Congresses, and the second longest-serving Speaker in U.S. history (after Sam Rayburn).

It was, of course, O’Neill who famously reminded us that “All politics is local.”

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