(Press-News.org) New research from the University of Warwick suggests getting more money may not make you happier, especially if you are neurotic.
In a working paper, economist Dr Eugenio Proto, from the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) at the University of Warwick, looked at how personality traits can affect the way we feel about our income in terms of levels of life satisfaction.
He found evidence suggesting that neurotic people can view a pay rise or an increase in income as a failure if it is not as much as they expected.
Neuroticism is a fundamental personality trait in psychology and refers to a tendency to experience negative emotional states. People with high levels of neuroticism have higher sensitivity to anger, hostility, or depression.
Dr Proto, who co-authored the paper with Aldo Rustichini from the University of Minnesota, said people who are on a high salary and have high levels of neuroticism are more likely to see a payrise as a failure.
He said: "Someone who has high levels of neuroticism will see an income increase as a measure of success. When they are on a lower income, a pay increase does satisfy them because they see that as an achievement. However, if they are already on a higher income they may not think the pay increase is as much as they were expecting. So they see this as a partial failure and it lowers their life satisfaction."
Dr Proto, who will be presenting the research at next month's ESRC Research Methods Festival, used data from the British Household Panel Survey and the German Socioeconomic Panel.
He added: "These results suggest that we see money more as a device to measure our successes or failures rather than as a means to achieve more comfort."
###Notes to editors
The paper, Life Satisfaction, Household Income and Personality Traits, Eugenio Proto and Aldo Rustichini, is published as a CAGE working paper n.86
To speak to Dr Proto, please call 07800 594738, 02476 523484, E.Proto@warwick.ac.uk
For more information contact Kelly Parkes-Harrison, Press and Communications Manager, k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk, 02476 150868, 07824 540863.
More can mean less when it comes to being happier – especially if you are neurotic
2012-06-11
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
In a post-hoc analysis, elderly patients with type 2 diabetes experienced less hypoglycemia and similar blood sugar reductions with JANUVIA compared to sulfonylurea
2012-06-11
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., June 9, 2012 – Merck (NYSE: MRK) (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) today announced results of a post-hoc pooled analysis in which patients with type 2 diabetes age 65 or older treated with JANUVIA® (sitagliptin) 100 mg/day achieved similar blood sugar reductions as those treated with a sulfonylurea, with significantly less hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
JANUVIA is indicated, as an adjunct to diet and exercise, to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. JANUVIA should not be used in patients with ...
Sleep deprivation may lead to higher anxiety levels, fMRI scans show
2012-06-11
DARIEN, IL – New research shows that sleep loss markedly exaggerates the degree to which we anticipate impending emotional events, particularly among highly anxious people, who are especially vulnerable.
Two common features of anxiety disorders are sleep loss and an amplification of emotional response. Results from the new study suggest that these features may not be independent of one another but may interact instead.
Researchers from the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, used brain scanning on 18 healthy adults in two separate ...
Scaffolding Law Reform in New York Attempted Again
2012-06-11
It seems like every year tort reform advocates and some state lawmakers in New York try to pass legislation that would change the state's scaffold law. Unfortunately, 2012 is turning out to be no different.
A bill has been proposed that would change the protections provided to workers under the state's scaffold law, Labor Law Section 240(1). Under the current scaffold law, property owners and employers in New York bear absolute liability when construction workers are injured in accidents that involve any heights, such as scaffold, ladder and even stairway accidents. ...
MRI scans show how sleep loss affects the ability to choose proper foods
2012-06-11
DARIEN, IL – MRI scans from a study being presented today at SLEEP 2012 reveal how sleep deprivation impairs the higher-order regions in the human brain where food choices are made, possibly helping explain the link between sleep loss and obesity that previous research has uncovered.
Twenty-three healthy adults participated in two sessions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), one after a normal night's sleep and a second after a night of sleep deprivation. In both sessions, participants rated how much they wanted various food items shown to them while they ...
Brain scans show specific neuronal response to junk food when sleep-restricted
2012-06-11
DARIEN, IL – The sight of unhealthy food during a period of sleep restriction activated reward centers in the brain that were less active when participants had adequate sleep, according to a new study using brain scans to better understand the link between sleep restriction and obesity.
Researchers from St. Luke's – Roosevelt Hospital Center and Columbia University in New York performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on 25 men and women of normal weights while they looked at images of healthy and unhealthy foods. The scans were taken after five nights in ...
Updated Medical Certification Guidelines for New York CDL Holders
2012-06-11
At the end of January a new federal regulation took effect that requires all New York commercial driver's license holders (CDL) to have a medical certification in order to legally operate their vehicles.
The medical certification must be issued by a doctor on a Department of Transportation approved form, and must state that the driver is physically able to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Typically the certification will be valid for two years, but can be good for a shorter period of time depending on the driver's medical condition. Only exempt personnel, like school ...
Aspirin before heart surgery reduces the risk of post-operative acute kidney failure
2012-06-11
Paris, France: Aspirin taken for five days before a heart operation can halve the numbers of patients developing post-operative acute kidney failure, according to research presented at the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Paris today (Sunday).
Professor Jianzhong Sun (MD, PhD), professor and attending anaesthesiologist at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, USA), told the meeting that in a study of 3,219 patients, pre-operative aspirin therapy was associated with a reduction in acute renal failure of about three in every 100 patients ...
Positive results from first human clinical trials of a first-generation artificial pancreas system
2012-06-11
WEST CHESTER, Pa., June 11, 2012 – Results from the first feasibility study of an advanced first-generation artificial pancreas system were presented today at the 72nd Annual American Diabetes Association Meeting in Philadelphia. Findings from the study indicated that the Hypoglycemia-Hyperglycemia Minimizer (HHM) System was able to automatically predict a rise and fall in blood glucose and correspondingly increase and/or decrease insulin delivery safely. The HHM System included a continuous, subcutaneous insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and special software ...
Quick, simple test developed to identify patients who will not respond to the painkiller tramadol
2012-06-11
Paris, France: French researchers have found a way to identify quickly the 5-10% of patients in whom the commonly used painkiller, tramadol, does not work effectively. A simple blood test can produce a result within a few hours, enabling doctors to switch a non-responding patient on to another painkiller, such as morphine, which will be able to work in these patients.
Dr Laurent Varin, an anaesthesiologist at the Caen Teaching Hospital (Caen, France), presented the findings to the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Paris today (Sunday).
Tramadol is a synthetic opioid ...
Cerebral Palsy Effects Might Be Lessened By New Drug Treatment
2012-06-11
Cerebral palsy is a lifelong disorder affecting about one out of 300 children in the United States. It characteristically affects movement control, causing muscles to stiffen or jerk. Often, people with this disorder move their limbs awkwardly, and other muscles in the body may be affected as well. Patients with cerebral palsy may also be affected cognitively. The range of severity of symptoms of cerebral palsy is variable...some people are completely dependent on others for every aspect of daily living, and may be confined to bed or wheelchairs, while others are able to ...