Across cultures, acting extroverted and outgoing linked to happier people

PULLMAN, Wash., April 15 (UPI) -- Across cultures, people who act extroverted -- energy, positive emotions, assertiveness, sociability and stimulation seeking and talkativeness -- feel happier.

Timothy Church, a professor and associate dean of research in the College of Education at Washington State University, and his team used a "Big Five" personality trait survey to measure behavior and mood in college students in the United States, Venezuela, China, the Philippines and Japan.

The big five factors are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

Using the big five personality trait survey, the study, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, found people across the board reported more positive emotions in daily situations where they felt or acted extroverted.

"We are not the first to show that being more extroverted in daily behavior can lead to more positive moods. However, we are probably the first to extend this finding to a variety of cultures," Church said in a statement.

"Despite all of our cultural differences, the way personality is organized seems to be pretty comparable across cultural groups."

[Science Codex]