The Big Personality Test: Wales – land of hills rain and neuroses?
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Version 0 of 1. Age: As a national identity, about 1,600 years old; as a devolved political entity, 16. Appearance: Land mass to the left of England, approximately the size of Wales. Never been. What’s it like? Neurotic. That’s odd – I was sure you were going to say “rainy”. The weather may be rainy, but the people are neurotic. What do you mean by neurotic, exactly? You know – moody, depressed, temperamental. I feel like that a lot of the time. You should move to Wales. You’ll fit right in. How can you possibly confer a single personality trait on a whole nation? They’re not just neurotic. They’re also extroverted and unconscientious. Where are you getting your information from? The Big Personality Test. And how big was this personality test? It was the largest ever study of the psychological landscape of the UK: 400,000 people took part, across 380 local authorities. How did they find these people? They selected themselves by filling out an online questionnaire designed to measure their personalities against five established traits. I see. This is nonsense, isn’t it? Not at all. The study was carried out by Cambridge scientists and their findings were published in the journal Plos One. But I should be taking the results with a pinch of salt, right? No need. They prove once and for all that the Welsh are neurotic, the Scots agreeable and Londoners lazy and unwelcoming. What about the folks of Northern Ireland? Generally averse to surveys – they didn’t provide enough data for researchers to draw any conclusions. Is there any point in attempting to discover if people from one place share a regional character? Psychological traits can have health implications. “Conscientious people are more risk-averse, and more likely to get medical help early on when they have symptoms,” said lead researcher Jason Rentfrew. “On the other hand, less conscientious people are more like to blow things off.” Those Welsh, always blowing things off. That’s not just a Welsh trait – it’s also popular in Manchester. Wow. It’s like lazy stereotyping, only much more specific. It’s called science, mate. Do say: “Welcome to Wales, land of rain and anxiousness.” Don’t say: “Cheer up Cardiff! It might never happen!” |