Neuroscience
Morning people, early risers. You know the type; you might even be one. They've already done the housework and gone for a jog while the rest of us are still blissfully cocooned in our beds.
According to Juan Francisco Diaz-Morales, such people tend to be of a certain personality: they favour the tangible and concrete, they trust their experience and the observable over intuition and feelings; they have an attention to detail and a preference for logic. They are respectful of authority, care about social conventions and are rarely politically radical.
Diaz-Morales came to this conclusion after gauging the 'morningness' vs. 'eveningness' of 360 undergrads (275 were female) using the Composite Scale of Morningness. It's a 13 item scale that asks participants things like what time they typically get up and go to bed; how alert they feel in the morning; and when they are at the peak of their mental performance. He then measured the students' personality using the Millon Index of Personality Styles, a 180 item test with scales on what motivates people, their thinking style and how they relate to others.
Seventeen per cent of the women were classified as morning types, 61.8 per cent as intermediates, and 18.8 per cent as evening types. Among the men, 30.6 per cent were morning types, 50.6 per cent were intermediates and 18.8 per cent were evening folk.
In contrast to morning types, Diaz-Morales found that evening people preferred the symbolic over the concrete, were creative and risk-taking, and tended to be non-conformist and independent.
Diaz-Morales said these findings are “a further step towards a more complete and integrated understanding of personality characteristics related to morningness and eveningness dimensions.”
__________________________________
Diaz-Morales, J.F. (2007). Morning and evening types: Exploring their personality styles. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 769-778.
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- Morning People ("larks") Are More Punctual Than "owls"
You've probably heard that sleep psychologists like to divide people up into those who function optimally in the morning, and those who come alive at night (but see also). The former, "larks", tend to get up and go to bed earlier than "owls". A new...
- You've Heard Of "owls" And "larks", Now Sleep Scientists Propose Two More Chronotypes
For many years psychologists have divided people into two types based on their sleeping habits. There are Larks who rise early, feel sprightly in the morning, and retire to bed early; and Owls, who do the opposite, preferring to get up late and who come...
- Creatures Of The Night - People Who Favour The Evening Score Higher On Dark Triad Personality Traits
There are countless examples in nature of biological adaptations going hand in hand with either a nocturnal or diurnal (day-time) lifestyle. For instance, cats have reflective lenses allowing better vision in low light; chimps have colour vision which...
- Owls Get Poorer School Grades Than Larks
From our enlightened 21st century perches, we frown upon the old practice of forcing left-handers to use their right hands. And yet, today our entire society still functions in a way that is biased against those "owls" whose chronotype means they function...
- You're Most Creative When You're At Your Groggiest
Are you an evening person? Guess what? Early in the day, when you're bleary eyed, stumbling about in the fog of sleepiness, you're probably at your creative peak. In contrast, if you're a morning person, then for you, the evening is the best...
Neuroscience
The personality of early risers
Morning people, early risers. You know the type; you might even be one. They've already done the housework and gone for a jog while the rest of us are still blissfully cocooned in our beds.According to Juan Francisco Diaz-Morales, such people tend to be of a certain personality: they favour the tangible and concrete, they trust their experience and the observable over intuition and feelings; they have an attention to detail and a preference for logic. They are respectful of authority, care about social conventions and are rarely politically radical.
Diaz-Morales came to this conclusion after gauging the 'morningness' vs. 'eveningness' of 360 undergrads (275 were female) using the Composite Scale of Morningness. It's a 13 item scale that asks participants things like what time they typically get up and go to bed; how alert they feel in the morning; and when they are at the peak of their mental performance. He then measured the students' personality using the Millon Index of Personality Styles, a 180 item test with scales on what motivates people, their thinking style and how they relate to others.
Seventeen per cent of the women were classified as morning types, 61.8 per cent as intermediates, and 18.8 per cent as evening types. Among the men, 30.6 per cent were morning types, 50.6 per cent were intermediates and 18.8 per cent were evening folk.
In contrast to morning types, Diaz-Morales found that evening people preferred the symbolic over the concrete, were creative and risk-taking, and tended to be non-conformist and independent.
Diaz-Morales said these findings are “a further step towards a more complete and integrated understanding of personality characteristics related to morningness and eveningness dimensions.”
__________________________________
Diaz-Morales, J.F. (2007). Morning and evening types: Exploring their personality styles. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 769-778.
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- Morning People ("larks") Are More Punctual Than "owls"
You've probably heard that sleep psychologists like to divide people up into those who function optimally in the morning, and those who come alive at night (but see also). The former, "larks", tend to get up and go to bed earlier than "owls". A new...
- You've Heard Of "owls" And "larks", Now Sleep Scientists Propose Two More Chronotypes
For many years psychologists have divided people into two types based on their sleeping habits. There are Larks who rise early, feel sprightly in the morning, and retire to bed early; and Owls, who do the opposite, preferring to get up late and who come...
- Creatures Of The Night - People Who Favour The Evening Score Higher On Dark Triad Personality Traits
There are countless examples in nature of biological adaptations going hand in hand with either a nocturnal or diurnal (day-time) lifestyle. For instance, cats have reflective lenses allowing better vision in low light; chimps have colour vision which...
- Owls Get Poorer School Grades Than Larks
From our enlightened 21st century perches, we frown upon the old practice of forcing left-handers to use their right hands. And yet, today our entire society still functions in a way that is biased against those "owls" whose chronotype means they function...
- You're Most Creative When You're At Your Groggiest
Are you an evening person? Guess what? Early in the day, when you're bleary eyed, stumbling about in the fog of sleepiness, you're probably at your creative peak. In contrast, if you're a morning person, then for you, the evening is the best...