Scientists led by Wen-Dong Li of the Chinese University of Hong Kong conducted a meta-analysis - an aggregation of data from many studies - and found out how income and personality traits are related. The work was published in the journal Psychological Bulletin.
The analysis included 11 large long-term surveys from the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Australia. Observations lasted from 4 to 20 years. The scientists tracked income and five basic traits: conscientiousness (organization and reliability), emotional stability (calmness under stress), agreeableness (willingness to cooperate), extraversion (sociability) and openness to experience (curiosity).
It turned out that after an increase in income, a person on average showed slightly higher conscientiousness and emotional stability, but lower agreeableness and extraversion. No significant link was found with openness to experience. The authors suggest that more responsible work and higher status require discipline and focus, while concentration on tasks leaves less time for socializing.
The link also works in the opposite direction. Among those whose conscientiousness and emotional stability grew over time, income subsequently rose more often. And a rise in extraversion, on the contrary, slightly predicted a decline in salary. According to the researchers, excessive sociability or a tendency to take risks may distract from work.
All the effects turned out to be small. The strongest - between income and subsequent conscientiousness - reached about 0.06 of a standard deviation. The links with emotional stability were about half as weak, and those with agreeableness and extraversion were about 0.01.
The scientists emphasize that this is a correlation, that is, a statistical association that by itself does not prove that money directly changes character. The study relied on observations rather than experiments, so the influence of other life circumstances cannot be ruled out. In addition, all the data were collected in wealthy Western countries, and it is unknown whether the patterns would repeat in other cultures. Personality was assessed from participants' self-reports, not from the opinions of colleagues or relatives.
Nevertheless, the authors believe that even small shifts matter, since personality traits influence many aspects of life. "Personality is not carved in stone and can change under the influence of work experience, for example income," Li noted.