New study says personality traits are ‘contagious’ among toddlers

When three- and four-year-olds spend time around each other, they take on each others' personalities, according to a new study by psychology researchers. The latest findings, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, suggests that personality is shaped by environment and not just genetics. Professor of psychology Jennifer Watling Neal of Michigan State University and her colleagues studied two preschool classes for one academic year, analysing the personality traits and social networks of three and four-year-olds. Their research showed that children whose play partners were more extrovert or hard-working became similar to these peers over time. However, children whose play partners were overly anxious or easily frustrated, did not take on these particular traits. The study was the first to examine such personality traits in young children over a period of time and Professor Watling Neal says the findings are important,

"Our finding, that personality traits are 'contagious' among children, flies in the face of common assumptions that personality is ingrained and can't be changed. This is important because some personality traits can help children succeed in life, while others can hold them back."

Associate professor of psychology and co-investigator Emily Durbin says children have a bigger effect on each other than adults realise,

"Parents spend a lot of their time trying to teach their child to be patient, to be a good listener, not to be impulsive. But this wasn't their parents or their teachers affecting them - it was their friends. It turns out that three- and four-year-olds are being change agents."

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