Personality is our individual difference on how we think, feel and behave . It is the combination of qualities and characteristics of a person .

Fact 1:
Our birth order in the family has a say in our personality. First-borns are looked up by others and take on the leadership role. An eldest child is often a perfectionist, wants everyone to be happy, motivated to be successful, responsible and often feel jealous or neglected with the addition of siblings as the parent’s attention are no longer on him/her.

Middle-born children often feel left out and feels they have no “place” in the family as they are stuck in the middle. They are skilled in compromising and to get along with others. A middle-child tend to be more rebellious than the other siblings; flexible; mediate between his/her siblings; develop a skill or personality different from other siblings.

Last-born children are the “baby” of the family. They are used to others doing things for them and have difficulty in being responsible and making decisions. The youngest child are sociable and has a way to “charm” others; feels inferior to other siblings; spoiled, impatient and demanding and they remain the “baby” in the family.

As they have their parent’s attention all to themselves; never had to share nor solve a conflict with other siblings, the only child tends to be selfish, self-centered and had difficulty forgiving others or themselves. An only child are well-organized, comfortable with responsibility and being in the center of attention and responsible. However, they don’t take criticism too well .

Fact 2:
As people reach middle age, they are more concerned about work, responsibilities and those who are in their lives and less open to meeting new open and women become less neurotic and extroverted.

A study on 132,000 Americans and Canadians from ages 21-60 who rated themselves on their personality and found out that personality gradually change through time and on average, people are getting better as they get older. The study found out five personality traits that stood out from the respondents: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extroversion .

Fact 3:
The possibility of a person to suffer from a stroke, heart ailment and arthritis depends on his./her personality. Research team from the Washington University in St. Louis, USA found out that a one unit increase in our conscientiousness (being responsible, organized and hard working) decreases the possibility of a stroke by 37%. A one unit increase of being open to experience decreases a stroke by 31%, a heart ailment by 17% and high blood pressure by 29%.

A unit increase in neuroticism (being moody, nervous and prone to worry) increases the possibility of having a heart condition by 24%, a lung disease by 29%, hypertension by 37% and arthritis by 25% .

Fact 4:
Years of research on human personality has discovered five broad dimensions of personality. These five dimensions are :
● Extraversion (your level of sociability and enthusiasm)
● Agreeableness (your level of friendliness and kindness)
● Conscientiousness (your level of organization and work ethic)
● Emotional Stability (your level of calmness and tranquility)
● Intellect (your level of creativity and curiosity).

Fact 5:
Extroverted people are those who enjoy talking and meeting with people while extroverts are more reserved. In the US, the most extroverted states are: Nevada, Montana, Arkansas, Wyoming, Wisconsin. The most introverted states are: Vermont, Kentucky, South Dakota, Idaho, West Virginia .

Fact 6:
Personality disorders among humans are caused by various factors :
1. Genetics– A malfunctioning gene contributes to a person’s tendency to be obsessive-compulsive. Genes also contribute to being aggressive, anxious and fearful.
2. Childhood trauma- Those who had high rates of childhood sexual trauma often have borderline personality disorder.
3. Verbal abuse- This often result to children growing up borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive or paranoid personality disorders in adulthood.
4. High reactivity- Children who are sensitive to light, sound and other stimuli often grow up to be shy and timid.
5. Peers- Any influential people or person can cause a negative influence.

Fact 7:
A person’s choice of pet can reveal his or her personality. If you are a dog person, you are more likely to be extroverted and want to please others while a cat person is more introverted and curious. By using this kind of personality screening, therapists are able to match people’s personality to a pet that suits them .

Fact 8:
Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder (IEED), is a condition where you are having an opposite reaction to what is expected. Emotions and responses like getting depressed after a good news, laughing during a tense moment eg. laughing during an argument. This condition has made even Charles Darwin curious and the Barenaked Ladies pop band mentioned it in their song “One Week” .

Fact 9:
Misophonia is one personality quirk where a person has a strong dislike on a specific sound. It is often triggered by an oral sound from someone chewing, breathing, eating which may cause the person suffering from the quirk to have mild reactions such as being disgusted, anxious, uncomfortable. Extreme responses may range from rage, anger, hatred , stress, suicidal thoughts or wanting to kill the source of the noise .

Fact 10:
If you know someone who would not cooperate, follow rules and quite stubborn that person may be suffering from a personality disorder called Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defined it as “an ongoing pattern of disobedient, hostile and defiant behavior toward authority figures which goes beyond the bounds of normal childhood behavior.”