It’s not marrying your ideal partner, or landing your dream job that will make you happy, but rather your genes, researchers are claiming.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research have found that how happy we are is largely due to our hereditary personality traits.
The findings were based on a study that rated the personalities of 973 pairs of twins. The twins were rated by measuring five personality traits including, their neuroticism, which is the tendency to experience negative emotional states (Wikipedia, 2008), their extroversion, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness.
It was shown that the identical twins had very similar personalities and wellbeing, while the fraternal twins were half as similar, suggesting that genes are responsible for certain personality traits. People that are more extroverted, conscientious and less neurotic are more likely to be happy and able to withstand the hard times in life better than others. One of the researchers Professor Timothy Bates stated that "... personality traits of being outgoing, calm, and reliable provide a resource; we called it 'affective reserve' that drives future happiness."
This study, according to Professor Robert Cummins, may provide more insight into mood disorders like depression, linking happiness to personality.
Summarised by Hannah Smith from http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/03/06/2182127.htm?site=science&topic=latest
References
Neuroticism, 2008, Wikipedia, viewed 16/04/08 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroticism>"Smiling Twin Girls", 2008, Corbis, viewed 16/04/08 <http://pro.corbis.com/images/42-16349763.jpg?size=572&uid=%7B219A5C80-BBE5-4CD1-AE12-DC602E3A9E81%7D>
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