There are some traits that we all have, but a lot of psychologists are interested in the people who lean unusually far towards one end of these trait scales.
Almost no special claim
Lots of people claim that they don’t expect special treatment, but some people take this lack of desire one step further. They’re the ones with a trait called low entitlement. These are the people who genuinely don’t believe they deserve more than others, almost in an extreme way.
They’re not going to feel a stronger claim to attention or rewards. They won’t believe in getting favors or any kind of exceptions, which is quite an extreme position to have. The idea of deserving something is quite common, even in modest people.
When the payoff doesn’t matter
Fairness gets interesting sometimes. In particular, psychologists are interested in what happens when being unfair would help someone, and nobody would know. People who refuse to do this usually have the very high fairness trait.
That means they’re unwilling to cheat or take advantage of another person for personal gain. Not everyone is wildly dishonest, obviously, but people with this trait are different. They’re almost completely unmoved by opportunity and never make an exception for a reward.
Money loses its pull
Some people have little interest in luxury for its own sake. They don’t secretly want the expensive car, and truthfully, they don’t care much about impressive labels. They have the trait ‘greed avoidance.’
Psychologists say it’s pretty rare to be this way, as the average person is somewhere near the middle of the greed scale. It’s very uncommon to find someone near the maximum end of it. It’s not hard to see why, given how materialistic our modern world is.
A remarkably long fuse
Patience. It’s a trait that we all know is good to have, and some people have a stronger version of it. Yes, that’s what psychologists call extreme patience. People with this trait stay calm through it all, no matter how much criticism or how many delays they have to deal with.
None of it gets them heated. Nobody is endlessly patient, obviously, yet it’s the people who are hard to anger that stand out. You’re not going to rattle them very easily.
The grudge disappears
Forgiving other people for hurting you is hard. We’ve all had to do it. The difference is, some people are really good at it, even though it’s difficult. They have the trait of exceptional forgiveness.
These are the people who can let go of resentment and eventually trust again after they’ve been wronged. They sit quite far on the end of the forgiveness spectrum. Not because they approve or are okay with what happened, definitely not. They’re just not going to hold onto a grudge.
Possessions barely enter the equation
Liking nice things is one thing, and building your sense of success around them is another. Some people don’t care about any of that, though. They’re the people with unusually low materialism, and they don’t really connect possessions with happiness or the idea of a good life.
They’ll still have nice things. What makes them special, however, is that they don’t put a lot of psychological value on owning things in the first place. They don’t fall for flashy things in quite the same way as the rest of us, and that makes this trait pretty rare.
Curiosity keeps spreading
A curious person might spend an evening reading about black holes because they watched a documentary about them. That’s normal. But an exceptionally inquisitive person is more likely to do that constantly across a bunch of different subjects.
The idea of knowing something new is genuinely rewarding to them. Their extreme inquisitiveness drives them, and they’re not really selective in it. Nature, history, culture, science, they’re interested in it all.
Strange ideas stay on the table
One of the rarest traits is one of the weirdest. It’s very high unconventionality. These sorts of people don’t love every odd idea they hear, but instead, they’re less likely to discard an idea because it’s strange.
They’re open to radical and unfamiliar ideas. Think about it this way, their ideas start far outside the norm and keep on going, as social rules don’t hold them back. Familiarity is something they don’t enjoy.
Beauty lands differently
People with extremely high aesthetic appreciation like art. They like it a lot, in fact. They’ll listen to certain pieces of music and stop what they’re doing because it hits them so hard. Whether it’s art or scenery, architecture or music, it all holds their attention.
Psychologists see it as a pretty rare trait. Everyone can appreciate a good piece of art, yes, but people with this trait enjoy beautiful things so much that they become deeply absorbed in them.
The self moves unusually far aside
Extraordinary unselfishness is just as it sounds, it’s extraordinary. It’s the kind of selflessness where someone will donate organs to a stranger without thinking about it. They’ll carry out dangerous rescues or take on humanitarian work at serious personal cost.Â
People with these traits also tend to score high on traits linked with humility and concern for other people. It makes sense, really. Most people are fine with buying lunch for somebody else, but it’s those who risk their health or safety for a stranger that are rare.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
13 purchases introverts confessed they regret
Generally, introverts often think carefully before they buy something. But even the most thoughtful shoppers have a few purchases they wish they could take back. We talked to a group of self confessed introverts about the things they’ve bought that didn’t actually fit their personality or lifestyle and compiled a list. So here are 13 purchases that introverts confessed they regret.
