People in Bournemouth show the least self-control while people in Weymouth are the most likely to care about other people - here's a run down of what we've learned from Cambridge University and the BBC's Big Personality Test. 

The what now? 

Lots of research has been done in America on regional personality differences - the idea that where you live says something about what sort of person you are. The BBC Lab teamed up with scientists at Cambridge and Helsinki to try and replicate the research in the UK. 

Over two years  nearly 400,000 people took part, covering the 380 local authority areas of England, Wales and Scotland. They answered a survey designed to find out where they ranked according to the "Big Five" personality traits: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness.

  • Openness - To what extent you are receptive to novel ideas, creative experiences and different values
  • Conscientiousness - To what extent you are organised and exhibit self-control
  • Extroversion - To what extent you are inclined to experience positive emotions and how attracted you are to social, stimulating experiences
  • Agreeableness - To what extent you are concerned about the feelings of others and how easily you form bonds with people
  • Neuroticism - To what extent you react to perceived threats and stressful situations

Those results were then mapped, revealing some distinct regional personality traits.

People in Scotland ranked highly for agreeableness, whereas Londoners were far less so. People on the south coast were less neurotic than elsewhere in Britain - and despite the number of creative industries in Bournemouth, we also ranked on the lower end of the scale for being "creative and curious".

Based on the survery datas, you can now take a test which will tell you where your personality fits in with your location, where you'd be happiest and where you'd be least happy. Do that here

East Dorset is the area with the best self control

Bournemouth Echo:

The people of East Dorset are some of the most conscientious - meaning organised and likely to exhibit self control - in Britain (coming fifth in the national table.) The whole of the South Coast ranks pretty highly in this area. Except, that is, for  Bournemouth and Weymouth, which rank much lower.

The people of East Dorset are ALSO the most social and energetic

Most of the south coast is ranked pretty low when it comes to being extroverted - ie attracted to new experiences and likely to feel happy - but there's a little cluster around Dorset that ranks higher than most.

 

Bournemouth Echo:

East Dorset ranks the highest, again, followed by Christchurch, Weymouth, Bournemouth and Purbeck. Poole and Weymouth are the least extroverted.

 

See the scores for yourself in this interactive table

 

People from Weymouth and Portland are the most likely to ask if you're okay

When it comes to agreeableness - how easily you make friends and how much you care about the feelings of others - Weymouth and Portland is a clear winner. Large swathes of England score fairly low on the agreeableness scale, and in the South West it's obvious that the people of Devon are the most friendly. 

Bournemouth Echo:

North Dorset ranks fifth lowest in Britain for neuroticism

Bournemouth Echo:

Perhaps surprisingly, it's the people of the New Forest who rank highest here - although compared with the rest if the UK, nowhere in Dorset is particularly troubled by stressful situations. It's North Dorset that ranks the lowest, with a score of 25.9 - the fifth lowest in the Britain.

And finally, if you've got a new idea, sell it to West Dorset, not the New Forest

You'd think from this map that Britain was not a country for new ideas, but the scale is skewed slightly by the fact that the people of Hackney ranked a whopping 100 in the survey, making the rest of us look closed minded in comparison. 

Bournemouth Echo:

Dorset's highest rating is West Dorset, at 56. The people of the New Forest scored a paltry 42.9, putting it in the bottom 100 in Britain. And despite all its creative industry, Bournemouth didn't rank much better, at 49.

Read the full report here and the BBC's story on the national results here. And then let us know in the comments where the test said you'd be happiest - do you live in the right place or should you be thinking of moving house?