Growing up in warm climates leads to more positive and social personalities, new research suggests.
Scientists found people living in locations with an average temperature of 22C in the US and China scored higher on personality traits such as agreeableness and extroversion, the study published on Tuesday shows.
"Clement (mild) temperatures encourage individuals to explore the outside environment, where both social interactions and new experiences abound," the researchers said.
If accurate, the research suggests that Australians raised in centres including Cairns, Carnarvon and Oodnadatta, where the average annual temperature falls within the target range, are likely to boast a social personality.
"Individuals who grew up in more clement (mild) regions scored higher on both the socialisation factor and the personal growth factor of personality."
More than 1.6 million people were surveyed as part of the study in the US, with another 5500 in China.
The observations have been published in online journal Nature Human Behaviour.
AUSTRALIAN CITIES WITH ANNUAL MEAN TEMPERATURES OF 21-24C
*Cairns (QLD)
*Townsville (QLD)
*Mackay (QLD)
*Oodnadatta (SA)
*Carnarvon (WA)
SOURCE: Bureau of Meteorology
