Global Culture

Clustering of like-minded individuals is not a new idea, but new research based on the mapping of personality types reveals one very interesting trend about the group called “Open To Experience People”: they are far more distributed than any of the other groups.

In his post The Personality Map, Richard Florida presents these results in a timely manner to promote his most recent book “Who’s Your City?”. A much better explanation is given in his column on the Global and Mail:

We know that values, beliefs, and attitudes cluster geographically and are sustained over time through social interaction – that’s what defines culture. According to Sam Gosling, a psychologist at the University of Texas, and Jason Rentfrow, a psychologist at Cambridge University, these places (and their inhabitants) will also assume certain personality traits.

They refer to these as “social founder effects.” That is, people come to acquire personality traits that reflect their practices, lifestyles, and beliefs. Places that tolerate or encourage openness to experience will ultimately attract people who seek environments in which they can feel free to express themselves.

People seeking a place where they can express themselves is almost a perfect definition for the global citizen that will move anywhere around the world to find the region that better defines the core values that he/she hold true and treasure the most. This realization provides a very important argument in favor of why cities that have been welcoming to generations of migrants are now among the most important hubs for creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. As I have stated in previous posts, one of the most essential tools of the person starting a journey to a new place is a complete willingness to experience and accept a new culture without hesitation. This very same personality treat is probably, according to this research, why these same cities have evolved economies that are a model for a truly global city. Cosmopolitanism and its quest for understanding other cultures may be the key that triggers the desire to relocate to a newly discovered region of the world, but it is that same global knowledge that gives the region an important advantage as more connections with the rest of the world are created with every new individual that arrives. So, while it may be psychological characteristics what drives the clustering shown above, I believe it is the global connections that these people have what fosters a prosperous economy.