195. Can You Be Too Nice?

Where is the line between a good guy and a doormat? Do people with sharp elbows make more money? And why did Angela’s mother give away her birthday present?

Take the Big Five inventory: freakonomics.com/bigfive

 

SOURCES:Kristen Bell, actor.Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of Amazon.Harry Connick Jr., singer, pianist, and actor.Juli Fraga, psychologist and writer.Adam Grant, professor of management and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.Allison Sweet Grant, writer.Timothy Judge, chair of the department of Management and Human Resources at The Ohio State University.Frank Jacobs, journalist and columnist at Big Think.Beth Livingston, professor of industrial relations at the University of Iowa.Topher Payne, playwright and screenwriter.Dax Shepard, actor and podcast host.

 

RESOURCES:"Are You a Chronic People-Pleaser? Here’s How to Be Kinder to Yourself," by Juli Fraga (The Washington Post, 2023)."Geopsychology: Your Personality Depends on Where You Live," by Frank Jacobs (Big Think, 2023)."We Need to Talk About ‘The Giving Tree,'" by Adam Grant and Allison Sweet Grant (The New York Times, 2020).The Tree Who Set Healthy Boundaries, by Topher Payne (2020)."Do as You’re Told! Facets of Agreeableness and Early Adult Outcomes for Inner-City Boys," by Margaret Kern, Angela Duckworth, Sergio Urzúa, Rolf Loeber, Magda Stouthamer-Loeber, and Donald Lynam (Journal of Research in Personality, 2013).Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, by Adam Grant (2013)."Do Nice Guys — and Gals — Really Finish Last? The Joint Effects of Sex and Agreeableness on Income," by Timothy Judge and Beth Livingston (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2012).

 

EXTRAS:Big Five Personality Inventory, by No Stupid Questions (2024).“Personality: The Big Five,” series by No Stupid Questions (2024)."Are You Suffering From Burnout?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).