Uploaded March 2015 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The "Personality and Place: New Perspectives on Person-Environment Links" symposium took place at SPSP's 16th Annual Convention in Long Beach, California. This presentation, by Wiebke Bleidorn of Tilburg University and the University of California at Davis, is the third of four presentations in the symposium.
The choice of where to live is one of the most important decisions we have to make in life. According to Florida,, a city’s personality is one factor that determines how much people like
where they live. Specifically, a good match between the characteristics of a person and the characteristics of a city is supposed to be beneficial for the individual. The present study tested this hypothesis on data from 351,019 U.S. residents who provided personality and demographic information over the Internet. Focusing on the Big Five, we used response surface analysis to examine whether and to what extent the congruence between person and city predict individual differences in selfesteem. Results revealed significant PC-fit effects suggesting that individuals have higher self-esteem in cities where other people share their personality traits. Discussion focuses on the relevance and consequences of PC-fit in the light of theories of contemporary person-environment interactions.
The "Personality and Place: New Perspectives on Person-Environment Links" symposium took place at SPSP's 16th Annual Convention in Long Beach, California. This presentation, by Wiebke Bleidorn of Tilburg University and the University of California at Davis, is the third of four presentations in the symposium.
The choice of where to live is one of the most important decisions we have to make in life. According to Florida,, a city’s personality is one factor that determines how much people like
where they live. Specifically, a good match between the characteristics of a person and the characteristics of a city is supposed to be beneficial for the individual. The present study tested this hypothesis on data from 351,019 U.S. residents who provided personality and demographic information over the Internet. Focusing on the Big Five, we used response surface analysis to examine whether and to what extent the congruence between person and city predict individual differences in selfesteem. Results revealed significant PC-fit effects suggesting that individuals have higher self-esteem in cities where other people share their personality traits. Discussion focuses on the relevance and consequences of PC-fit in the light of theories of contemporary person-environment interactions.
