People With This Specific Personality Trait Are More Likely To Achieve Financial Success, According To A 40-Year Study
The secret to financial success is surprisingly simple.
Evgeny Atamanenko | Shutterstock To some, 40 years seems like a long time, and to others, it feels like none at all. Whatever your opinion on the passage of time, 40 years is a relatively long period in the world of science, where most studies last no more than a matter of weeks.
Nevertheless, one study has indeed taken up four decades, with no sign of stopping any time soon. According to this study, there is a specific personality trait that tends to be more successful when it comes to financial acumen than any other.
A married couple has worked together on a decades-long study.
Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi met as students in 1987, working on their post-doctorates in psychology. Since then, the pair has gotten married and participated in a 40-year study in New Zealand.
According to Science, Moffitt and Caspi have been long-time collaborators in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. The study, which officially began in 1972, was called “one of the more comprehensive and probing investigations of human development ever conducted” by Science.
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Moffitt became part of the study a little over 10 years after its conception, in 1985, and was followed by Caspi. The study has closely followed the lives of 1,000 New Zealanders and spawned some 1,200 papers. Study participants are now 45 years old.
While Moffitt and Caspi’s work has spanned countless subjects over their decades of work, they made one finding that those seeking financial success will be interested in.
The Dunedin study has proven that those with self-control are more likely to achieve financial success.
“Origins mean a lot in their work, which has shown that our nature as adults — our capacity for self-control, our propensity for violence — has deep roots in the children we once were,” Science said of Moffitt and Caspi’s role in Dunedin.
They continued, “The Dunedin data showed that just over a fifth of the population accounts for the bulk of the social costs: crime, welfare payments, hospitalizations, cigarette purchases, fatherless child-rearing, and other indicators of social dysfunction.”
Through their research, Moffitt and Caspi have found that some people, specifically those in this group, were, in some ways, set up to fail.
“They scored low on early language skills, fine and gross motor skills, neurological health, and self-control,” Science said. “Often, they also grew up in poverty and suffered maltreatment. All through life, their disadvantages haunted them."
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As can be expected, the reverse is also true. Those who grew up with plenty of self-control pointed to them being successful adults.
In fact, as Science said, “Childhood self-control predicts physical health, financial success, and a lack of criminal behavior among adults.”
It seems obvious that self-control would lead to financial success. It essentially means that you have the discipline to say no to making certain purchases, meaning you would have more money to work with.
The theory that self-control results in financial success is backed up by a lot of science.
An article published in the journal PLOS One stated, “The results indicate that financial literacy, mental budgeting, and self-control exert a favorable and noteworthy influence on an individual’s financial well-being.”
Furthermore, another article from the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance said, “People with good self-control are more likely to save money from every paycheck, have better general financial behavior, feel less anxious about financial matters, and feel more secure in their current and future financial situation.”
All of this makes sense. The more self-control you have, the more money you are able to save. Self-control keeps you from frivolous, unnecessary spending that will damage your financial standing.
But how can a child develop this kind of self-control?
By starting small, Edutopia said. Children take big steps towards developing their emotional identities at a young age, so those between three and seven can particularly benefit from being taught self-control.
Edutopia noted that it is important to discuss “behaviors that matter” in addition to “[encouraging] prosocial behaviors.” By working as your child’s “cognitive coach,” you can set them up for success in the future, financially and beyond.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.