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).