3 Quotes by Brian Little

Such features of personality can be detected in the neonatal ward. If you make a loud noise near the newborns, what will they do? Some will orient toward the noise, and others will turn away. Those who are attracted to the noise end up being extraverts later in development; those who turn away are more likely to end up being introverts.

Although agreeable people are more likely to report they are happy, disagreeable people are more likely to say they are happy when they are being disagreeable! In one study that involved “beeping” people with a pager at random times during the day, disagreeable people were more likely to express positive emotions when they were engaged in acts such as disciplining others than when they may have found themselves in inexplicably pleasant surroundings.

When changing or challenging the self is regarded as a personal initiative rather than an external imposition, it is likely to be more meaningful, manageable, and sustainable.