I recently listened to a “This American Life” podcast in which the host, Ira Glass, posed fundamental questions about what kids should learn in school and what really matters when it comes to success later in life.

During the show, James Heckman (a Nobel Prize winning economist) argued that qualities other than IQ (i.e., personality characteristics) are equally important in predicting who will be successful in life and who won’t. Heckman became a huge proponent of this viewpoint, bringing together neuroscientists, economists, educators, and psychologists each year to discuss these ideas, after conducting a study that convinced him IQ wasn’t all that mattered.

In this study, Heckman looked at three groups of students:
1. Those who graduated high school
2. Those who dropped out but obtained a GED
3. Those who dropped out and did not obtain a GED.
He followed these people into adulthood for many years to see how successful they were in life. Did they land and hold jobs? How much money did they make? Did they stay out of prison? Did they divorce?

He reasoned that since the GED was equivalent to a high school diploma, those with GEDs should be as smart as high school graduates. If IQ was all that mattered, he predicted the two groups would be equally successful in life. He wasn’t sure how the drop-outs would end up since their intelligence was unknown.

Heckman found that those who had earned their GED performed slightly better than drop-outs, which isn’t too surprising. However, what did surprise Heckman was that those with GEDs didn’t achieve anywhere close to the same success as the high school graduates (in terms of earnings, job performance, college success, etc.).

The study’s findings led Heckman to conclude that cognitive skills, (i.e., IQ) are only one piece of the puzzle. Scores on standardized tests like the GED and ACT that measure IQ can only explain a small fraction of whether or not someone is successful. Other “non-cognitive skills,” like personality characteristics, play a large part in predicting success both personally and professionally.

His conclusion makes sense when you think about it. How resilient or tenacious you are, how you relate to and communicate with others, or how goal-oriented and organized you are should influence how well you do in life. As Dr. Hogan once quoted in the blog, “Character is fate.”

Why is it that we give to others around the holiday season? Do we instinctively feel an innate desire (at the same time every year) to do something nice for them? Are we succumbing to marketing forces and great sales during the season of giving? Do we fear what would happen if we did not give gifts each December? (Tongue-in-cheek, this may be the case for some individuals.) Like a good scientist (Santa, I hope you are listening), I need to see what stories the data tell.

Analyzing a large community dataset, I found that the personality characteristic with the greatest relationship to those self-described as “giving” is the Hogan personality scale Interpersonal Sensitivity. This scale measures the degree to which a person is socially sensitive, perceptive, tactful, and skilled at maintaining relationships. This doesn’t necessarily answer whether we are sensitive and perceptive and thus react by giving gifts, or whether we give gifts to proactively build and maintain relationships. Nonetheless, this does suggest that, overall, those who are more socially sensitive and skilled at building and maintaining relationships are also self-described as giving.

Giving was also positively associated with good health practices and, when asked “How would you rate your health now?” giving individuals rated their health status more favorably than non-giving individuals. Finally, this study found that self-described “giving” individuals more positively endorsed the item “I am happy with my life.” Could it be that people in better mental and physical health are more likely to give? Perhaps. Conversely, giving to others may actually be what helps us to feel good. Either way, these results suggest that giving is associated with good health, and similar research corroborates a positive relationship between social relationships and health (e.g., House, Landis, & Umberson, 1988).

There are a couple key take-aways from these findings. Some people may be more pre-disposed to give during the holiday season based on their personality. However, if you don’t score high on the Interpersonal Sensitivity scale, don’t worry. Although not all individuals have innate tendencies driving them to give to others, overall those who are self-described as giving individuals are more likely to rate their current health status favorably and to be happy with their life.

So do we really give entirely for the benefit of others? Or do we attain some benefits ourselves through giving, such as positive emotions that motivate us to continue giving? Whatever the cause, the outcome of giving is likely to be positive for both the giver and recipient. So go ahead, and give a little.