According to a new study, nearly 90% of the population can be divided into one of four basic personality types: optimistic, pessimistic, envious, and trusting. The largest group is envious, with 30%, while the other groups each are 20%, according to a computer algorithm.
For the study, conducted by researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and published in the journal Science Advances, researchers assigned 541 participants to partners in order to decide random payoffs in the face of a particular social dilemma.
Following the experiment, researchers created a computer algorithm to distinguish people into different groups based on their responses to the dilemmas. As for the remaining 10%, the algorithm was unable to classify these participants to a particular group based on their actions.
This type of investigation into human behavior is part of game theory, a branch of math which looks at conflict and cooperation when people have to make decisions around certain problems, Science Daily reported.
“The results go against certain theories; the one which states that humans act purely rationally, and therefore, they should be taken into consideration in redesigning social and economic policies, as well as those involved in cooperation,” said Yamir Moreno, an author of the study.
After the results were collected from the algorithm, they were shared with the participants for them to become “active participants in the research.”
