Baby names
I hope Rydah's mother sees this article. ;)
What's in a name? Possibly your shot at love, self-esteem and lung cancerForget mere playground jeers. A poorly chosen baby name can lead to a lifetime of neglect, reduced relationship opportunities, lower self-esteem, a higher likelihood of smoking and diminished education prospects, according to a new study of nearly 12,000 people.
The research, which appears in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, is thought to offer the firmest conclusions to date that "unfortunate" first names evoke negative reactions from strangers, which in turn influence life outcomes for the worse.
"There seems to be prejudice based on name valence (or associations)," says study co-author Wiebke Neberich, previously of the International Max Planck Research School.
"It's a mostly unconscious process where all the associations we have with a particular name will pop up: (associations) from the newspapers, from stories and, of course, from our own history."
The study is based on users of the European matchmaking website eDarling, where researchers found most people would sooner remain single - and continue paying for online dating - than consider a romantic partner with an unappealing name.
But because name associations differ by culture, the research is less an indictment of the moniker that fared worse (which was, incidentally, Kevin) than it is a cautionary tale for parents tempted to get too cute or creative on their baby's birth certificate.
In one of the researchers' experiments, online daters whose names carried the most positive valence (Alexander) received 102 per cent more profile visits, relative to opportunity, than daters whose names carried the worst valence (Kevin).
Notably, prospective partners were given no more information than the person's first name, age and location - and the latter two factors were controlled, as daters only received profile links to people whose age and place of residence met their criteria. This method was repeated, using a variety of adult participants, and different tests for name appeal.
For example, one experiment compared people whose names matched a previously established list of names rated by teachers as belonging to "quarrelsome" students. Another drew from a list of "attractive" and "unattractive" names, as determined by valence norms. And a third experiment factored in current name popularity, while controlling for each name's popularity at birth.
Across all tests, which drew on 11,813 adults, those with "unfortunate" first names were generally more likely to smoke, be less educated and have lower self-esteem than those whose names were considered positive.
"These things can't only be triggered by having a good or bad name, but having a good or bad name does have a small influence," explains Neberich. "It's remarkable that just a name can influence how your social environment reacts to you, and how this reaction can influence your life."
What's in a name? Possibly your shot at love, self-esteem and lung cancerForget mere playground jeers. A poorly chosen baby name can lead to a lifetime of neglect, reduced relationship opportunities, lower self-esteem, a higher likelihood of smoking and diminished education prospects, according to a new study of nearly 12,000 people.
The research, which appears in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, is thought to offer the firmest conclusions to date that "unfortunate" first names evoke negative reactions from strangers, which in turn influence life outcomes for the worse.
"There seems to be prejudice based on name valence (or associations)," says study co-author Wiebke Neberich, previously of the International Max Planck Research School.
"It's a mostly unconscious process where all the associations we have with a particular name will pop up: (associations) from the newspapers, from stories and, of course, from our own history."
The study is based on users of the European matchmaking website eDarling, where researchers found most people would sooner remain single - and continue paying for online dating - than consider a romantic partner with an unappealing name.
But because name associations differ by culture, the research is less an indictment of the moniker that fared worse (which was, incidentally, Kevin) than it is a cautionary tale for parents tempted to get too cute or creative on their baby's birth certificate.
In one of the researchers' experiments, online daters whose names carried the most positive valence (Alexander) received 102 per cent more profile visits, relative to opportunity, than daters whose names carried the worst valence (Kevin).
Notably, prospective partners were given no more information than the person's first name, age and location - and the latter two factors were controlled, as daters only received profile links to people whose age and place of residence met their criteria. This method was repeated, using a variety of adult participants, and different tests for name appeal.
For example, one experiment compared people whose names matched a previously established list of names rated by teachers as belonging to "quarrelsome" students. Another drew from a list of "attractive" and "unattractive" names, as determined by valence norms. And a third experiment factored in current name popularity, while controlling for each name's popularity at birth.
Across all tests, which drew on 11,813 adults, those with "unfortunate" first names were generally more likely to smoke, be less educated and have lower self-esteem than those whose names were considered positive.
"These things can't only be triggered by having a good or bad name, but having a good or bad name does have a small influence," explains Neberich. "It's remarkable that just a name can influence how your social environment reacts to you, and how this reaction can influence your life."