Social Lives=Healthy Lives?

This chapter debunks what most people think of healthy individuals: people who are rated as more social will have longer lives because they have a strong social standing. However, the Terman study rated people who are less social (ie. people who have more isolating jobs (scientists)) live longer than those who have more social jobs (ie. lawyers, businessmen, etc). The book continues to say social jobs such as lawyers and businessmen tended to have more tumultuous, less stable, and more health-damaging careers and behaviors.

I took both sociability tests. The first test I got a score of 8, which is right in the middle of the scale. The second test I scored 28, which is on the low 25% of the scale. I found it interesting because though I understand the Terman study was thorough in all the variables it measured, I found the questions to be limiting. With anything, I find that assessing psychology is so difficult because there are too many factors to consider. Some questions they asked were easy for me to answer, and others were conflicting because I would have a multifaceted response. This is not only related in the Terman study, but in other psychology studies as well. One can do their best in measuring the complex human psyche, but it seems like such a daunting task. Along the same line of thought, although this study can be a good indicator of people who have healthy tendencies, I believe there are many other factors to consider that are not measurable.