You are the company you keep.
A new study published in PLOS Computational Biology found that other people’s behavior can influence your own — specifically, your laziness, patience and prudence.
Researchers asked participants to make decisions after observing fictitious participants who were lazy, prudent or patient. They found that most people’s attitudes became similar to those of the people around them.
The study’s lead author, Jean Daunizeau, told Time that he was surprised to learn that these particular characteristics — which are often considered to be deep-seated personality traits — “are so volatile and prone to others’ influence.”
But you don’t necessarily have to stop hanging out with your deadbeat pals: Researchers say that, contrary to what we used to think, absorbing other people’s attitudes is a way of learning from them rather than conforming to them.
Still, it probably wouldn’t hurt to see your ambitious friends more often.