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Blood type and personality

Dids

Student
D
Joined
Jan 19, 2003
Messages
35
Is there any connection between the two? Recently in Japan there's been one or two programs about this, showing things like infants in each of the group exhibiting "typical" behaviour, but we don't know how selective they were in picking these "typical" kids. They also showed other numbers that showed some jobs requiring outgoing personalities had 20% extra of the O outgoing blood type; or in Japan's top university, 20% of the students - opposed to a national average of 10% - were of the genius AB blood group, etc, etc.

Everyone in Japan knows their blood type, and application forms almost always ask for this data, so I suppose there is the scope for lying in many places along the line, if the data was self-reported. Oh, and Japanese programs, even ones pretending to be science or medicine, are not usually very rigorous at all with even simple fact checking.

Does anyone know of stuff debunking this? Or even backing it up to some degree?
 
I don't know of any official scientific studies. My gut tells me it's bullsh!t, but I'd like to see some peer-reviewed published research.

Of course, dozens, if not hundreds of books have been published in Japan, citing data like "Only one of Japan's top 10 homerun hitters was type A, in a country where 40% of the population is type A."

http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/522/health_beauty.asp

Japanese programs, even ones pretending to be science or medicine, are not usually very rigorous at all with even simple fact checking.
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Understatement of the year! They cry wolf so often, I just can't come running anymore.
 
There's three possibilities if such a study did indicate anything. One is that it is purely a statistical anomaly. No reason for it -- purely chance that some of these blood types matched up.

Secondly, blood types do vary between populations, and the figures can and do fluctuate over time. This has to do with anything from disease (not so much these days, but could play a part in the far past), to more recently population fluctuations. With more interbreeding between populations, you might find that more of a given blood type occurs in certain socio-economic groups, in different age groups and in different geographical locations.

Put these together, and you could get an illusion of particular blood types existing in particular social groups. This is pure speculation, mind you.

Thirdly, of course, there might be some affect exhibited by HLA's and blood-marker proteins on one's personality. But this is a long shot that would need a bucket-load more research.

Athon
 
I would be really interested to know the answer to that because I have heard that in Japan people instead of asking for your astrological sign they ask for your blood type.

If I recall correctly in certain regions certain blood types are more common. For example in the Mediterranean the O type prevails while in North America the A type is more common.

I have many sad stories to narrate for blood donors among hostile communities and their political implications ( Greek Cypriots with Turkish Cypriots -- Palestinians with Israelis etc).Once a Greek found a donor among the Turks for example the later tried to take advantage of the issue and the discussion became political not to say what happens with bone marrow donors.
 
Cleopatra said:
If I recall correctly in certain regions certain blood types are more common. For example in the Mediterranean the O type prevails while in North America the A type is more common.
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O+ is the most common blood type in the United States.
 
I'd think, although I certainly have no evidence to present in this case, that this kind of comparison must have been done before.

I'd say we need the data, methodology, and a call for replication, since the comments do seem extraordinary.

Note, I'm not saying this is a-priori wrong, since I'm not aware of any data.

Evidence and data would be very handy, but this subject, blood type, is hardly my field of expertise.
 
Marian said:
O+ is the most common blood type in the United States.
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And in Scotland, but not, I think, in England. Or maybe it's just the proportions that differ. Anyway, O is said to be commoner in Celtic populations, and that was certainly the case in my school and university classes where (well before AIDS) we tested our own blood.

Rolfe.
 
As to blood type and personality:

Just anecdotal evidence here, but there seem to be much more than 8 major personality types. There just doesn't seem to be enough information in blood type to determine anything about personality, nor is there any reason that blood type would affect personality that I could think of.

Now, however, there is a possibility that this is a "linked trait" situation, where people who get the gene for, say, AB+ also get the gene for "grumpy in the afternoon" or whatever. I'm open to new research, but currently I doubt there is a link at all and seriously doubt that there is a direct causation link.

Just my two cents (on sale today for half price)

Oh, bt the way, O is the most common blood type, period, IIRC. Now, ratios change from area to area...you may have more AB's in one area than others, but to the best of my knowledge O is the most common overall, and most likely the most common withan any group larger than a city or county. I should google to be sure, but I'm lazy :P
 
Hm. What exactly is a blood type? You hear it all the time, but I've never actually investigated it.

Time to fire up Google! :D
 
Ratman_tf said:
Hm. What exactly is a blood type? You hear it all the time, but I've never actually investigated it.

Time to fire up Google! :D
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To put it short and sharp, every cell in your body has carbohydrate/protein molecules on their outer membranes called 'markers'. There are a number of markers, and can vary incredibly between individuals. Your white blood cells are trained very early in life to recognize what are your markers, and will not destroy any cell with them. A cell without those markers is open for destruction.

Blood types are one type of protein that exist on the surface of red blood cells. They are fairly conserved across the human population, with only two variations of the protein -- type A and type B. An absence of either is called 'O', and to have both is called 'AB'.

An additional surface marker is called the rhesus factor, so called because it was discovered in the rhesus monkey. To have a rhesus factor you are '+', to not is '-'.

There are other markers, which when you give blood are recorded prior to use. But these three types are the main ones we use, as they are quite prominant in immunological responses.

Athon
 
This does not have so much to doo with the blood type - personality issue, but I have seen advertised a book called "The blood type diet". I once briefly browsed through the book in a bookshop and it seemed like bull***t to me. It prescribed different types of food for different bloodtypes and included foods you definitely should avoid. I got angry at that point as I hate it when someone freely prescribes things like that. I like my free choice.
 
I know the diet you are talking about Tanja and I think that he based his dietary advices on the different personalities and needs that were supposed to spring for the different blood types.

For example he describes the people of the O type as the extrovert people who are not afraid of life's challenges and they chase opportunities as our meat hunter ancestors did. BS.
 
But obviously, blood type is genetic, and so is part of your personality, so it is not entirely surprising if there exist some correlations. That does not indicate ANY kind of causation, however.

Hans
 
It is a load of hooey, in IMO.

http://japanvisitor.com/jc/blood-types.html

Blood Types: Capillaries hold key to character
Sian Thatcher


Hita, Kyushu.
In Japan, you are what you bleed. Blood type is a common way of defining temperament and personality, much like horoscopes in Western countries.

It all started in 1931 in Japan. Furukawa Takeji (1891–1940) proposed that there was a link between blood type and personality
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and then this hooey
A great deal of research went into blood psychology in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, mainly in Japan. Masahiko and Toshitaka Nomi, a father and son team, were responsible for making this a mainstream science, having researched the way in which blood type affects every area of our lives, including relationships, work and leisure.
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MRC_Hans said:
But obviously, blood type is genetic, and so is part of your personality, so it is not entirely surprising if there exist some correlations. That does not indicate ANY kind of causation, however.
Hans
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"genetic, and so"???
 
athon said:


To put it short and sharp, every cell in your body has carbohydrate/protein molecules on their outer membranes called 'markers'. There are a number of markers, and can vary incredibly between individuals. Your white blood cells are trained very early in life to recognize what are your markers, and will not destroy any cell with them. A cell without those markers is open for destruction.

Blood types are one type of protein that exist on the surface of red blood cells. They are fairly conserved across the human population, with only two variations of the protein -- type A and type B. An absence of either is called 'O', and to have both is called 'AB'.

An additional surface marker is called the rhesus factor, so called because it was discovered in the rhesus monkey. To have a rhesus factor you are '+', to not is '-'.

There are other markers, which when you give blood are recorded prior to use. But these three types are the main ones we use, as they are quite prominant in immunological responses.

Athon
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Ah, thank you. I got dragged away to help my parents move furnitiure today and didn't get a chance to google yet. :D

It's one thing to say "Blood type describes personality? ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊!" and another to say "Blood type describes personality? It's a type of protien on the surface of red blood cells! ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊!" ;)
 
blooftype and personality

Hallo :)

The problem with this research is that scientist and researchers have to determine (or decide) what an outgoing extroverted personality looks like (or is).

How we determine or decide this varies culturally I think.

Let me give a personal example.

I'm not much of an outgoing personality (when related to DK), yet I have blood type 0.

If I were transported from Denmark, Europe, to Japan, I would (maybe) bee seen (or percieved) by the Japanese men (and women) as outgoing for their culture. [Since Japanese men are mostly expected to be timid and emotionally restrained not sharing their private moments and thoughts with other people than their immediate family]

If I then were transported to the US, I would perhaps be perceived as an introverted (or a private) person.
[Since most USA men (at least the one I have observed) mostly talk loudly about their feelings (say what they mean, they are always honest etc. etc. and are very traditionally masculine (or expected to be); they also, the USA men share their thoughts etc. with complete strangers, they can telle you their life stories in a jiffy when (and if you meet them). Danish (and Japanese men) do not do this]. [I'm not saying that one way is better than the other, just simply that there are cultural differebces in what people expect or will see/perceive as introverted and extroverted
behaviour in regards to what type of personality people have].

Our personality is basically who we are, it is built through interactions with other people in our childhood, our youth, and continues to develop even when we are adults. (as I see it).

And we all start out basically the same, we have the same brain etc. etc. --- the only things that could (marginally) affects ud is i.g.
if we had a father or mother who had a genetically (or inherited) disease such as i.e. certains forms of cancer etc. or we could be genetically prone to diabetes or alcoholism etc.

This could change our personality slightly if (and when) we knew this, but that one blod type should determine one's personality.

I do not think so !

However, as I am always open minded I will await further research into this area, waiting for the scientists and researchers to come up with a clear objetive standards of defining what introverted and extroverted personalities means in any and cultures. I doubt that thet can though :wonder:

aries
 
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