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Theory of Deadly Initials

 

 
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The Theory of Deadly Initials was an hypothesis published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research in 1999, which proposed that there is a link between the lifespan of human males and their initials. The research, carried out by psychologist
Psychologist

"Psychologist" is an academic, occupational or professional title describing individuals who are either: * social scientists conducting research and/or teaching psychology in a college or university;...
s Nicholas Christenfeld
Nicholas Christenfeld

Nicholas Christenfeld is a professor of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego. He first joined the department in 1991 and has been a full professor since 2003....
, David Phillips and Laura Glynn, and published in the paper "What's in a Name: Mortality and the Power of Symbols", suggested that men with "negative" sets of initials (e.g.






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The Theory of Deadly Initials was an hypothesis published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research in 1999, which proposed that there is a link between the lifespan of human males and their initials. The research, carried out by psychologist
Psychologist

"Psychologist" is an academic, occupational or professional title describing individuals who are either: * social scientists conducting research and/or teaching psychology in a college or university;...
s Nicholas Christenfeld
Nicholas Christenfeld

Nicholas Christenfeld is a professor of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego. He first joined the department in 1991 and has been a full professor since 2003....
, David Phillips and Laura Glynn, and published in the paper "What's in a Name: Mortality and the Power of Symbols", suggested that men with "negative" sets of initials (e.g. DIE or PIG) have, on average, a shorter lifespan than those with "positive" initials (e.g. ACE, VIP).

The average increase in life expectancy for a set of positive initials was claimed to be 4.48 years, while the average decrease in life expectancy for negative initials was claimed as 2.8 years. This is attributed to stress from teasing and lower self-worth in individuals with "deadly" initials.

In 2005, the hypothesis was investigated by Gary Smith, an economics professor at Pomona College
Pomona College

Pomona College is a private university residential college Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Claremont, California. It has ranked in the top ten of liberal arts colleges nationally according to the U.S....
 in Claremont
Claremont, California

Claremont is a college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, California, United States, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, California at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, and Stilian Morrison, a student there. They were unable to find any pattern in the samples they studied.

The original research was conducted by comparing the age of people who died within a given year, while the second investigation compared the lifespans of people who were born in a given year.

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  • in which the theory is refuted: "The Christenfeld study compared the ages of all the people who died in a particular year. But, say Smith and Morrison, if - instead - you look at the lifespans of all the people who were born in a particular year, the pattern doesn't show up. Also, they say, if you use a more complete list of "good" and "bad" words, the effect doesn't appear."