Dominantly espoused by women, this attribute represents the end point of giving up on striving for more. It’s at the heart of saying “I have enough”. Unsurprisingly, espousal is well over-indexed amongst the over 65s. In fact, it’s almost certain that everyone has, at some time, heard an elderly relative say “As long as I am comfortable and contented, I really don’t want too much more from life”.

What is it that makes for comfort and contentment?

First and foremost, it’s about avoiding too much self-reflection. This does not stem from deep self-knowledge – quite the reverse; instead there is an underlying desire NOT to dig too deeply. There’s nothing but trouble down the route of self-reflection. It only leads to complications, complexity and inevitable unhappiness.

Complacent espousers will tell you “I am who I am – that’s it – take it or leave it”. This is not a statement of rebellion against “the establishment”. To the contrary, these people are very concerned always to behave properly – to avoid doing anything that might be considered wrong.

They do not like complexity. It makes them feel uncertain and unsafe. Safety and security are also key contributors to comfort and contentment. So these people like to feel they live in secure surroundings and they like to feel that the nation’s forces, military and civilian, are taking care of threats inside and outside the country.

With those things in place – protection from threats and complexity – comfort and contentment can follow and they can relax into complacency. Were it not for the heavy female element, one might almost think of it as “pipe and slippers”.

That cosy position is something they would like everyone to share, so they feel that people should learn not to keep asking for more than what they already have. Be satisfied with what you’ve got, behave properly, “keep your nose clean” and you too can feel the warmth and fuzziness.

They react quite strongly to emotional situations – especially when they affect friends and family. They can be driven to tears when they see unhappiness in their nearest and dearest. It jolts them out of their deep comfort zone.