Mark Mathieson, a leading reality TV psychologist who has worked on The Bachelor and the Australian editions of Survivor and Love Island, has just revealed the two unflattering personality traits you must have should you want to be on TV.
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A chaser of life's many pleasures
The first requirement is being hedonistic. What does that mean exactly? A hedonistic person is one that heavily enjoys relishing in life's sensual pleasures–and often does so excessively. For example, a person can be called hedonistic if they often frequent all-you-can-eat buffets and does so in spite of their declining health and wavering financial stability.
A person who thinks they are better than they actually are
The second quality that is required to make for good reality television is what is known as grandiosity. Mathieson explains that it:
basically means the capacity to think that you're slightly better at everything than everybody else. So arrogance, if you want to call it that. Egotistical. You've got to want to see yourself on TV. If you desperately didn't want to see yourself on TV, you probably wouldn't go on a reality TV show.
Mathieson, who has most recently been working on Channel Seven's SAS Australia, also reveals that the key to a good cast is to find a balance of diversity wherein there is enough divergence in personality traits so that interactions between cast mates remains interesting and ultimately entertaining:
We're not really looking for one type of personality. Quite often they want a range of personalities because people are interested in the interactions to see how that loud, aggressive, bubbly person gets on with the quiet, withdrawn shy person.
So, there you have it. Being hedonistic and egotistical are what's required to make it on a reality tv show. And in case you don't fit either of these categories: fake it til you make it!
