Can Personality Traits Change, and How? A Review of Personality Development Literature

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-32
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Chia-Huei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Life Domain ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Integrative Review ◽  
Development Literature ◽  
Empirical Foundation ◽  
Types Of Change

This chapter introduces the change perspective of personality, through an integrative review of research evidence in supportive of this perspective. It presents what has been found, primarily in the personality and social psychology disciplines, as to personality change during adulthood. It also discusses what types of change is usually observed, as well as several theories and frameworks that offer insight on why personality change would occur. In general, this chapter offers a theoretical and empirical foundation about personality change in the general life domain, before progressing to the chapters focusing specifically on personality change at work.

Work and Personality Change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Chia-Huei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Conceptual Development ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Life Domain ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Active Approach ◽  
Vocational Experiences

This book provides an advanced and contemporary understanding about personality at work, with a particular focus on the change perspective of personality. Thus far, the majority of research focusing on personality at work takes a more static perspective, assuming that personality is fixed and stable. However, an increasingly prominent research line over recent years have started to indicate that personality is not fixed, and that personality can be changed by work and vocational experiences, such as employment status, career roles, and job characteristics, and deliberate training and interventions. This perspective is in line with various studies on personality in the general life domain, which reinforces the changing nature of personality. This book extends from this line of research, with a particular focus on personality change in the work context. By reviewing latest research evidence in this area and also drawing on research in the broader personality and social psychology domain, this book provides a conceptual development on how personality can be changed via work, by societal, organisational, and job-related factors, as well as how individuals can take an active approach in changing their personality at work.

scholarly journals Memory and Personality Development in Adulthood: Evidence From Four Longitudinal Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-97
Author(s):  
Yannick Stephan ◽  
Angelina R Sutin ◽  
Martina Luchetti ◽  
Antonio Terracciano
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Delayed Recall ◽  
Lower Baseline ◽  
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study

Abstract Objectives Personality traits have been related to concurrent memory performance. Most studies, however, have focused on personality as a predictor of memory; comparatively less is known about whether memory is related to personality development across adulthood. Using 4 samples, the present study tests whether memory level and change are related to personality change in adulthood. Method Participants were drawn from 2 waves of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study Graduates (WLSG; N = 3,232, mean age = 64.28, SD = 0.65) and Wisconsin Longitudinal Study Siblings (WLSS; N = 1,570, mean age = 63.52, SD = 6.69) samples, the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS; N = 1,901, mean age = 55.43, SD = 10.98), and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 6,038, mean age = 65.47, SD = 8.28). Immediate and delayed recall and the 5 major personality traits were assessed at baseline and follow-up. Results There was heterogeneity in the associations across samples. A meta-analysis of latent change in the four samples indicated that lower baseline memory performance was related to an increase in neuroticism (B = −0.002; 95% CI = −0.004, −0.0008) and a decrease in agreeableness (B = 0.004; 95% CI = 0.002, 0.007) and conscientiousness (B = 0.005; 95% CI = 0.0008, 0.010). In addition, declines in memory were related to steeper declines in extraversion (B = 0.06; 95% CI = 0.003, 0.11), openness (B = 0.04; 95% CI = 0.007, 0.069), and conscientiousness (B = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.019, 0.09). Discussion The present study indicates that poor memory and declines in memory over time are related to maladaptive personality change. These associations, however, were small and inconsistent across samples.

scholarly journals From Desire to Development? A Multi-Sample, Idiographic Examination of Volitional Personality Change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Baranski ◽  
Patrick J. Morse ◽  
Jacob S. Gray ◽  
William Lewis Dunlop
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Actual Change

Using an idiographic-nomothetic methodology, we assessed individuals’ ability to change their personality traits without therapeutic or experimental involvement. Participants from internet and college populations completed trait measures and reported current personality change desires. Self-reported traits as well as perceptions of trait change were collected after 1-year (Internet) and 6-months (College). In large part, volitional personality change desires did not predict actual change. When desires did predict change, (a) desired increases in Extraversion, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness corresponded with decreases in corresponding traits, (b) participants perceived more change than actually occurred, and (c) decreases in Emotional Stability predicted perceptions of personality change. Results illustrate the difficulty in purposefully changing one’s traits when left to one’s own devices.Keywords: Volitional personality change; Idiographic-nomothetic; Personality development

scholarly journals Preprint Perceived Characteristics of Life Events - Short-Term Changes in Prosociality and Empathy?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Fassbender ◽  
Peter Haehner ◽  
Susanne Buecker ◽  
Maike Luhmann
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
External Control ◽  
Status Change ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Individual

Post-traumatic growth can be understood as positive change in desirable personality traits after adverse life events. However, recent research questioned whether adversity is a relevant, necessary, and sufficient condition for change in desirable personality traits. Using five-wave longitudinal data, this study explored changes in the desirable personality traits prosociality and empathy before and after life events. We included all life events participants had experienced between the second and third assessment, that is, adverse, ambiguous, and positive events. Participants rated their life events on the Event Characteristics Questionnaire which assesses the individual perception of life events on nine continuous dimensions: challenge, emotional significance, extraordinariness, external control, impact, valence, social status change, predictability and change in world views. We used multilevel growth curve models to explore changes in prosociality and empathy as a function of these event characteristics. Prosociality and empathy remained stable in the assessment period of six to nine months after the reported life event, independently of whether the event had been perceived as adverse or not. We discuss our findings with respect to the inclusion of positive and ambiguous events as predictors of personality change and with respect to its theoretical implications for post-traumatic growth and personality development more broadly.

scholarly journals Leisure Activities as a Driver of Personality Development? A Random-Intercept Cross-lagged Panel Model Across 13 Years in Adulthood

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Sander ◽  
Paul Schumann ◽  
David Richter ◽  
Jule Specht
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Random Intercept ◽  
Lagged Effects

Repeated experiences and activities drive personality development. Leisure activities are among the daily routines that may elicit personality change. Yet despite the important role they play in daily life, little is known about their prospective effects on personality traits and vice versa. The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which within-person changes in leisure activities lead to prospective changes in personality traits, and whether changes in personality elicit prospective changes in leisure activities. We applied random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) to four waves of 13-year longitudinal data (2005−2017) from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for the sample as a whole (N = 55,790) and for three specific age groups (young, middle-aged, and older adults). We examined between-person associations and within-person auto-regressive effects, correlated change and cross-lagged effects for Big Five personality traits (i.e., openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) with self-reported frequency of leisure activities (i.e., physical activities, socializing, volunteering, political activity, artistic and musical activity, going out) and overall participation in leisure activities. At the between-person level, leisure activities and overall participation were most strongly associated with openness to experience. At the within-person level, we found reciprocal effects of extraversion only with overall participation in leisure activities and socializing. We found unidirectional within-person cross-lagged effects between leisure activities and personality traits and vice versa. Some effects were age-group-specific only. These findings suggest that leisure activities that are associated with certain traits at the between-person level are not necessarily those that trigger change in the respective personality trait. We discuss our findings based on the TESSERA framework for personality development. We conclude that the specificity of an experience or behavior and its corresponding trait is essential for personality development and should be subjected to further research.

scholarly journals Personality Change Through Arts Education: A Review and Call for Further Research

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Grosz ◽  
Julia Lemp ◽  
Beatrice Rammstedt ◽  
Clemens Lechner
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Arts Education ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Current Evidence Base ◽  
The Impact

Education involving active engagement in the arts, herein called arts education, is often believed to foster the development of desirable personality traits and skills in children and adolescents. Yet, the impact of arts education on personality development has rarely been systematically investigated. In the current paper, we reviewed the literature on personality change through arts education. We identified 36 suitable experimental and quasi-experimental studies. Evidence from these studies tentatively suggest arts education programs can foster personality traits such as extraversion and conscientiousness but not self-esteem. Also, the effects of arts education appeared to be stronger in early and middle childhood than in preadolescence and early adolescence. However, the evidence for the effectiveness of arts education was very limited among the few included true experiments. Furthermore, the reviewed studies were heterogenous and subject to content-related, methodological and statistical limitations. Thus, the current evidence base is inconclusive as to the effects of arts education on personality development. By identifying potential effects of arts education and limitations of past research, our review serves as a call for more research and guidepost for future studies on arts education and personality change.

Perceived Characteristics of Life Events—Short-Term Changes in Prosociality and Empathy?

2021 ◽  
pp. 089020702110317
Author(s):  
Ina Fassbender ◽  
Peter Haehner ◽  
Susanne Buecker ◽  
Maike Luhmann
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
External Control ◽  
Status Change ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Individual

Post-traumatic growth can be understood as positive change in desirable personality traits after adverse life events. However, recent research questioned whether adversity is a relevant, necessary, and sufficient condition for change in desirable personality traits. Using five-wave longitudinal data, this study explored changes in the desirable personality traits prosociality and empathy before and after life events. We included all life events participants had experienced between the second and third assessment, that is, adverse, ambiguous, and positive events. Participants rated their life events on the Event Characteristics Questionnaire which assesses the individual perception of life events on nine continuous dimensions: challenge, emotional significance, extraordinariness, external control, impact, valence, social status change, predictability, and change in world views. We used multilevel growth curve models to explore changes in prosociality and empathy as a function of these event characteristics. Prosociality and empathy remained stable in the assessment period of 6 to 9 months after the reported life event, independently of whether the event had been perceived as adverse or not. We discuss our findings with respect to the inclusion of positive and ambiguous events as predictors of personality change and with respect to its theoretical implications for post-traumatic growth and personality development more broadly.

Personality and perceptions of major life events: Implications for personality development

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Rakhshani ◽  
Richard E. Lucas ◽  
Brent Donnellan ◽  
Ina Fassbender ◽  
Maike Luhmann
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Major Life Events ◽  
Major Life ◽  
Student Sample ◽  
Related Personality

Research about the associations between major life events and personality trait development is mixed. Work that evaluates perceptions of life events and how those perceptions are themselves associated with personality traits may help clarify the existing literature. We used a large student sample (N = 1509) to conduct exploratory analyses examining the associations among big five personality traits, different types of life events, a dimensional taxonomy of event characteristics, and beliefs about event-related personality change. Results suggested that (1) associations between personality and event perceptions are often nuanced; and (2) event perceptions were more predictive of beliefs about event-related personality change than were the big five. These findings indicate that event perceptions are not merely proxies for personality traits. This study highlights the importance of subjective event perceptions in the study of major life events and personality development.

Positive Adult Personality Development

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 320-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula M. Staudinger ◽  
Ute Kunzmann
Keyword(s):  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Developmental Tasks ◽  
Adult Personality ◽  
Heated Debate

Abstract. Does personality stay stable after young adulthood or is there continued change throughout middle and later adulthood? For decades, this question has caused heated debate. Over the last couple of years, a consensus has emerged based on recent cross-cultural as well as longitudinal evidence. This consensus confirms that indeed there is personality change in middle and later adulthood. Many authors have labeled this change personality maturation or growth. In somewhat simplified terms the observed pattern is as follows: neuroticism declines, conscientiousness and agreeableness increase. At the same time it has been argued that this pattern of personality change is the result of coping with the developmental tasks of adulthood and, thus, increased adjustment. We would like to examine this practice of equating developmental adjustment with growth and ask how to define personality growth. To answer this question, we consult theories of personality development as well as lifespan theory.

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