Can Personality Change?

When we talk about 'personality', we are referring to a specific set of organized and enduring psychological traits, which influence one’s perceptions, interactions, and adaptations, to both the physical and nonphysical world. Traits – defined as dispositions which demonstrate stability across various situations and times – describe the general tendencies of people. In 1985, researchers concluded that personality can change in adulthood, although not in an overpowering or complete manner – personality holds a degree of flexibility allowing adaptations to new life situations, social roles, and cultural expectations. Personality change has two requirements: changes must be reflected internally, and changes must be relatively long-lasting over time.

It is a common belief that changes in personality are limited to childhood and adolescence, with individuals ceasing to undergo personality development once they reach adulthood. In a recent study, it was shown that the level of consistency in personality of children and adolescence is higher than normally thought. So, if people don’t change very much during those times, one might ask, when can the greatest changes be observed? Young adulthood, when people transition from their family of origin to their family of destination, and from their education to their career, is believed to be when the greatest personality changes occur.

In a 20-year longitudinal analysis, researchers wanted to assess what type of correlations exist between a person’s environment and changes in their personality. Women were assessed on measures of femininity, masculinity, work status, occupational prestige, marital status and marital satisfaction. It was found that normative increases with age are found in both feminine- and masculine-related traits, and that these changes were related to social roles. In general, women displayed more warmth with age, and women working full time developed more masculine traits over time.

Changes in personality take place well into adulthood. In fact, some of the greatest changes in personality seem to occur in early adulthood, when people are transitioning from one era of their life to the next. Going from school to establishing a career, requires that people change in ways to accommodate their new roles. It is the social pressure of these new roles which leads to the changes in personality that are seen. For example, women who are in the working world, and gaining status, will likely develop more masculine-type traits, over time, than women who work in the home, raising children.

General trends of personality change throughout adulthood include the following: extraversion and neuroticism remain relatively stable from age 20-60, decreasing after that; agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness seem to increase a little bit each year from age 20 onwards, with openness decreasing after age 60. This data represents normative change in personality, which is the tendency for people to change as a group over time.

Let us consider for a minute, why personality might not change more than it does. This is taken from the Biological Perspective of personality, which says that all traits are heritable to some extent. Psychological traits are linked to physiology, genetics and evolution. For example, men with higher testosterone levels tend to be more aggressive, thus one may assume that social pressures will have less of an impact on changing this trait. As we are, to various extents, genetically predisposed to exhibit certain personality traits, it makes sense, that the changes that do occur will be relatively small.

It is encouraging to know that you can change. It encourages the use of therapy for people with problems that they may like to fix, such as becoming less neurotic or more considerate, for example. It is also interesting to look at in the broader scope of society, and consider that social pressures and other external factors will influence people’s personality.

References:
De Fruyt, F., Bartels, M., Van Leeuwen, K.G., De Clercq, B., Decuyper, M., Mervielde, I. (2006). Five Types of Personality Continuity in Childhood and Adolescence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(3), 538-552.
Kasen, S., Chen, H., Sneed, J., Crawford, T., Cohen, P. (2006). Social Role and Birth Cohort Influences on Gender-Linked Personality Traits in Women: A 20-Year Longitudinal Analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(5), 944-958.
Larsen, R.J., Buss, D.M. (2005). Personality Psychology: Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Roberts, B.W., Walton, K.E., Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of Mean-Level Change in Personality Traits Across the Life Course: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 1-25.
Stevens, D.P., Truss, C.V. (1985). Stability and Change in Adult Personality Over 12 and 20 Years. Developmental Psychology, 21(3), 568-584.
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Watson, D., Humrichouse, J. (2006). Personality Development in Emerging Adulthood: Integrating Evidence From Self-Ratings and Spouse Ratings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(5), 959-974.