Study Says Your Personality Doesn't Change After 1st Grade

A study authored by Christopher Nave, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, says that our personalities stay pretty much the same from early childhood all the way through old age. From the article: "Using data from a 1960s study of approximately 2,400 ethnically diverse schoolchildren (grades 1 - 6) in Hawaii, researchers compared teacher personality ratings of the students with videotaped interviews of 144 of those individuals 40 years later. They examined four personality attributes - talkativeness (called verbal fluency), adaptability (cope well with new situations), impulsiveness and self-minimizing behavior (essentially being humble to the point of minimizing one's importance)." This must explain my overriding need to be first captain when we pick kickball teams at the office.

Comments

Re:Not true

[AnonymousClown]

Yes and no. Yes, it does not change, in fact it does not change since your first day, simply because your DNA is already setup, and ready to go. And NO, it does change, if you are willing to learn.

A couple of years ago, I bumped into an old friend that I lost touch with. Long story short, he said that I am a completely different person than the guy he met 15 years ago. I believe I am an outlier, though. I spent over a decade and almost $70,000 of my own money on personal growth.

A person can and does change when they want to.

On the other hand, I was told by a professional that I really didn't change, per se, and that the old person was really a "false self" and that I becoming the real "me".

Re:I have 100% changed.

[clifyt]

"I was an extreme introvert...I'm meeting plenty of random people all the time"

Wait? How does this disprove or prove your introversion and or change to extroversion?

People think not being around others is introversion...and it isn't. It is where do you get your energy from. An extrovert will find energy by being around people in ANY activity...not just ones that are hand chosen. An introvert generally has to be in their comfort zone before they can deal with others...they are able to gain more energy from their comfort zone that they may now expend on being around others.

I am a HUGE introvert...and I was a stage performing / touring musician for years. Being an introvert, it make aquiring people skills a little harder, but I made them...and when I did I was able to seem very outgoing under certain circumstances.

BTW -- the sports you list? Very introvert friendly...they are all about being able to focus on you internally, and less about the external.

That said, personality generally is set early on...but people can make a concerted effort (or even a situational one) and change with time. If you were in one of my grad courses, my profs would have used you as an example of not knowing what introversion and extroversion are...then again, unless you are in the field, I wouldn't expect someone to require in depth knowledge (and yeah, the standard def is pretty accurate for 90% of what people use it for).

Re:Just had my 20th High School Reunion

[bhartman34]

And for the vast majority of those people, all you ever had in common with them was that you were forced to occupy the same physical structure for 7 hours every day.

The fact that you went to the same high school often (although maybe not always) indicates that you share at least a socioeconomic background and a cultural background (e.g., middle class kids go to public school, rich kids go to private school). The fact that you were in the same building also probably meant that you lived in the same neighborhood, knew the same people, etc. But after high school, most of those ties are at least at risk.

Re:Not true

[ppanon]

More to the point, there's evidence that subsequent births affects the womb and hormonal mix in ways that affect child development and personality in at least one significant way. So it wouldn't be surprising if it had other developmental effects.