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Who in the world is trying to change their personality traits? : volitional personality change among college students in 56 countries
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Baranski, E., Sweeny, K., Gardiner, G. and Funder, D. C. (2022) Who in the world is trying to change their personality traits? : volitional personality change among college students in 56 countries. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121 (5). pp. 1140-1156. doi:10.1037/pspp0000389
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000389
Abstract
Recent research conducted largely in the US suggests that most people would like to change one or more of their personality traits. Yet almost no research has investigated the degree to which and in what ways volitional personality change (VPC), or individuals’ active efforts towards personality change, might be common around the world. Through a custom-built website, 13,278 college student participants from 56 countries using 42 different languages reported whether they were currently trying to change their personality and, if so, what they were trying to change. Around the world, 60.40% of participants reported that they are currently trying to change their personalities, with the highest percentage in Thailand (81.91%) and the lowest in Kenya (21.41%). Among those who provide open-ended responses to the aspect of personality they are trying to change, the most common goals were to increase emotional stability (29.73%), conscientiousness (19.71%), extraversion (15.94%), and agreeableness (13.53%). In line with previous research, students who are trying to change any personality trait tend to have relatively low levels of emotional stability and happiness. Moreover, those with relatively low levels of socially desirable traits reported attempting to increase what they lacked. These principal findings were generalizable around the world.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | |||||||||||||||
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| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology | |||||||||||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | |||||||||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Personality, Personality change , Adaptability (Psychology) in youth , Personality development | |||||||||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | |||||||||||||||
| Publisher: | American Psychological Association | |||||||||||||||
| ISSN: | 0022-3514 | |||||||||||||||
| Official Date: | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 121 | |||||||||||||||
| Number: | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 1140-1156 | |||||||||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1037/pspp0000389 | |||||||||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | |||||||||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | |||||||||||||||
| Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | © American Psychological Association, 2021. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. | |||||||||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | |||||||||||||||
| RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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