Do Personality Traits Change Over Time? Can I Change My Personality?

It is not at all uncommon for people to consider how their personalities have or will change over time.  Those who are dissatisfied with some of their personality traits might wonder if they can intentionally go about changing them.  The degree to which a personality trait or type is malleable continues to be a matter of debate. In fact, some psychologists doubt existence of personality traits or types, citing how our responses may drastically differ under different circumstances.

Despite these disagreements, most people, both psychologists and lay persons, continue to believe and act as though personality traits are a reality. This leaves us with this question: If we tend to act, think, and feel in predictable ways, as personality trait theories would suggest, is it likely or possible for our personalities to be altered?  At least to some degree, the answer is yes.  The last decade or so of neuroscientific research has led to marvelous discoveries regarding the “plasticity” or adaptability of the human brain and nervous system.  Previously, it was thought that there was little room for change after young adulthood (“Can’t teach old dogs new tricks.”).  Now, we know that the brain is constantly rewiring itself in order to best adapt itself to the demands and challenges it faces most frequently.

For example, if you’ve ever learned to play a musical instrument, it is clear how the coordination and precision of your finger movements improves substantially with sustained practice. These improvements in technique are mirrored by changes in your brain, as the portions of the brain responsible for your performance increase their neuronal connections and activity over time.

In other words, if we begin thinking, feeling, and acting in novel ways—if we take on new habits—the brain will change accordingly. For those interested in personal growth and development, this is a very important finding, suggesting that we can in fact mold ourselves into the types of persons we desire to be.  If we want to be calmer, we can train ourselves to relax.  If we want to augment our vocabulary, we can learn new words, etc.

With that being said, there is also ample evidence to suggest that our personality characteristics tend to remain relatively stable across the lifespan.  Sure we might get a little grumpier or hardened in our ways, but the patterns we display at a young age often continue throughout adulthood.  This should not be interpreted as deterministic or fatalistic; after all, I just got through saying how we can institute positive changes if we are willing to work at it.  Rather, it is simply the case the most people, on average, tend to remain fairly consistent in their demeanor, temperament, and personality over the course of their lives.