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Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

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Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#111

Post by spyckie2 »

rwnspace wrote: post #88
spyckie2 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my personal observation a lot of discourse over personality stems from the fact that there are two differing ideas that both use the same word - personality - to define themselves. One idea defines personality as an innate wiring of your cognitive processes given to you based on your genetics. The other defines personality as the sum of all factors leading up to your current personality state (including your innat…

What is personality except a set of cognitive biases? The narratives we use to inform our perceptions, influence the priority of memories/associations, and inspire future decisions are as much our own making as they aren't. If there is friction between views of personality because one group prefers to look at innateness and another looks at influences - and intelligence doesn't seem to determine which group you're in…

I wanted to mention that these two views were actually just the philisophies of differencent personality tendencies but felt that it was a side point.

Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#112

Post by jcadam »

notduncansmith wrote: post #97
jcadam wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I interviewed at a place (looking for Scala devs) that had me take a MBTI test after several rounds of (I believe) successful interviews and a take-home coding assignment. I tested INTJ, as usual. I never heard from them again. Given what I could glean about the culture of the place, I presume the 'Introverted' part of my personality was the issue. Though, you would think a company full of extroverts wouldn't have a…

They may have had too many inteoverts already and needed to balance things out (though personally it’s hard to imagine giving a test like that any weight compared to actual interactions with a person).

Whenever I try to fake it and act like an extrovert, I'm pretty sure it comes off fake, weird, and quite possibly creepy in an "uncanny valley" sort of way (i.e., "He's acting like a human being, but something's off").

Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#113

Post by ap3 »

michrassena wrote: post #107
phkahler wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Isn't an introvert saying they wish they were an extrovert (for example) really just shorthand for wanting it to be easy to interact and socialize, as they imagine it is for extroverts. Introversion vs extroversion isn't really defined (as I understand it) by your social skills or even your desire to be around people. It's based on where one derives their mental energy. Introverts can socialize but it is mentally…

Perhaps the reason extroverts find interacting with people exhilarating is because it's not much work for them. Or perhaps because their perception of what is at stake in an interaction to be less than what introverts perceive. Better dancers step on fewer toes, as it were. And while I'm sure there are terrible dancers with a thousand hours on the dance floor, they must be a rarity. Practice won't turn the introvert…

>A couch potato will suffer through every mile of a run, until they give up.

Couch potatoes can train until they stop being couch potatoes and become runners

Similarly with introversion, you learn more skills and become less afraid of the interactions

Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#114

Post by ap3 »

jcadam wrote: post #112
notduncansmith wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They may have had too many inteoverts already and needed to balance things out (though personally it’s hard to imagine giving a test like that any weight compared to actual interactions with a person).

Whenever I try to fake it and act like an extrovert, I'm pretty sure it comes off fake, weird, and quite possibly creepy in an "uncanny valley" sort of way (i.e., "He's acting like a human being, but something's off" ).

Most probably no one can tell or even care

Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#115

Post by mercer »

aalleavitch wrote: post #69
twobyfour wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they changing their personality or are they changing their behaviors ? I would think of the personality as the predisposition to certain behaviors. You can change your behaviors to differ from those you're predisposed to; but it takes more conscious effort to maintain those behaviors than it does to maintain the ones you are predisposed to. And changing those behaviors doesn't count as changing your personality,…

If you condition yourself to more regularly exhibit a certain behavior, how is that different from changing your predisposition towards that behavior? Certainly, new habits can be formed and over time people come to exhibit new behaviors reflexively if they've made a habit out of them. Some habits may be harder to form than others, and one's environment will always have a major impact on which habits they're able to…

A personal example of what could describe the difference: Since I was a kid I had a tendency to isolate myself and gravitate towards activities that were compatible (computer stuff, books, etc.) I spent much of my twenties 'practicing' extraversion and felt like I made a lot of progress.

In more recent years, for various reasons, I stopped 'practicing' and it's been kind of shocking how quickly I've reverted to the original 'baseline' hermit-like life.

While of course I hesitate to draw firm conclusions about my 'nature', it does seem as if a good 10-15 years of effort have not made being more extraverted any more natural, just easier and tolerable.

Contrast that with my extravert friends who can barely manage to spend one day alone, and have been this for most of their lives. I'm sure they could learn to tolerate solitude, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have a similar tendency to 'revert' to their extravert selves if they don't put in continuous effort.

Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#116

Post by peoplewindow »

notduncansmith wrote: post #97
jcadam wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I interviewed at a place (looking for Scala devs) that had me take a MBTI test after several rounds of (I believe) successful interviews and a take-home coding assignment. I tested INTJ, as usual. I never heard from them again. Given what I could glean about the culture of the place, I presume the 'Introverted' part of my personality was the issue. Though, you would think a company full of extroverts wouldn't have a…

They may have had too many inteoverts already and needed to balance things out (though personally it’s hard to imagine giving a test like that any weight compared to actual interactions with a person).

What kind of programming shop tries to balance introverts vs extroverts and why? I've never heard of this before.

Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#117

Post by peoplewindow »

twobyfour wrote: post #60
volgo wrote: post #2

Read through the paper. It doesn't reveal anything really surprising, but it's a start. Conclusion was: - Most people want to change their personality - People with personalities that are considered "negative" by society (ex: introversion) wanted to become more extroverted - People that wanted to change their personality, did change their personality slightly, and self reported daily behaviors that worked toward the…

Are they changing their personality or are they changing their behaviors ? I would think of the personality as the predisposition to certain behaviors. You can change your behaviors to differ from those you're predisposed to; but it takes more conscious effort to maintain those behaviors than it does to maintain the ones you are predisposed to. And changing those behaviors doesn't count as changing your personality,…

How can you separate them? From the perspective of an external observer, personality is a set of behavioural traits. Other than self-reported inner insight (which may not be true) there's no other way to establish what someone's personality is or even define it.

I've changed my personality in the past, always for the better (I think). At school I was shy, couldn't talk to women, found it intimidating to socialise in new groups of people, wasn't entertaining, lacked confidence. All the usual stuff. I didn't like any of these traits and set about changing them. I had a bit of help along the way, but it was mostly my own doing.

These days I am confident, can easily entertain women with amusing conversation, do public speaking regularly, can mix in large groups of strangers without problems etc. It's a big change. Once or twice friends who have known me continuously since high school remark on it.

One issue I'm currently pondering is that of personality disorders. To what extent is such a "disorder" something the individual can fix with sufficient self reflection and willpower? My own experience tells me personality is quite plastic. So perhaps I find myself lacking in sympathy for such people. They can and should heal themselves.

Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#118

Post by JoeAltmaier »

cik2e wrote: post #110

Just to clarify a common misconception introversion != shyness. It's a matrix of shy/not shy and extravert/introvert. Introverts prefer to spend more time solo, but certainly don't have to be shy. Not shy introverts tend to be the power players in society. And there is such a thing as a shy extravert. You all probably know one or can remember them from your earlier years. The wallflowers who go to every social gather…

I'd go further - exhibited personality is essentially acting. You can get better at playing parts. There is probably a baseline of the 'real you' that happens when you're not 'on', and we can assert that the real you never changes.

But functionally, almost everybody can learn to exhibit personality traits that benefit them personally and 'commercially'. You can be on for the interview, the meeting, the one-on-one. And you can conserve your energy when working at your desk or at home.

Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#119

Post by Wh1zz »

Spearchucker wrote: post #70
kristofferR wrote: post #56

This super-inspiring video from Simple Programmer (awesome self improvement aimed at programmers) is really relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOym9N6SZR4 People can clearly change their personality, it's just so difficult that most people don't try or give up when they fail.

That guy, how he dresses, the wristbands, the pictures on the wall, steam-punk lamp... Most contrived thing I've seen in a VERY long time. Which is a pity in that I needed to forcibly focus myself on what he was saying, in spite of my bias. Because maybe he might have had something useful to say.

I understand the feeling, i had the same thoughts first time I've seen the guy on video, i think he just comes across as a sort of salesman-type which can give a wrong first impression on his actual experience and knowledge.

Re: Can People Choose to Change Their Personality Traits? (2015) [pdf]

#120

Post by rwnspace »

spyckie2 wrote: post #111
rwnspace wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is personality except a set of cognitive biases? The narratives we use to inform our perceptions, influence the priority of memories/associations, and inspire future decisions are as much our own making as they aren't. If there is friction between views of personality because one group prefers to look at innateness and another looks at influences - and intelligence doesn't seem to determine which group you're in…

I wanted to mention that these two views were actually just the philisophies of differencent personality tendencies but felt that it was a side point.

Pardon me, I understood you correctly, and that it's a side-point -- I just went off on my own tangent...
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