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Who in the World is Trying to Change Their Personality Traits? Volitional Personality Change Among College Students in 56 Countries

Baranski, E.; Sweeny, K.; Gardiner, G.; Project, Members of International Situations; Funder, D.C.

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Authors

E. Baranski

K. Sweeny

G. Gardiner

Members of International Situations Project

D.C. Funder



Contributors

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.

Citation

Baranski, E., Sweeny, K., Gardiner, G., Project, M. O. I. S., & Funder, D. (2021). 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), 1140-1156. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000389

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 6, 2021
Publication Date 2021
Deposit Date May 10, 2021
Publicly Available Date May 11, 2021
Journal Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Print ISSN 0022-3514
Electronic ISSN 1939-1315
Publisher American Psychological Association
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 121
Issue 5
Pages 1140-1156
DOI https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000389
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1242893

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Copyright Statement
© 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. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000389





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