Personality can be defined as the combination of characteristics, such as our th

Question

Personality can be defined as the combination of characteristics, such as our thoughts, feelings, and motivations, that form our unique character. A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways. The trait approach to personality is one of the major theoretical areas in the study of personality.

According to the trait perspective, your personality has stable characteristics of behavior. How can this theory be reliable or consistent over time if personality is believed to change?

Explanation / Answer

The largest and longest studies to carefully analyze personality throughout life reveal a core of traits that remain remarkably stable over the years and a number of other traits that can change drastically from age to age. The new studies have shown that three basic aspects of personality change little throughout life: a person's anxiety level, friendliness and eagerness for novel experiences. But other traits, such as alienation, morale and feelings of satisfaction, can vary greatly as a person goes through life. These more changeable traits largely reflect such things as how a person sees himself and his life at a given point, rather than a basic underlying temperament. Researchers are concluding that the influence of one situation or another on how a person acts may also create the impression that personality itself changes more than is the case; apparent changes in personality may actually reflect temporary circumstances. And while personality traits are relatively stable over time, they can and often do gradually change across the life span. What's more, those changes are usually for the better.Sudden, dramatic changes in personality are rare. Due to their effects on behavior and continuity over time, personality traits help shape the course of people's lives.

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