How Would You Generally Change Human Personality and Why - Essay Example

How Would You Generally Change Human Personality and Why How Would You Generally Change Human Personality and Why Introduction Personality defines the individual differences and unique way in which people tend to feel, think and behave. It is personality that makes people who they are by influencing all aspects of their lives ranging from how they interact with their families to what they do for a living and even choice of romantic partners and friends. Therefore, according to psychologists, personality is the organized but dynamic set of characteristics that an individual has and it influences their behavioral science, environment, motivations, cognitions and emotions uniquely (John, Robins & Pervin, 2010). Personality is typically in reference to the pattern of behaviors, social adjustments, feelings and thoughts that people exhibit consistently over time and significantly influence their attitudes, expectations, values and self-perceptions. Viewed from the long-term perspective, most of the key aspects of personality will remain stable throughout an individual’s life. Belief systems shape and organize individuals’ strivings and goals and, more importantly, their construal and reaction to the environment, essentially creating consistent action and experience patterns which in turn develop personality (Funder, 2010). However, some aspects such as excitement for novel experiences, levels of anxiety and how self-perception tend to change and can actually be changed at certain stages of life. From this understanding, this paper will explain how and why human personality can be changed. Modern research generally agrees on five wide dimensions that make up human personality and they include openness, extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness (John, Robins & Pervin, 2010). Without disputing research findings that suggest personality is encoded in one’s genes, it can also be shown that personality is dynamic and flexible and may change over an individual’s life span (Martin, Oades & Caputi, 2012). Most importantly, it must be acknowledged that such change is shaped and influenced by the experiences one goes through. Among the key factors that influence changes in personality is time (or age) and personal awareness. Out of these influencing factors, the reasons for change may be drawn and they include the need for individuals to admit that in their present selves, they hurt themselves and those who are part of their lives. For example, persons with fixed ideas regarding their personalities do not take significant initiatives to resolve conflicts and will often ignore the conflict (Jeronimus, Ormel & Riese, 2013). On the contrary, when they are taught and made aware that features of character and abilities can facilitate and develop change, they in turn develop more resilience to setbacks. Another key reason for personality change is the acknowledgement that every type of personality has its weaknesses and strengths. Hence, it is unavoidable that at a certain point in a person’s life, a different personality will be needed so that they may be, for example, more in resonance with their senses, resistant to criticism and more organized. The dynamic environment in which people leave will make it necessary to change personality accordingly and actually shape the change. Agreeably, while only certain aspects of a person’s basic personality may be changed, it is critical that undesirable personality traits be changed for the common good of the society (Martin, Oades & Caputi, 2012). According to studies conducted by Soto, John and Potter (2011), self-aware persons remember times when they had one set of beliefs at a point in their lives but later had completely different beliefs. For example, others even said and believed one thing at the beginning of a day and said and believed the exact opposite by the end of the same day (Soto, John & Potter 2011). This is a manifestation that the five dimensions of personality that most modern researchers agree upon may in fact disagree with each other and individuals will not even be aware of the disagreement. Ideally, when an individual changes their mind about a certain perception, they change minor beliefs in parts of their personality. In a wider perspective, when an individual changes their whole personality, they change major beliefs in at least four of the five dimensions of personality (Soto, John & Potter 2011). Therefore, the power of beliefs to mold action and experience is a key component in defining personality. Although it is acknowledged that it will require considerable efforts to change personality, various recommendations can be given from the perspective of understanding that personality is made up by a collection of patterns and patterns can actually change (Funder, 2010). A suggested method of changing personality is founded on commitment and may be broken down into five steps. A simple framework would include setting up the groundwork that includes writing down the plan, telling someone about the plan and drawing a reward system. The second step entails changing the pattern of a person’s thinking that include stopping self-labeling, thinking in wider rather than fixed terms and getting rid of negative thoughts and attitudes. Third, an individual needs to change the pattern of feeling by assuming a different identity but also setting aside specific times to be their real selves even if it means allowing oneself to get into depression. The fourth step would involve a change in the pattern of behavior and allowing oneself to get into drastically new environments and keeping a record of their thoughts and self-awareness. Finally, and individual who has embarked on changing their personality will need to settle in and not only reflect on their new personality but also pick up new habits (Funder, 2010). When an individual writes down their plan of changing their personality, they essentially create a two-fold action that looks at changing as well as what the change is expected to achieve. Since these two must exists together, the individual will need to know that they are embarking on a battle that they need to clearly understand first before beginning (Jeronimus, Ormel & Riese, 2013). Therefore, it is imperative for the individual to define what their anticipated new character will impact on their development as a human. For example, if the person wishes to be like another person they admire, it is critical that they distinguish that aspect they admire and work towards emulating it (John, Robins & Pervin, 2010). This means that rather than just admiring a person and want to be like them, it is imperative that they single out what they admire in them and, more importantly, find out how that attribute contributes towards their well-being. Then, commitment would be enhanced when the person who wants to change their personality tells another about it. Essentially, this would ensure that the person who wants change is giving another person the power to hold them accountable by providing them with extrinsic motivation they otherwise would not have (John, Robins & Pervin, 2010). When an individual stops labeling themselves negatively, the world will open up opportunities to them. For example, when a person constantly thinks of themselves as shy, they will not make efforts to approach others even in times of need (Soto, John & Potter 2011). On the other hand, if they view themselves as bold and courageous, they would be able to seek help even in embarrassing situations. It is advisable that one does not fell frustrated at times when the change they are pursuing is not being realized quick enough or in the right way. When they feel that they are unable to change their personality because the people in their lives, it recommended that they attempt the changes in small ways. This may be done by cutting down on habits they do not like and gradually introducing new ones. More importantly, rather than viewing the need to change personality as a self-esteem problem, they should associate it with the need to become more comfortable with themselves (Martin, Oades & Caputi, 2012). It is important to embark on the change of personality by acknowledging that no one needs to change who they are just to please others. Rather, the change in personality is aimed and improving the wellbeing of oneself which will in turn make others accept them. Conclusion It has been shown that personality, which can be changed, is the organized but dynamic set of characteristics that an individual has and it influences their behavioral science, environment, motivations, cognitions and emotions uniquely. Belief systems will shape and organize an individual’s strivings and goals and their construal and reaction to the environment. Essentially, this will create consistent action and experience patterns which in turn develop their personality. According to research, openness, extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness have been shown to be the five dimensions of personality. The key reasons for change include the need for individuals to admit that their present selves may hurt themselves and those who are part of their lives. Another reason is the acknowledgement that every type of personality has its weaknesses and strengths and changes must be made to enhance the strong ones and improve the weak ones to be in resonance with their senses. A suggestion to change personality would include setting up the groundwork, changing the pattern of a person’s thinking, changing the pattern of feeling, changing the pattern of behavior. It is also imperative to avoid getting frustrated simply because the change is not happening at the desired pace or in the desired way. References Funder, D. (2010). The personality puzzle. New York: Norton. Jeronimus, B., Ormel, J., & Riese, H. (2013). Negative and positive life events are associated with small but lasting change in neuroticism. Psychological Medicine, 43(11), 2403-2415. John, O., Robins, R., & Pervin, L. (2010). Handbook of personality. London: Guilford. Martin, L., Oades, L., & Caputi, P. (2012). What is personality change coaching and why is it important? International Coaching Psychology Review, 7 (2), 185-193. Soto, C., John, O., & Potter, J. (2011). Age differences in personality traits from 10 to 65: Big five domains and facets in a large cross-sectional sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(2), 330-348. Read More