Dear Eljincko,
"Can Personality Change?
Sigmund Freud proposed that the personality is basically fixed by the
age of 5. This infuriated people in Western cultures, because it
contradicted the possibility for change and improvement that is part
of our mythology. Research in temperament suggests that these early
tendencies do play a pervasive and influential role in adulthood. A
meta-analysis of 150 studies on personality change indicated that
there is a possibility for change in childhood, but personality
becomes very stable by middle age. Part of the debate concerns the
definition of personality. Our basic tendencies, which are highly
determined by biological processes, tend to be very stable. Our
characteristic adaptations may vary in novel situations, but it is
argued that our core dispositions do not change. Still, we maintain
the possibility of a quantum change or personality transformation, but
this results only from an extreme negative affect (hitting rock
bottom) and/or a trigger event. A final finding that certain
personality traits are strongly related to neurochemistry (e.g.,
hostility and serotonin) and can be manipulated leads to a host of
ethical questions. If thousands of years of human evolution have led
us to vary on the trait of sociability, should we take a pill that
instantly would make us more sociable? Is it adaptive to make everyone
more cooperative and less hostile?"
(SOURCE: WW Norton, Psychological Science,
<http://www.wwnorton.com/psychsci/ch15_overview.htm>).
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. Search terms:
Freud "personality change" |
