11 August 2010

Article: Personality set for life by 1st grade, study suggests

From livescience.com (Link)

Excerpt: "Using data from a 1960s study of approximately 2,400 ethnically diverse schoolchildren (grades 1 - 6) in Hawaii, researchers compared teacher personality ratings of the students with videotaped interviews of 144 of those individuals 40 years later."


"They examined four personality attributes - talkativeness (called verbal fluency), adaptability (cope well with new situations), impulsiveness and self-minimizing behavior (essentially being humble to the point of minimizing one's importance)."

Can people change?  I wonder why these criteria were highlighted and selected - are these the new prominent features of personality in psych circles?  Some of this information has me evaluating how I see myself.  Are there scales for each?  For example, I could see the detriment of being too self-minimizing.  I may reflect some of this.  However,  what of being 'too adaptable'?  Could there be such a thing?  For instance, one who is too adaptable might be a milquetoast or left blowing in the wind - i.e. a lack of resiliency? Some good comments in the bottom of the article:
 
"Look for a fish in the ocean and you'll probably find it."

"I don't even recognize me from highschool, let alone the 1st grade. All it takes it the slightest breeze to change a person."

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