Many people do not realize how much their personality can change
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013 11:38 AM

If someone took a personality test when he or she was a teenager, and then again later in life, the results from both assessments may not be exactly the same. While teenagers often think they know everything there is to know about themselves, new research reveals that many adults are no different, and do not realize how much they can change over time, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science''s journal, "Science."

In a recent study, Daniel Gilbert, a psychologist at Harvard University, and fellow researchers set out to see what type of people individuals believe they will become in the future. Based on responses from more than 19,000 participants, on average, they do not see themselves changing that much in the future.

The researchers had individuals between the ages of 18 and 68 fill out questionnaires on their current personality traits, and then again, as if they were answering questions 10 years in the past and 10 years in the future. Overall, they believed that most personality changes occurred in the past, and would not be happening in the future.

"Even at 68, people think, ''Ugh, I''m not the person I was at 58, but I''m sure I''ll be this way at 78,''" said Gilbert, as quoted by Time magazine.