You might have heard someone say that a song changed their life. And maybe you used to hate tomatoes, but now you like it. No one doubts that we change as we grow older. But do we change in major ways? Can we really change who we are? People used to believe we stay pretty much the same throughout our lives, but researchers are increasingly finding that we can and do change in big ways.
Psychologists have identified five dimensions that help us understand someone's personality, which are called the "Big Five." They are: 1. Openness: How open are you to trying new things? 2. Conscientiousness (尽责性): How responsible are you? 3. Extroversion (外向):How friendly, outgoing, and enthusiastic are you? 4. Agreeableness: How caring, trusting, and generous are you? 5. Emotional stability: How calm are you, especially when problems arise? Everyone has different levels of the big five dimensions. For example, Harry Potter has high levels of openness to experience, while Hermione Granger would score high in conscientiousness.
Scientists used to think that each person's "Big Five" stayed the same their whole life, but newer research suggests that the dimensions do change. People who took a personality test as teen-agers scored very differently when they took the same test 50 years later. Three dimensions usually changed more than the others, which are emotional stability, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. In fact, most adults were more emotionally stable, more conscientious, and more agreeable than when they were younger. Researchers considered this a sign that we mature over time, perhaps learning to get along better with others.
Even though people change over time, the relationship between dimensions often remains similar. For example, someone who was very open to new experiences but who was not agreeable as a teenager was likely still more open to new things than agreeable as an adult. Scores changed, and sometimes changed a lot, but they didn't change randomly.
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