The Power of Personality Change | Shannon Sauer-Zavala, PhD | TEDxUKY

Summary

The speaker recounts their personal transformation from a lazy, shy high school student to a successful academic, challenging the notion of static personality traits. As a clinical psychologist, they advocate for the malleability of personality, suggesting that traits can evolve with intentional behavior and cognitive shifts. Drawing from cognitive behavioral therapy, they offer strategies to cultivate desired traits, illustrating this with their own journey towards conscientiousness and success.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Personal transformation is possible without a single defining moment; it can be the result of incremental changes over time.
• 🎓 The speaker transitioned from being perceived as not living up to her potential to becoming a successful academic, illustrating that one's current state does not dictate their future.
• 🤔 Popular personality tests, including those used by educational institutions and corporations, are often not scientifically valid and do not predict career success.
• 🔍 The 'Big Five' personality traits—neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness—are widely recognized in psychology as key aspects of an individual's personality.
• 🛠 Personality traits are not fixed; modern personality science supports the idea that they can evolve over time, contrary to the belief that they are static.
• 🛣 The optimal level of each personality trait depends on an individual's specific goals and values, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
• 📈 The speaker's personal journey involved a gradual increase in conscientiousness, which was initially triggered by performing well in a psychology course.
• 📚 Cognitive-behavioral strategies can be employed to intentionally develop desired personality traits, which can lead to significant changes in less than 20 weeks.
• 🤓 The process of personality change involves examining and altering patterns of thinking and behavior, and maintaining these changes over time.
• 🏆 Reinforcement, such as the feeling of pride or the removal of negative stress, plays a crucial role in sustaining new behaviors and personality traits.
• 💡 Identity, or how we see ourselves, significantly impacts our behavior, and by adopting the mindset of the traits we aspire to have, we can influence our actions accordingly.

Q & A

How did the speaker's perception of themselves change from their past to their present self?

The speaker transitioned from being seen as lazy and not living up to their full potential to becoming a successful academic and an ambitious, organized individual. This change was not attributed to a single event but rather a gradual accumulation of small behavioral changes over time.

What misconception about personality does the speaker address in their talk?

The speaker addresses the misconception that personality traits are static and unchangeable, emphasizing instead that modern personality science shows traits can and do change over time.

What is the 'Big Five' model in psychology and how does it summarize personality traits?

The 'Big Five' model is a widely accepted framework in psychology that categorizes human personality traits into five overarching dimensions: neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience.

Why do most commercially available personality tests not predict career success according to the speaker?

Most commercially available personality tests are not backed by science and do not actually predict career success because they often assume that personality traits are static, whereas personality can change and develop over time.

What is the speaker's professional background and how does it relate to the topic of personality change?

The speaker is a clinical psychologist with over 15 years of experience. Their professional background allows them to share firsthand knowledge of the power of personality change, both in their own life and in their work helping others.

How does the speaker suggest we can intentionally develop the traits needed for success in our desired lives?

The speaker suggests that by identifying the traits that would be beneficial in the life one envisions, one can use science-backed strategies to nudge their personality in that direction, such as cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.

What role do cognitive behavioral strategies play in changing personality traits according to the speaker's research?

Cognitive behavioral strategies can help individuals make intentional tweaks to their thinking and behavior, leading to meaningful changes in personality traits in a much shorter time frame than would occur naturally.

How did the speaker's own journey of personality change begin?

The speaker's journey began with small changes, such as attending an introduction to psychology course and receiving positive reinforcement from doing well on an exam, which led to a shift in their self-perception and continued effort in psychology classes.

What are the two psychological principles important for personality change mentioned by the speaker?

The two psychological principles mentioned are reinforcement, which increases the likelihood of repeating a behavior due to a rewarding experience, and identity, which refers to how our self-perception influences our behavior.

How did the speaker's experience in graduate school contribute to their development of conscientiousness?

The demands of graduate school and the realization that their performance affected others, such as students relying on them, motivated the speaker to become more organized and reliable, embodying the characteristics of a conscientious person.

What advice does the speaker give for those wanting to change their personality traits?

The speaker advises to let one's dreams dictate the traits to develop, challenge self-limiting beliefs, notice and try out behaviors of someone with the desired traits, and savor any rewards from making these changes to reinforce the new behaviors.