"Personality set for life by first grade, study suggest

Post Reply New Topic

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/201 ... dysuggests

From my own experiences, I'd have to say...no.

Any thoughts?

Well, Its hard to say when the first half of your life you're told you have to behave in ways that are not natural to you, then at some point you realize its never going to work and just give in and let people think you're odd, then twenty years later discover you have Autism and you've been ACTING your whole life, even after you thought you'd stopped ACTING.

I'm not sure whether I even have a real personality. At least not a whole one.

That doesn't sound good... But I have changed significantly since first grade (the super pathological shyness is long gone, for example), and I've been having fun lately with acting contrary to my established personality, trying to act simultaneously more acceptably and healthily (not in that order). I'm probably just young enough to not be sick of it, though.

Now I don't remember a lot of first grade, but I do know my personality's changed a lot. During and after puberty, I became a lot more calm and collected than I was before. I'm going to call shenanigans on this study.

I studied Personality Psych and learned that some characteristics are "enduring" BUT (a) only after one becomes an adult (whatever that means ) and (b) the text never discussed "non-normal" people (except in the case of personality disorders).

The professor also told us that it's still a fairly "young" branch of Psychology.

So, yes, I tend to agree with you guys. Like I said, I may REMEMBER being ultra-introverted and never talking, but I'm sure not like that anymore.

"Pop psychology"

It makes sense to me that personality is pretty much set at a young age, with any changes being a branching out of the original spot latter in life.

I would day yes.

Obviously I am not the same person I was when I was six years old but I am very similar. I am still a quiet nervous introvert who hates crowds. (well I am an aspie)

Looking back at elementary school I can say that the "rough kids", the "bullies" grew up to go to jail.

The "outgoing" kids grew up to be salesmen or something.

The quiet studious kids became doctors or scientists.

I don't believe that, for one minute. I was obsessive, and I was also very immature, at the age of 6. I was also a little aggressive, at the age of 7. I was hitting people on their backs, with my glue bottle.

I was a psychology major in college and we studied alot on development of personality. The most incredible evidence does not come from experiences in devloping personality, but in genetics.

There was a twin study done where thousands twins that were seperated by birth by accident or by choice of the parents lived totally different lifestyles...totally different experiences. They were reconnected at birth at to the amazement of researchers had the same personality types...not only that, they drove the same or similar cars, many married a spouse who looked similar with the same name, many named their pet the same name, they had similar haircuts, similar dress. As if they were never seperated.
In fact, this test proved that the twins had the same personality, interests, and so on at an ashtonishing 97 percent confirmation.

None of the other theories on personality even come close to 97 percent. Most of the life experiences theories are highest about 34 percent of the time

One may argue that certain events triggered changes in their life....but how you respond to a life event is still imprinted in your genes awaiting to be triggered by an event There is a large number of genes that scientists call junk DNA only cause they dont know what they are. There is obviously alot we dont know about our DNA

I skipped Grade 1... what does that mean for me?!

Well something did tell me that I would be picked on and treated like a joke for the rest of my life back when I was first getting picked on in Kindergarten or First Grade...

...and boy was I ever right on that.

maybe you should take up karate.
It helps with self confidence and the knowing that if all else, you can wup their butt

Load of crap!

I was very shy and never raised my voice to complain abouit anything at that age. Now i basically tell people to f**k off if they try anything with me.

My theory is that you, unless confronted by a lifechanging event, could have the same personality in your entire life. There is a problem with this - you do not live your life on your own in a vaccum without being influensed by others, so your personality is garanteed to change.

Yeah, it's not true at all. I see people's personalities change because of the raging teenage hormones. Your environment, your disorders, your everything changes who you are. A person who has a stroke will have a personality change. It's all dependent on your health and your environment. These things change for people.

This.

My personality's changed so many times by the first grade. I'm an odd case anyways, but still. I was a happy child in 1st grade. Lifechanging event, the prolonged bullying that began soon after the first grade, led to depression that's gradually shaped my personality. Either way, it's been so many years that I act more mature anyways.

I'm actually trying to get my first-grade silly, hyperactive personality back, while finding a middle ground that makes me happier being myself and not irritating to others. Key word - trying - and failing so far.