Causes of Personality Change:
-  Psychotherapy 
-  General Interventions (ex: school programs such as DEI, employment preparation, and home visits)
-  Targeted Intervention (ex: meditation, self-affirmations, etc.)
-  Life Experiences (ex: regular exercise, drugs, etc.)
-  Overcoming Obstacles (ex: becoming more conscientiousness to do better in school) 

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Personality development describes changes in personality over time and across the lifespan. 

Personality Development 

Funder, D. C. (2019). The personality puzzle. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &amp; Company.

The Personality Puzzle

Causes of Personality Change

These claims serve as a guide for future research in personality development. Each principle explains how personality remains stable or how it changes over time. 

Principles of Continuity:
-  Cumulative Continuity Principle
-  Role Continuity Principle
-  Identity Development Principle
-  Corresponsive Principle


Principles of Change: 
-  Maturity Principle
-  Plasticity Principle
-  Social Investment Principle


Principles of Personality Change and Continuity 

Following early historical views, Sigmund Freud's psychodynamic perspective became a foundational modern theory, emphasizing the role of early childhood experiences. Subsequently, many other major theoretical perspectives emerged, often in reaction to the psychodynamic approach. These include the learning, humanistic, biological, trait, and cultural perspectives, each offering a different lens through which to understand personality.

Theories of Personality

Read the following scenario. Based on your understanding of how personality can evolve, analyze the key factors that likely contributed to the changes in Alex's personality from adolescence to adulthood.

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