TY - JOUR
T1 - Changing personality traits with the help of a digital personality change intervention
AU - Stieger, Mirjam
AU - Flückiger, Christoph
AU - Rüegger, Dominik
AU - Kowatsch, Tobias
AU - Roberts, Brent W.
AU - Allemand, Mathias
N1 - Funding Information:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank Sara Aeschlimann, Chantal Gerl, Lara Keller, Marcel Lauber, Elias Laimer, Marcia Nissen, Fabienne Thierstein, Moritz Truninger, and Nadia Wohlwend for their help in preparing study materials and collecting data. The research project and work on this manuscript was supported by a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (No. 162724; PI: Allemand).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/2/23
Y1 - 2021/2/23
N2 - Personality traits predict important life outcomes, such as success in love and work life, well-being, health, and longevity. Given these positive relations to important outcomes, economists, policy makers, and scientists have proposed intervening to change personality traits to promote positive life outcomes. However, nonclinical interventions to change personality traits are lacking so far in large-scale naturalistic populations. This study (n = 1,523) examined the effects of a 3-mo digital personality change intervention using a randomized controlled trial and the smartphone application PEACH (PErsonality coACH). Participants who received the intervention showed greater self-reported changes compared to participants in the waitlist control group who had to wait 1 mo before receiving the intervention. Self-reported changes aligned with intended goals for change and were significant for those desiring to increase on a trait (d = 0.52) and for those desiring to decrease on a trait (d = −0.58). Observers such as friends, family members, or intimate partners also detected significant personality changes in the desired direction for those desiring to increase on a trait (d = 0.35). Observer-reported changes for those desiring to decrease on a trait were not significant (d = −0.22). Moreover, self- and observer-reported changes persisted until 3 mo after the end of the intervention. This work provides the strongest evidence to date that normal personality traits can be changed through intervention in nonclinical samples.
AB - Personality traits predict important life outcomes, such as success in love and work life, well-being, health, and longevity. Given these positive relations to important outcomes, economists, policy makers, and scientists have proposed intervening to change personality traits to promote positive life outcomes. However, nonclinical interventions to change personality traits are lacking so far in large-scale naturalistic populations. This study (n = 1,523) examined the effects of a 3-mo digital personality change intervention using a randomized controlled trial and the smartphone application PEACH (PErsonality coACH). Participants who received the intervention showed greater self-reported changes compared to participants in the waitlist control group who had to wait 1 mo before receiving the intervention. Self-reported changes aligned with intended goals for change and were significant for those desiring to increase on a trait (d = 0.52) and for those desiring to decrease on a trait (d = −0.58). Observers such as friends, family members, or intimate partners also detected significant personality changes in the desired direction for those desiring to increase on a trait (d = 0.35). Observer-reported changes for those desiring to decrease on a trait were not significant (d = −0.22). Moreover, self- and observer-reported changes persisted until 3 mo after the end of the intervention. This work provides the strongest evidence to date that normal personality traits can be changed through intervention in nonclinical samples.
KW - Digital intervention
KW - PEACH
KW - Personality change
KW - Randomized controlled trial
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U2 - 10.1073/pnas.2017548118
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2017548118
M3 - Article
C2 - 33558417
AN - SCOPUS:85101029478
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 118
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 8
M1 - e2017548118
ER -