Targeted Personality Development: Changing people in a changing world

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Eva Asselmann
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology ; Developmental and Educational Psychology ; Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 526254837

The question of how one's own personality can be changed intentionally is of great interest to society and attracting increasing attention in the scientific community. Surprisingly, however, psychological research on targeted personality development is still in its infancy. Although recent studies have shown that interventions can effectively promote short-term personality changes toward specific change goals (e.g., becoming more conscientious), key research questions remain unresolved: How long do such changes last, do they translate in enduring trait changes over time, and do they promote desirable outcomes across various life domains (e.g., improved health, more fulfilling social relationships, or higher performance at school or work)? How can potentially harmful effects of personality change interventions (e.g., excessive self-optimization or social pressure) be avoided? The planned DFG network aims to close these research gaps: Early and mid-career researchers from different fields of psychology (e.g., differential and personality psychology, developmental, lifespan, and aging research, social and media psychology, clinical psychology and psychotherapy, resilience research, and quantitative methods) as well as other disciplines (e.g., sociology, philosophy, theology, history, political science, and medicine) will come together to develop an integrative framework to specify the methods, mechanisms, and outcomes of targeted personality development, including its goals, opportunities, and potential hazards. The scientific network will integrate different theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, practical experiences, empirical findings, and knowledge from related fields (e.g., motivational psychology, health psychology, and psychotherapy process-outcome research). Moreover, joint research projects will be initiated to develop innovative interventions, test their short- and long-term efficacy on basic and specific personality traits, and investigate major consequences at the individual and group/societal level. Key objectives of the network include (a) systematic reviews, (b) primary analyses of given data, (c) joint research proposals, (d) joint publications in leading international scientific journals, (e) symposia at national and international conferences, (f) networking, mentoring, and workshops for early career scientists, as well as (g) outreach and science communication. The overarching goal is to boost knowledge on targeted personality development and personality change interventions that results in ethically sound, theoretically grounded, and effective interventions for a wide audience.

• DFG Programme: Scientific Networks
• Participating Person: Dr. Antonia Bendau