Ten Concerns About Volitional Personality-Change Interventions-and How to Address Them.

Abstract

Many people want to change their personality in some way, and personality traits have been found to predict various important aspects of life, including well-being, health, relationship quality, and work success. As a result, volitional personality interventions designed to elicit personality-trait change in desired directions have recently gained momentum in research and public discourse. Although the initial evidence on the effectiveness of these interventions is promising, concerns regarding their benefits, risks, and societal implications remain underexplored. In this review, we discuss 10 concerns regarding methodological, ethical, and practical limitations of volitional personality-change interventions. Drawing on research across different areas of psychology, we provide a balanced discussion of each concern and outline directions for future research and practical applications of these interventions. Volitional personality-change interventions have the potential to improve people's lives and increase satisfaction with the self. However, realizing this potential requires sustained research effort, thoughtful study design, and careful implementation of these interventions to maximize benefits and mitigate concerns.