personality

A new study analyzes survey data from before and during the pandemic to find that Americans' personalities changed during the pandemic, especially young adults. The researchers noted significant declines in the traits that help us navigate social situations, trust others, think creatively, and act responsibly.

Health & Safety

Personalities don't usually change quickly but they may have during the pandemic

4:11pm October 05, 2022

by Maggie Mertens

A study finds small but meaningful declines in personality traits that help us navigate social situations, trust others, think creatively, and act responsibly. Young people were especially affected.

Walter Mischel, a psychologist who devised the marshmallow test, explained what it really means.

Remembrance For Walter Mischel, Psychologist Who Devised The Marshmallow Test

11:44am September 21, 2018

by Julie Carli

Walter Mischel had an idea that became a pop culture touchstone. He wanted to see if preschoolers seated in front of a marshmallow could delay their gratification. What did the experiment really mean?

An early draft of Card III in Hermann Rorschach's psychological test.

How Hermann Rorschach's 'Inkblots' Took On A Life Of Their Own

6:46pm February 17, 2017

by NPR Staff

These days, you're more likely to come across the concept of a Rorschach test in a cultural context than a clinical one. In a new book, author Damion Searls traces the history of the famous inkblots.

Queue Listen Now

Makeba Hinds, also known as Maki Roll, cosplays at AwesomeCon. She portrays Nick, the fox in Zootopia.

Cosplayers Use Costume To Unleash Their Superpowers

5:00am July 23, 2016

A shy woman becomes a brave warrior princess. A man calls on Captain America to help him lose 45 pounds. In costume role play they become part of a community where they can transform themselves.

Personality Can Change Over A Lifetime, And Usually For The Better

11:46am June 30, 2016

by Christopher Soto

Psychologists have been arguing for decades over whether personality traits are real or a myth. More recent research shows that traits are real, a scientist says, and have a big effect on behavior.

Personality Tests Are Popular, But Do They Capture The Real You?

5:18am June 25, 2016

by Annie Murphy Paul

It can be a lot of fun taking those back-of-the-magazine personality tests. But tests may be less fun when they are used by employers to make big life decisions on hiring and job performance.

Invisibilia: Is Your Personality Fixed, Or Can You Change Who You Are?

5:59pm June 24, 2016

by Alix Spiegel

A man committed a horrible crime. Then he decided he no longer wanted to be a bad person. It is possible to change our personalities, psychologists say, even though we like to think they're innate.

"My brain used to be my best friend," says Greg O'Brien, a journalist with early onset Alzheimer's. But he can't trust it anymore, he says. Alzheimer's is, in some ways, changing who he is.

As A Father's Alzheimer's Progresses, Family Learns To Love Him As He Is

1:42pm October 04, 2015

by Rebecca Hersher

As his disease advances, Greg O'Brien finds his personality shifting, too. "I know I can't go back to who I was before," he says. "I've got to learn to live with the new me."

Your Online Avatar May Reveal More About You Than You'd Think

10:49am January 13, 2015

by Alison Bruzek

Even if your avatar for games and social media doesn't look at all like you, it still says a lot about your personality, a study finds. Want to look friendly? Skip the shades; wear a sweater.