Dr Christian Jarrett is deputy editor of Psyche and an author.Most people believe that they are their personalities. That it's an immutable, unchanging, central part of them as a person. But psychologists and neuroscientists have been studying the science of personality change for many years and have uncovered strategies to nudge your personality in the direction you want.Expect to learn why most personality tests are basically useless, how genetically heritable our personalities are, just how much of a change we can make from where we start off, how to stop being shy or introverted, the best strategies to become more ambitious and conscientious, the most effective ways to maintain personality change and much more...Sponsors:Get 20% discount & free shipping on your Lawnmower 4.0 at https://www.manscaped.com/ (use code MODERNWISDOM)Get the Whoop 4.0 for free and get your first month for free at http://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied)Our Sponsor - get 25% discount on your at-home testosterone test at https://trylgc.com/wisdom (use code: WISDOM25)Extra Stuff:Check out Christian's website - https://psyche.co/ Buy Be Who You Want - https://amzn.to/3B31sdS Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom-Get in touch.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillxTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillxYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcastEmail: https://chriswillx.com/contact/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Distinguished psychologist Kimberley Wilson's recent book is Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat Is Fuelling Our Mental Health Crisis. In it, she explores the tangible links between diet and how the mind works. Wilson was a former Governor of the Tavistock & Portman NHS Mental Health Trust and has a master’s degree in nutrition. She also previously led the therapy service at what was then Europe’s largest women’s prison, so she knows first-hand about the importance of food and its role in mental health. Joining Kimberly in conversation is Christian Jarrett, cognitive neuroscientist and editor of Psyche magazine. We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to podcasts@intelligencesquared.com or Tweet us @intelligence2. And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency . Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Episode 25 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Are our personalities set in stone, or can we choose to change them? In this bonus episode, Matthew Warren talks to former Research Digest editor Christian Jarrett about his new book Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change. Christian discusses the evidence-based methods you can use to alter your personality, whether you’re an introvert who wants to become the life of the party, or you simply wish you were a little more open to new experiences. He also explains how our personalities evolve over the course of our lifespans, even when we’re not consciously trying to change them, and ponders how they might be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change is out on May 18th in the United States and May 20th in the United Kingdom. Episode credits: Presented by Matthew Warren. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work by Tim Grimshaw. Work discussed in this episode includes: Merely desiring to alter your personality is not enough, and may backfire unless you take concrete action to change Longest ever personality study finds no correlation between measures taken at age 14 and age 77 Here’s How Our Personality Changes As We Age Other background reading A little discussed effect of therapy: it changes your personality Here’s How Personality Changes In Young Adulthood Can Lead To Greater Career Satisfaction When Deciding How To Improve Our Personalities, Moral Character Is Not A Priority New insights into lifetime personality change from “meta-study” featuring 50,000 participants

Today it’s great to chat with Christian Jarrett on the podcast. A cognitive neuroscientist by training, Christian is Deputy Editor of Psyche, a global digital magazine that illuminates the human condition. Christian has written about psychology and neuroscience for publications across the world, including BBC Future, WIRED, New York magazine, New Scientist, GQ Italia and The Guardian. He was the founding editor and creator of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, presenter of their PsychCrunch podcast, and an award-winning journalist on The Psychologist magazine. His books include The Rough Guide to Psychology and Great Myths of The Brain. His latest book is Be Who You Want: Unlocking The Science of Personality Change. Topics [1:48] How Christian burst out of his shell [4:32] The role of biology in temperament [6:52] How working on your physical health can influence your personality [8:11] How changing job roles can shape our personality [10:07] How our peers shape our personalities [12:17] The effect of stressors on a developing child’s personality [17:16] The impact of a child’s environment on their personality [20:04] The happy events in life that don’t positively affect personality [23:46] The lemon juice personality test [27:56] Christian’s thoughts on "cancel culture" [31:03] Christian discusses personality disorders [35:37] Why US presidents are more likely to display psychopathic traits [39:30] Challenge mindset vs. threat mindset Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-psychology-podcast/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neuroscientist Christian Jarrett explores how personalities can evolve through life events and intentional changes. He discusses blending internal and external strategies to bring about authentic personality changes by aligning actions with aspirations and values.