The guest on this episode of Radio Atlantic would not describe herself as 'fun at parties,' but at least she knows it. 'I've never really liked my personality,' wrote Olga Khazan in 2022, 'and other people don't like it either.' A few years ago, Khazan set out to change her personality, a task many people think is impossible. As Khazan explains, in the late 1800s, William James, who is considered the father of modern psychology, developed a theory that a person's personality is set in plaster around age 30. James himself was depressive and neurotic, and he suffered from what he called 'soul-sickness.' Thankfully, he was also incorrect. Later research showed that people can, in fact, shift even core parts of their personality, if they work at it systematically. After consulting with the experts on personality plasticity and then setting a deadline, Khazan put herself through an intense experiment intended to make herself more likeable, to herself and others. Her evaluations were not...
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