Time for a new you?

性格可以改变吗？

We sort ourselves into introverts and extroverts, but the truth is that

personality is more malleable than you think.

我们把自己分为内向者和外向者，但事实是：

性格比你想象的更有可塑性。

THERE is a meme in modern therapy culture saying that you shouldn’t try to change – you are perfectly imperfect, and that the right people will accommodate your every

idiosyncrasy

. Relatedly, personality has traditionally been defined as a pretty stable collection of traits. Indeed, you might believe you are hostage to the genetic hand you were dealt at birth when it comes to things like how agreeable or

conscientious

you are. These ideas are nonsense.

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在现代治疗文化中，有一种流行的说法是你不应该试图改变自己——你的不完美就是完美，而对的人会包容你的每一个特质。与此相关的是，个性传统上被定义为一系列相当稳定的特征。确实，你可能会认为在诸如亲和性或责任心等方面，你受制于出生时遗传因素的摆布。然而，这些观点都是无稽之谈。

idiosyncrasy

n. （个人特有的）习性，特征

personal idiosyncrasy 个人癖好

conscientious

adj. 认真的，尽心尽责的

The new comer was conscientious about his work, and gained his boss's trust.

There is plenty of evidence that our personalities are more

fluid

than we think,

fuelling

fascination with the

craft

of personality change to improve our lives. For example, a 2024 study found that three months of digital coaching reliably increased traits like emotional stability and conscientiousness.

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有大量证据表明，我们的性格比我们想象的更具可塑性，这也激发了人们对“性格改变”这一技艺的浓厚兴趣，以期借此改善生活。例如，一项2024年的研究发现，为期三个月的数字化训练能显著且稳定地提升情绪稳定性与责任心等性格特质。

fluid

n. 液体的

adj. 易变

fuel

v. 加强，激起

Tea and beer, two of the nation’s favourite drinks, fueled the Industrial Revolution.

craft

n. 工艺，技术

political craft 政治手段；

literary craft 文学手法

Other traits provide further support for the fluidity of personality. Most people will label themselves exclusively as extroverts or introverts. But Carl Jung, who

coined

these terms, said they are a

spectrum

and that there is no such thing as a “pure” introvert or extrovert.

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其他性格特质进一步支持了人格的流动性这一说法。大多数人会把自己明确归类为外向者或内向者，但最早提出这两个术语的卡尔·荣格（Carl Jung）指出，它们其实是一个连续谱系，并不存在所谓的“纯粹”内向者或外向者。

Some of us may be more likely to

revel

in the role of chief party entertainer, while others tend to prefer quietly

attuning to

their surroundings, but these preferences are malleable. Who you are on a cold winter Wednesday is likely to be different to who you are on a sunny Saturday. If you menstruate, where you are in your cycle might radically affect your personality.

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有些人可能更倾向于扮演派对主角、享受热闹，而另一些人则更喜欢安静地感知周围环境——但这些偏好是可以改变的。你在寒冷冬日的星期三所展现的性格，很可能与阳光明媚的星期六截然不同。如果你有月经周期，你所处的生理阶段甚至可能显著影响你的性格表现。

coin

v. 创造新词

Jaron Lanier coined the term 'virtual reality' and pioneered its early development.

spectrum

n. 范围

social spectrum 社会阶层

a wide spectrum of opinion 一系列广泛意见

revel

v. 狂欢

revel in 深爱（以……为乐

attune to

适应，协调

The company needs to attune to the changing market trends to remain competitive.

Whatever your tendencies, getting enough social connection is crucial for your well-being. Displaying extroverted traits is linked with being better able to withstand the physical effects of stress, like higher blood pressure and heart rate.

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无论你天生倾向如何，拥有足够的社交连接对你的身心健康都至关重要。表现出外向特质的人往往更能抵御压力带来的生理影响，比如血压升高和心率加快。

The Harvard Study of Adult Development, an 80-year project tracking the lives of about 700 men

in a bid to

understand the core components of a happy and healthy life, found that nothing matters more to that end than thriving social relationships.

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哈佛成人发展研究（Harvard Study of Adult Development）是一项长达80年的追踪项目，旨在探究幸福与健康生活的关键要素，研究对象约为700名男性。该研究发现，对于实现幸福健康的人生而言，没有任何因素比蓬勃发展的社会关系更重要。

in a bid to

为了……（in order to)

The two sides have been locked in discussion in a bid to find a compromise.

Of course, many of those who prefer smaller groups and one-on-one conversations, or who need significant alone time to feel their best, also have robust social lives. But in a loneliness crisis, these findings make the growing popularity of the introvert label and its potential use as a badge to allow people to

lean into

their less social side – alarming.

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当然，许多偏爱小圈子、一对一交谈，或需要大量独处时间才能感觉状态最佳的人，同样拥有充实的社交生活。但在当前这场孤独危机中，内向者标签日益流行，并可能被用作一种“徽章”，让人以此为理由更倾向于回避社交——这一现象令人担忧。

lean into

欣然接受

She decided to lean into the discomfort of public speaking to improve her skills.

Before the covid-19 pandemic, younger people in the US were already more likely than older ones to self-define as being introverted. The pandemic seems to have accelerated this trend, bending many personalities into a less social shape:

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在新冠疫情爆发之前，美国的年轻人就已比年长者更倾向于将自己定义为内向者。而疫情似乎加速了这一趋势，使许多人的性格变得更加内向、社交意愿降低：

one study showed falls in extroversion, as well as openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness, in US adults in 2021-22 compared with pre-2020. This isn’t good. Globally, 1 in 6 people report feeling lonely, a state linked with cognitive decline,

cardiovascular

disease and

premature

death. Again, rates are higher in younger people.

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一项研究显示，与2020年之前相比，2021至2022年间美国成年人的外向性、开放性、宜人性和尽责性均出现下降。这并非好事。在全球范围内，每6人中就有1人表示感到孤独，而孤独感与认知能力下降、心血管疾病以及过早死亡密切相关。同样，年轻人的孤独比例更高。

cardiovascular

adj. 心血管的

Smoking places you at serious risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

premature

adj. 过早的，不成熟的

It now seems their optimism was premature.

Even if you file yourself as a hardcore introvert, embracing a more social slant may be easier than you think. Indeed, research from 2022 shows that it is the strength of someone’s identity as an introvert, more than how highly they score on traits of introversion, that makes them uncomfortable when prompted to act more outgoing. This indicates that a looser grip on self-image can help to drive deliberate change.

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即使你自认为是个十足的内向者，尝试变得更外向一些可能也比你想象中更容易。事实上，2022年的一项研究显示，当被要求表现得更外向时，让人感到不适的并非其内向特质的程度，而是他们对“自己是个内向者”这一身份认同的强烈程度。这表明，如果能对自己的自我形象不那么固执，反而更有助于推动有意识的性格改变。

hardcore

adj. 信仰坚定的

hardcore fans

embrace

v. 接受

The new rules have been embraced by government watchdog organizations.

slant

n. 倾向

The programme was deliberately slanted to make the home team look good.

prompt sb. to do sth.

促使某人做某事

Already highly extroverted? Perhaps you would benefit from working to boost your capacity for

reflection

, a trait often found in those who lean towards a quieter life. Similarly, enhancing other traits linked with well-being like good emotional regulation or becoming more open to new experiences – has repeatedly been shown to be possible.

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如果你本身已经非常外向，或许你可以通过培养反思能力而获益——这种特质常见于那些倾向安静生活的人。同样，提升其他与幸福感相关的特质，比如良好的情绪调节能力，或对新体验持更开放的态度，也已被反复证明是完全可以实现的。

reflection

n. 深思，反思

On reflection, I decided I had been wrong.

Refuting the idea of rigid personality types could make us all happier. But first, you might need to accept a painful truth:

maybe trying to change isn’t such a bad idea.

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驳斥人格类型固定不变的观念，或许能让我们所有人都更快乐。但首先，你可能需要接受一个令人不适的真相：也许，尝试改变自己并不是一件坏事。

refute

v. 反驳，驳斥

Isabelle is quick to refute any suggestion of intellectual snobbery.

rigid

adj. 僵硬的，固化的

Several colleges in our study have rigid rules about student conduct.

Time for a new you?

作者

Claudia Canavan

发表

27 September 2025 | New Scientist

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