Great Myths of Personality

Introduction

Myth #1:  Situational Factors Overwhelm Personality When Predicting Behavior

Myth #2:  Personality Measures Do Not Predict Consequential Outcomes (Like Health, Wealth, and Divorce) Well Enough to Be Useful

Myth #3:  There is a Single Gene for a Single Personality Trait

Myth #4:  Evolutionary Perspectives Are Not Relevant for Personality

Myth #5: People Come in Discrete Personality Types

Myth #6: Personality Is Too Complicated to Be Measured

Myth #7: Personality Measures Can Be Faked So They Are Not Valid

Myth #8: The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator Is the Best Approach for Assessing Personality

Myth #9:  Projective Tests Are the Best Approach for Measuring Personality

Myth #10:  Unstructured Interviews are the Best Approach for Measuring Personality

Myth #11: Most Personality Quizzes in Magazines and on Websites Provide Accurate Information About Your Personality

Myth #12: Personality Traits Do Not Have Much Consistency Across the Life Span

Myth #13: Personality Is Completely Stable (or Set Like Plaster) After Age 30

Myth #14: Traumatic Life Events Dramatically Reshape Personality

Myth #15:  Adolescence Is the Most Significant Period of Personality Development

Myth #16:  Birth Order Is an Important Influence on Personality

Myth #17:  Parenting Practices Are the Major Source of Personality Differences

Myth #18: Happiness Is Completely Determined by Situational Factors

Myth #19: Happiness Is Unrelated to Major Life Events

Myth #20: Happiness Results Primarily From Person–Environment Fit

Myth #21:  There Is a 3-to-1 Positivity-to-Negativity Ratio for Flourishing

Myth #22:  Personality Trait Similarity Matters for Romantic Relationships

Myth #23:  Spouses Are Especially Similar in Terms of Personality Traits or Spouses Have Complementary Personality Traits

Myth #24:  High Self-Esteem and Narcissism Are the Same Attribute

Myth #25: Perceptions of National Character Reflect “Real” Group Differences

Myth #26. Personality Is Radically Different From Culture to Culture

Myth #27:  Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus (Men and Women Have Dramatically Different Personalities)

Myth #28: Clinicians Can’t Treat Personality Disorders

Index

M. Brent Donnellan is Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University. He investigates research topics at the intersections of personality psychology, psychological assessment, and developmental psychology. He currently serves as the Senior Editor for the Personality section of Collabra: Psychology and as an Associate Editor for Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. His current research efforts focus on personality trait development, the assessment of well-being and self-esteem, and methodological tools and practices to improve psychological science.

Richard E. Lucas is an MSU Foundation Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University. His research focuses on the causes, consequences, and measurement of subjective well-being. Specifically, he studies the associations between personality and well-being, and he examines the extent to which people adapt to major life events and life circumstances. He is currently an associate editor for Perspectives on Psychological Science and Collabra: Psychology and incoming Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. He is co-author of the book Well-Being for Public Policy (2009) and co-editor of Secondary Data Analysis (2010).