Do people change much after say grade 5?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ILEW
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Change
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the question of whether people's personalities and characteristics are largely set by a certain age, specifically after grade 5. Participants explore the extent and nature of personal change over time, considering factors such as age, experiences, and social environments.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants feel that their fundamental personality traits have not changed significantly since grade 5 or earlier, suggesting a sense of stability in their core characteristics.
  • Others argue that while core personalities may remain stable, the expression of those traits can evolve based on life experiences and circumstances, such as moving away from home for university.
  • A participant mentions that they have observed individuals reinventing themselves in new environments, indicating that change can occur in social contexts.
  • Another participant questions the idea that a 10-year-old and a 20-year-old would make the same choices, implying significant developmental changes occur during adolescence.
  • Some express skepticism about the notion of not changing at all, suggesting that a lack of experiences could lead to a perception of stasis.
  • A participant reflects on their childhood therapy experiences, noting that some traits identified then still resonate with them now, hinting at a continuity of certain characteristics.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether people fundamentally change after grade 5. Multiple competing views are presented, with some asserting stability in personality and others highlighting the potential for change through life experiences.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on personal experiences and perceptions, and there is a lack of empirical evidence presented to support the various viewpoints. The discussion reflects a range of subjective interpretations regarding personal development and change.

ILEW
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
At what age are people's personality and characteristics pretty much 'set' in place? Obviously people gradually change over time but personally I feel that fundalmentally, I haven't changed much after around grade 5 or even 4. And I am now a young adult.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
grade 5? bit young to stay set. i think I'm stuck in the early 20's
 
I would say people never change. The few people that I have known for over 15 years (I'm 21) have not changed at all during that time. My outgoing talkative brother is as outgoing as he ever was. Creepy friend is just as much of an angry loner now as he was in the past. Crazy religious friend is no longer a friend, but he's still as crazy was he was before. I recently got together with a girl I knew in jr high about 9 years ago and she's basically the same person, and so are her friends (the same friends as before).

Is it genetic? I'm not a scientist, but I would think yes. If things like bipolar disorder can be passed on through genes, why not extroversion or a tendency of being a loner? People don't change.
 
Last edited:
Is bipolar disorder having only one arm or leg?
 
light_bulb said:
grade 5? bit young to stay set. i think I'm stuck in the early 20's

So you think you were 'very' different from when you were much younger?
 
no just more grown up, what ever that is. maybe it just means i notice the calendar.
 
I see a lot of people reinvent themselves when they go to uni -- ie. leave their home towns behind for big cities.
 
J77 said:
I see a lot of people reinvent themselves when they go to uni -- ie. leave their home towns behind for big cities.

But they are still fundalmentally the way they use to be, when not acting.
 
ILEW said:
they are still fundalmentally the way they use to be, when not acting.
Not always -- in the UK we have sites like friendsreunited that you can look at the see what former classmates are up to. Some of the quietist people in my classes are the ones who are traveling around or living in other countries. This is usually proceeded by the line, "At/after uni I...".

People change and grow up -- particularly if they move far away from home -- in this respect, they're definitely not "acting".
 
  • #10
not long ago i found an old report from age 6. i was taken to some kind of therapy(i wasnt much coordinative, and had low concentration), so they wrote a report about my condition, physically and mentally.
anyway, that report described things which are very correct about me now(age 20), for a sec i started to think psychologists actually know something...
 
  • #11
ILEW said:
At what age are people's personality and characteristics pretty much 'set' in place? Obviously people gradually change over time but personally I feel that fundalmentally, I haven't changed much after around grade 5 or even 4. And I am now a young adult.

I don't think their core personality changes much, but the ways they express that personality can change a lot based on their personal experiences. Out of seven kids in my family, I think all of us are pretty much the same as we were when they were kids, except a couple of my younger sisters seem so much more 'them' as adults than they did being so far down the line of kids.
 
  • #12
5th grade? you mean 10yrs old?

Now you want to tell me that there is no difference between a 10yr old and a 20yr old? Under the same set of circumstances a 10yr old will make the same choice as a 20yr old?

Do I live in a different universe?

Was it a bunch of aliens at my 10th and 20th HS reunions? They sure seemed different from when we graduated? At graduation it was PARTY TIME, At the 10th reunion it was play with the kids... that's not different? Maybe I am not clear on what is considered a change.
 
  • #13
If you didn't change after Grade 5, no offense, but you had one hell of a boring life with no experiences whatsoever.
 
  • #14
i haven't really grasped any math since adding integers, so id say more like grade 3.
 
  • #15
Yabba Dabba DOOOOOOOOOO!
 

Similar threads

Finding Meaningful Work: Career Advice for Young Scientists
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
3K
What do you think of the "Don't get good grades" advice?
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
4K
Other How do physicists practically switch fields to non-adjacent subfields?
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
Any advanced physics students/academics that have failed?
  • · Replies 32 ·
2
Replies
32
Views
7K
Medical FDA antidepressant warnings of suicide risk among kids may have the opposite effect
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Admissions Questions Regarding Returning to College After Layoff
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Why do so many people hate science?
  • · Replies 28 ·
Replies
28
Views
12K
High School Do all great scientists possess a genius level IQ ?
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
5K
My Grade 11 Math mark is eating me alive. What do I do?
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
183K
My list of the top five heavyweight boxers of all time
  • · Replies 35 ·
2
Replies
35
Views
10K