Set in Our Ways: Why Change is So Hard

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=set-in-our-ways&print=true

Many people dream of doing something adventurous when they reach around the age of 20. They are often very willing to experience new things. When a person is past the early 20's, however, hia openness to change becomes less, and he tends to be more resistant. This often happens with any cultural background. Even though people become more resistant to change as they age, many still say they want change. Although this is the case, they typically won't make it happen. Researchers believe that this may partially be caused by unrealistic expectations and a numerous amount of responsibilities.
Openness to new experiences is one personality trait of the "Big Five", according to psychologists. Extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism are the others. Although there is disagreement about the amount of change of these personality traits in adulthood, most research agrees that openness decreases. A survey that evaluated the Big Five traits in people ages 21 to 60 was taken by more than 130,000 people. The results suggested that while women begin adulthood less open to new experiences than men, men often decline in openness quicker than women in their 30's.
Even though 30 is often associated with this change, it happens gradually over the coarse of many years. Almost everyone experiences this change, no matter the individual's personality. One can get an idea of how open he might become by looking at his childhood. A study done by psychologist Richard W. Robins showed that children who are very adventurous will continue to try new experiences as adults.
Psychologist and personality researcher Rainer Riemann suggests that adults from every culture face similiar loads and expectations. These include marriage, an occupation, and often children. Such responsibilities take devotion and regulation, and they may hinder a change in personality. At this stage of life, new experiences might be exciting, but they would likely bring insecurity. Brain researcher Gerhard Roth states that the brain constantly tries to form habits which bring pleasure as well as a sense of comfort and safety.
According to psychologist Brent W. Roberts, young adulthood is when most personality changes occur. Minor ones may take place past the age of 30, but one's personality becomes increasingly sound until the age of 60, which is about when most people have completed their lifetime commitments, such as a career and raising children. This allows them to again open their minds to new experiences.
WHen people look to accomplish major changes in their lives, they often fail. Psychologists Janet Polivy and C. Peter Herman have named it "false hope syndrome". People often attempt making changes in their lives, yet they don't get anywhere, many times because their expectations are too high. Trying to accomplish too much too fast will set anyone up for failure. The key is to make reasonable goals and understand the difficulty of the challenge.

My Response:
This article brought up some points that really made me think about how much I accept change and how the people I know accept change. I tend to agree with what the article says about how young adults seem to seek adventure while older people who have settled down have done exactly that - settled down. But I, personally, think that sometimes it's hard for people to change, because they associate what they do with who they are. That's what people expect of them because "that's who they are". But I think we can encourage each other to help people achieve their goals. It's easier for anyone to take one step at a time when someone is beside him, cheering him on.