A new study indicates that the personality of a first grader is a likely indication of personality as an adult. Thus, if you were shy and quiet as a six year old, your adult personality may be the same.
A University of California, Riverside research project studied the personality traits observed in small children. The major attributes measured included verbal fluency, coping skills (referred to as adaptability), impulsiveness, and self regulation of ego.
The findings indicate that personality is in large part biological or predetermined. Thus, if a child is impulsive and loud, parental intervention may likely have little or no significant influence, other than frustrating the parent.
What this study tells us is that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. People don’t change much.
The business application is powerful. If you want to hire a socially comfortable sales person or find an accommodating business partner, look at the candidate’s track record and past behavior. It will be a great predictor of what is to come.
John Bradley Jackson
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Source: http://www.livescience.com/culture/children-personality-adults-100804.html