Commercial personality development coaching is very popular. Surprisingly, however, research on targeted personality development is still in its infancy. Although some studies have shown that certain types of training can induce short-term personality changes, many questions remain unanswered: How long do these effects last? How do short-term behavioral changes translate into long-term personality changes? Can we improve our health, motivation, and performance through targeted personality training? Where does desirable development end and excessive self-optimization begin? How can potentially harmful consequences (e.g., pressure to conform) be avoided?

We are a group of more than 20 scientists from psychology and related disciplines (e.g., sociology, philosophy, and medicine). Funded by the German Research Foundation, we are collaborating for several years to substantially expand the existing knowledge on personality change interventions and to develop ethically, theoretically, and scientifically sound and effective intervention approaches for a wide audience. More information