Shafaqna English- Spending a year studying abroad can make university students more agreeable, more curious, and less anxious, according to new research, although it does not fundamentally change their overall personality, according to PsyPost.
A study published in the Journal of Research in Personality tracked 180 undergraduate students from 12 UK universities over 14 months, comparing 110 students who spent an academic year abroad with 70 who remained at home.
Researchers found that studying abroad did not produce a broad personality transformation. Four of the Big Five personality traits—openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism—remained largely stable regardless of where students lived.
However, students living abroad showed noticeable gains in agreeableness and curiosity while reporting a gradual decline in anxiety, suggesting that adapting to new cultures and environments can promote specific aspects of psychological development.
To examine daily behavior, participants completed smartphone surveys four times a day during three separate weeks throughout the academic year. The findings showed that while broad personality traits remained relatively stable, day-to-day thoughts, emotions, and behaviors fluctuated considerably.
Researchers found that these repeated daily behaviors were the strongest predictor of long-term personality development. Students who consistently displayed behaviors such as conscientiousness in everyday life were more likely to show lasting increases in those traits over time.
The study also found that momentary reactions to specific situations generally did not translate into long-term personality change, with one exception: students who consistently felt more open when they became familiar with their surroundings experienced greater long-term growth in openness.
The authors caution that students who chose to study abroad already reported lower anxiety and neuroticism before leaving, suggesting that pre-existing personality differences may have influenced the results. Because the research relied on self-reported data, further studies are needed to confirm the findings.
The researchers conclude that major life experiences such as studying abroad can encourage meaningful psychological growth, but lasting personality change appears to develop gradually through repeated everyday behaviors rather than a single transformative event.
Source: PsyPost