Journal of Research in Personality· 2026Q1
Comparing change goals and feasibility beliefs about changing social, emotional, and behavioral skills vs. personality traits among adolescents, parents, and teachers
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Adolescents, parents, and teachers all believe social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills are more changeable than Big Five personality traits, with teachers showing the strongest preference for skill-based interventions.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Adolescents, parents, and teachers consistently viewed social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills as more changeable than Big Five personality traits.
- Teachers expressed the strongest preference for SEB skills over traits, indicating a greater belief in their malleability.
- Student differences were most distinct when comparing Social Engagement (a skill) with Extraversion (a trait).
- Teachers, unlike parents, showed a greater interest in skill-based interventions compared to trait-based ones.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
This study compared adolescents', parents', and teachers' change goals and feasibility beliefs for Big Five traits versus social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills. Participants were 676 Italian high school students who reported about themselves, 461 parents who reported about their participating child, and 704 international teachers reporting about students in general. We found that all groups viewed SEB skills as more changeable than traits, with the strongest skill preference among teachers. Student differences were clearest for Social Engagement versus Extraversion. Teachers, but not parents, also reported greater interest in skill-based than trait-based interventions. These findings suggest that skill framing may increase perceived malleability and support for developmental interventions in educational contexts.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Research in Personality, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Clinical Psychology
Clinical PsychologyPsychology