So, how can we translate this knowledge into action, and how can we measure the outcome of the action?
For measuring we could use some “questions on life satisfaction”, but I would recommend to use them for a few weeks before experimenting, just to make sure that the repeated exposure to questions is not causing the change in results. Then we could try some exercises for increasing extroversion or neuroticism (we could start by “fake it till you make it” strategy).
governments could measure ‘national personality’; for example, whether the population is becoming more extroverted, conscientious, open to experience, and agreeable, and how this links to national events. (...) Fostering the conditions where personality growth occurs – such as through positive schooling, communities, and parenting—may be a more effective way of improving national wellbeing than GDP growth.
There seems to be an assumption that the same personality change would benefit everyone. But some changes may be bad for some people, or just incompatible with some professions. Maybe there is some optimum distribution of personalities in society, such as: if almost everyone would be extravert, there could be high demand for people able to work alone. Maybe some skills are relative: if everyone would be extravert, only the most extraverted extraverts would get the happiness bonus.
So, how can we translate this knowledge into action, and how can we measure the outcome of the action?
For measuring we could use some “questions on life satisfaction”, but I would recommend to use them for a few weeks before experimenting, just to make sure that the repeated exposure to questions is not causing the change in results. Then we could try some exercises for increasing extroversion or neuroticism (we could start by “fake it till you make it” strategy).
There seems to be an assumption that the same personality change would benefit everyone. But some changes may be bad for some people, or just incompatible with some professions. Maybe there is some optimum distribution of personalities in society, such as: if almost everyone would be extravert, there could be high demand for people able to work alone. Maybe some skills are relative: if everyone would be extravert, only the most extraverted extraverts would get the happiness bonus.