Psychological Interventions Potentially Useful for Increasing Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is commonly conceptualized as a personality trait that reflects tendencies to be disciplined, goal oriented, self-controlled, responsible to others, hardworking, orderly, and rule following. Higher levels of conscientiousness reliably predict a host of desirable life outcomes, including longevity and better health throughout the life span. Given the consistently positive relationship of conscientiousness to desirable behaviors and outcomes, there is considerable enthusiasm for researching interventions to improve conscientiousness. The goals of the current review are twofold: (a) to provide an overview of several existing cognitive–behavioral, metacognitive, and cognitive remediation interventions with the potential to influence conscientiousness and (b) to present several suggestions, related to sample selection, intervention components, and sources of support and motivation, for adapting these interventions to promote healthy aging in the general population. As research continues to progress, new psychological interventions may be developed to effectively target conscientiousness and related constructs, ultimately promoting desirable behaviors and outcomes associated with higher levels of this personality trait.