Shifting Perceptions: A 120-Year Analysis of Lawyers' Personalities

A recent study published in *Personality and Individual Differences* reveals significant changes in how society perceives lawyers' personalities over the past 120 years. Researchers from Zhejiang University analyzed over 14 million English-language books from 1900 to 2019, utilizing the Google Books Ngram dataset to track the frequency of adjectives associated with lawyers. The study aimed to understand how societal descriptions of legal professionals have evolved, reflecting broader cultural and historical shifts.

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The analysis identified that conscientiousness emerged as the most frequently mentioned trait throughout the century. Initially, from 1900 to 1939, agreeableness was the dominant descriptor for lawyers. However, starting in the 1940s, conscientiousness took precedence, likely influenced by the rise of corporate law firms that valued diligence and organizational discipline. By the 2010s, openness became the most discussed trait, indicating a cultural shift towards individualism and creativity in the workplace.

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The study also highlighted that lawyers are perceived as more conscientious, open, extraverted, and emotionally stable compared to the general population. Conversely, they are viewed as less agreeable and more neurotic, with the gap in agreeableness widening over time. Notably, lawyers were once seen as more extraverted than the average person, but this perception declined sharply in the 1990s.

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These evolving stereotypes significantly impact public trust in the legal system. The duality of viewing lawyers as either noble advocates or self-serving manipulators influences their professional authority. The researchers emphasize that these historical portrayals reflect societal stereotypes rather than the actual personality traits of individual lawyers.

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While the study provides valuable insights, it has limitations. The focus on English-language texts means the findings may not be applicable to other linguistic or cultural contexts. Additionally, the researchers acknowledge that the constructed perceptions may not align with the behaviors of legal professionals in their private lives.

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Looking ahead, the research team plans to explore personality descriptions in other professions and develop a broader framework for tracking these changes over time. The study, titled “Personality descriptions of lawyers: A 120-year big data analysis of English books,” was authored by Liang Xu, Yiwen Wu, and Zehua Jiang.

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• “The shift over time was quite interesting—lawyers were described as more agreeable in earlier periods, then more responsible, and more recently as more open and innovative,” — Zehua Jiang, Researcher

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• “Overall, conscientiousness is the most emphasized trait in descriptions of lawyers.” — Zehua Jiang, Researcher

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This comprehensive analysis sheds light on the dynamic relationship between societal perceptions and the legal profession, illustrating how cultural narratives shape the understanding of lawyers over time.

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