Work

Personality Plasticity After Age 30

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: Rank-order consistency of personality traits increases from childhood to age 30. After that, different summaries of the literature predict a plateau at age 30, or at age 50, or a curvilinear peak in consistency at age 50. These predictions were evaluated at group and individual levels using longitudinal data from the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory for periods of up to 42 years. Consistency declined toward a nonzero asymptote with increasing time interval. Although some scales showed increasing stability after age 30, the rank-order consistencies of the major dimensions and most facets of the Five-Factor Model were unrelated to age. Ipsative stability, assessed with the California Adult Q-Set, also was unrelated to age. These data strengthen claims of predominant personality stability after age 30.

Source: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

DOI: 10.1177/0146167206288599

Authors: Antonio Terracciano, Paul T. Costa, Robert R. McCrae

Institutions: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging

Language: English

Topic: Personality Traits and Psychology

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging

Awards: Personality Predictors of Mental and Physical Health, G7423759087, Basic Research In Personality: Aging