Saturday, November 26, 2016

Personality Change in Adulthood

Does personality change as we age?  That’s a big question that has been debated for many years by many people.  In the past, the issue often defied resolution because much personality research was theory-driven and theoretical dimensions of personality varied widely and incomparably.  Today, by contrast, personality research is mostly atheoretical and thus readily amenable to statistical analysis.  Moreover, because the Big-Five personality dimensions—openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—are determined numerically and widely accepted as valid and reliable, most psychologists believe that data derived using the system are worthy of serious consideration.   Accordingly, in this post I report the work of Petar Milojev and Chris Sibley (2016) who examined personality stability versus change over the 19 to 74 year life span by using the Big Five.

Given the multi-dimensional nature of personality, even when restricted to the Big-Five, you probably will not be surprised to learn that Milojev and Sibley found both change and stability over time.  As people aged, they were said to become less extraverted, with the greatest decreases in young adulthood and again in old age. Similarly, agreeableness also decreased in young adulthood, but then it remained relatively stable.  On the other hand, conscientiousness increased in young adulthood, with no appreciable  subsequent change.  As the years progressed, they tended toward less openness to experience but also less neuroticism.  Finally, from earliest adulthood through life, honesty-humility increased regularly with increasing age. 

Interpreted broadly then, the results suggest that aging promotes introversion, conscientiousness, a more closed attitude toward experience, disagreeableness (in young adulthood only), less anxiety, and no major effect on honesty or humility.  These, of course, are only generalities, not necessarily applicable to you.  As a point of comparison, however, imagine the hypothetically average aging person as someone such as follows:  Although he used to be reasonably social, over the past several years 39 year-old John has become less and less inclined to leave the house.  He mostly spends his time watching television and surfing the Internet.  In the past, John had been keenly interested in and inclined toward everything new, from gadgets to restaurants.  But now he prefers sticking with the familiar.  He is more accepting of “things” in general and less adventuresome.  On the other hand, John not only is more laid back and reasonably content but also more conscientious, honest, and humble.

Obviously, some features of aging as depicted above can be health supporting.  Decreased anxiety means less physical and mental strain.  Other features might be construed as relatively neutral or even negative.  On the one hand, for instance, decreased openness to experience reduces your opportunities while on the other it also minimizes your need to make energy-absorbing adjustments.

All of this is to say that you would do well to consider ageing's effects on you.  Ask how your lifestyle has evolved over the last several years or decade. Did that course follow Milojev and Sibley's allegedly "average" trajectory?  Why or why not?  More important, are your changes acceptable and reasonable to you?  If not, can you do something to minimize or even totally reverse them?  All the changes are relative.  For instance, you might be willing to accept becoming more "introverted" in your relationships with former or current friends, but resolve to reverse your withdrawal tendency regarding family members whom you rarely see any more.  Irrespective of your age, you can make healthful personality alterations by following the principles explained in my Don't Rest in Peace book.

Reference:

Milojev, P. & Sibley, C. (2016) Normative Personality Trait Development in Adulthood: A 6-Year Cohort-Sequential Growth Model.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Nov 10, 2016, No Pagination Specified.    http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000121

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