Sixteen Going on Sixty-Six: A Longitudinal Study of Personality Stability and Change across 50 Years

Abstract

How much do people’s personalities change or remain stable from high-school to retirement? To address these questions, we used a large US sample (N = 1,795) that assessed people’s personality traits in adolescence and 50 years later. We also used two independent samples, one cross-sectional and one short-term longitudinal (N = 3,934 and N = 38, respectively), to validate the personality scales and estimate measurement error. This was the first study to test personality stability/change over a 50-year time span in which the same data source was tapped (i.e., self-report). This allowed us to use four different methods (rank-order stability, mean-level change, individual-level change, and profile stability) answering different developmental questions. We also systematically tested gender differences. We found that the average rank-order stability was .31 (corrected for measurement error) and .23 (uncorrected). The average mean-level change was half of a standard deviation across personality traits, and the pattern of change showed maturation. Individual-level change also supported maturation, with 20-60% of the people showing reliable change within each trait. We tested three aspects of personality profile stability, and found that overall personality profile stability was .37, distinctive profile stability was .17, and profile normativeness was .51 at baseline and .62 at the follow-up. Gender played little role in personality development across the lifespan. Our findings suggest that personality has a stable component across the lifespan, both at the trait level and at the profile level, and that personality is also malleable and people mature as they age.

Creating through Deviancy or Adjustment? The Link between Personality Profile Normativeness and Creativity

“…Previous work has already established the validity and reliability of the PTPI measures, as well as their relationship with modern Big Five inventories (see Damian, Spengler, Sutu, & Roberts, ; Pozzebon et al, ). This previous work suggests that Culture ( α = .78) is best reflective of openness to experience; Mature Personality ( α = .92), Tidiness ( α = .84), and Impulsiveness ( α = .62) are best reflective of conscientiousness; Self‐Confidence ( α = .75) and Calmness ( α = .84) reflect emotional stability; Social Sensitivity ( α = .83) reflects agreeableness, and Sociability ( α = .80), Vigour ( α = .79), and Leadership ( α = .74) are most reflective of extraversion.…”

Stress-related coping styles in myalgic university students: A case control study.

“…Similarly, the present ndings show that myalgic participants have larger levels of neuroticism than controls. It should be considered that personality is a psychological construct developed during the childhood-adolescence which is quite stable throughout life [42], therefore it might be scarcely affected by the curse of a disease. Taken the later in account, these results suggest that neuroticism might be an important personality factor contributing to TMD, at least for myalgia.…”

Stress-related coping styles in myalgic university students: A case control study.

“…Similarly, the present findings show that myalgic participants have larger levels of neuroticism than controls. It should be considered that personality is a psychological construct developed during the childhood-adolescence which is quite stable throughout life [41], therefore it might be scarcely affected by the curse of a disease. Taken the later in account, these results suggest that neuroticism might be an important personality factor contributing to TMD, at least for myalgia.…”