Personality plasticity after age 30

Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2006 Aug;32(8):999-1009. doi: 10.1177/0146167206288599.

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aging / psychology*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Emotions
  • Female
  • Humans
  • MMPI
  • Middle Aged
  • Personality Inventory*
  • Personality*
  • Social Behavior