From this large sample of volunteers recruited and examined over the Internet, lead researchers Sanjay Srivastava, Ph.D., and Oliver P. John, Ph.D., working at the University of California at Berkeley, found that certain changes do occur in middle adulthood. Conscientiousness increased throughout the age range studied, with the biggest increases in a person’s 20s; this trait is defined as being organized, planful, and disciplined, and past research has linked it to work performance and work commitments. Agreeableness increased the most during a person’s 30s; this trait is defined as being warm, generous, and helpful, and has been linked to relationships and to prosocial behavior. Neuroticism declined with age for women but did not decline for men; this trait is defined in people who worry and are emotionally unstable. It has been linked to depression and other mental health problems. Openness showed small declines with age for both men and women. Finally, extraversion declined for women but did not show changes in men.
Both neuroticism and extraversion scores were higher for younger women than for younger men. But for both of these traits – and most strikingly for neuroticism – the apparent sex differences diminished with age.
Of the 132,515 participants, 54 percent were female, all lived in the U.S. or Canada, 86% were White and 14% were Asian, Black, Latino or Middle Eastern. A subset of the sample – 42,578 – were asked about their socioeconomic status. Of these participants, 405 (1%) said they were poor, 7,614 (18%) said they were working class, 23,024 (54%) said they were middle class and 10,718 (25%) said they were upper-middle class.
This study contradicts an often cited view that personality traits are genetically programmed to stop changing by early adulthood. There is considerable evidence against it, say the authors. In the study, “average levels of personality traits changed gradually but systematically throughout the lifespan, sometimes even more after age 30 than before. Increasing conscientiousness and agreeableness and decreasing neuroticism in adulthood may indicate increasing maturity – people becoming on the average better adapted as they get older, well into middle age.”
Article: “Development of Personality in Early and Middle Adulthood: Set Like Plaster or Persistent Change?” Sanjay Srivastava, Ph.D., and Oliver P. John, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley; Samuel D. Gosling, Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin; Jeff Potter, B.A., Cambridge, MA; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 84, No. 5.
Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office or at http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/press_releases/may_2003/psp8451041.html
Web site: The Web site where the data were collected is still active; individuals interested in knowing how they stand on the Big Five can complete a self-scoring questionnaire at
Sanjay Srivastava, Ph.D., now at Stanford University, can be reached by phone at (650) 723-5977 or by email at sriv@stanford.edu
The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world’s largest association of psychologists. APA’s membership includes more than 150,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 53 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.
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