Does your personality change as you get older эссе

There is an heated debate about whether our personality changes over years or not. Personally, I agree with this statement and in this essay, I will give valid arguments to support my view.
First of all, I believe there are several factors and situations that we meet during the years, ranging from meeting new people to gaining new experience, that affects our personality. One of the most significant arguments is certainly the new experiences and emotions that we obtain and feel, that might completely change our perspectives and as a result, our personality. For instance, an extrovert and placid child may face such challenges as school pressure or family disaster, which will negatively affect his personality by making him more abrasive and introvert person. Moreover, such situations can also provide us with valuable knowledge and experience that can change personality. Thus, if a person belives he has trustworthy friends but they betray him, he becomes less gullible person.
Furthermore, I can not deny the fact that new acquaintances, that we meet during years, with their different characters and personalities can change our worldview and temperament. By making new friends, we learn range of important aspects, such as importance of sharing and being kind to each other. Thus, I believe new friends that we make as we grow up can change a person from shy and slightly egoist to friendly and communicative friend.
To conclude, I believe that it is almost inevitable that our personality will change over the years, as we face numerous challenges and meet new people that provide us with new experiences.

There is an heated debate about whether our

over years or not.

Personally

, I

with this statement and in this essay, I will give valid arguments to support my view.

First

of all, I believe there are several factors and situations that we

during the years, ranging from meeting

to gaining

, that affects our

. One of the most significant arguments is

certainly

the

and emotions that we obtain and feel, that might completely

our perspectives and

as a result

, our

.

For instance

, an extrovert and placid child may face such challenges as school pressure or family disaster, which will

negatively

affect his

by making him more abrasive and introvert person.

Moreover

, such situations can

also

provide us with valuable knowledge and

that can

.

Thus

, if a person belives he has trustworthy friends

they betray him, he becomes less gullible person.

Furthermore

, I can not deny the fact that

acquaintances, that we

during years, with their

characters and personalities can

our worldview and temperament. By making

friends, we learn range of

aspects, such as importance of sharing and being kind to each other.

Thus

, I believe

friends that we

as we grow up can

a person from shy and

slightly

egoist to friendly and communicative friend.

To conclude

, I believe that it is almost inevitable that our

will

over the years, as we face numerous challenges and

that provide us with

.

Our age affects our personality, the older we get the more mature we become. Our personality is shaped by time and we change. I partly agree with this statement and will express my opinion in the following paragraphs.
It has been proved by psychologists that there are five traits of personality known as The Big Five personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. We are born with these features and they remain relatively stable throughout most of one’s lifetime. They are influenced significantly by both genes and the environment. This means that we do not form our personality through age or experience. Also, most human beings are born with certain innate personality traits, such as determining whether we are outgoing or introverted, optimistic or pessimistic, credulous or sceptical. It is believed that these are coded into our DNA and have been a part of us since before birth, so it is quite difficult to change them.
However, we can observe how people change over
time due to the events in their life. Major traumatic events may influence our life perspectives. There are countless examples of optimistic young people going to war or being in a tragic accident and then turning into bitter, cynical, and withdrawn people. Thus their personality was changed by external factors. Besides, we can learn from our mistakes and try to become better versions of ourselves. This is why elderly people are recognised for their wisdom. When you listen to the stories of older people, you can observe how they have changed since their young ages.
In conclusion, our personality is shaped both with internal and external factors. It is hard to find which one has a more significant impact but surely they both are responsible for who we are.

Our age affects our

, the older we

the more mature we become. Our

is shaped

by time and we

. I partly

with this statement and will express my opinion in the following paragraphs.

It has

been proved

by psychologists that there are five traits of

known as The

Five

traits: extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. We

are born

with these

they remain

relatively

stable throughout most of one’s lifetime. They

are influenced

significantly

by both genes and the environment. This means that we do not form our

through age or experience.

Also

, most human beings

are born

with certain innate

traits, such as determining whether we are outgoing or introverted, optimistic or pessimistic, credulous or

. It

is believed

that these

are coded

into our DNA and have been a part of us since

birth,

it is quite difficult to

them.

However

, we can observe how

over

due to the

in their life. Major traumatic

may influence our life perspectives. There are countless examples of optimistic young

going to war or being in a tragic accident and then turning into bitter, cynical, and withdrawn

.

their

was

by external factors.

Besides

, we can learn from our mistakes and try to become better versions of ourselves. This is why elderly

are

for their wisdom. When you listen to the stories of older

, you can observe how they have

since their young ages.

In conclusion

, our

is shaped

both with internal and external factors. It is

to find which one has a more significant impact

surely

they both are responsible for who we are.

That is what I decided to do my research paper on. I would assume that as we age that our personalities could be affected by what we are going through. There have been studies on the issue of personality stability in early and middle adulthood, but few have looked at the very old, who are often confronted with major changes in their health and life circumstances which can severely impact adaptive behavior. There are many studies that have shown that personality traits are very stable once one enters adulthood, as well as among the elderly (Maiden, 2003). However, despite these findings, personality traits can be modified, especially when we are confronted with events in our lives that force us to adapt. Many can maintain a stable personality, but there are stipulations. Most people who have a stable life have it due to a certain level of education, a good circle of friends, a good marriage, and a satisfying career that can maintain their personality (Maiden, 2003). On the other side of the coin when we go through more difficult or turbulent times our personality can change as we attempt to adapt to our changing lives. We all have ways that we cope with issues, such as trauma, and that can shape our personality.

While researching I found that several studies do support the idea that we do change as we grow older, but of course there are studies that argue that the aging process is not necessarily what changes our personalities. Haan, Millsap, and Hartka found that personality was unstable during the transitional period between middle and adulthood to late adulthood (Maiden, 2003). This is generally a time that is very challenging and potentially fraught with negative life experiences and changing life circumstances, i.e., retirement, illness, and widowhood. Robert Maiden, Steven Peterson, Myrah Caya, and Bert Hayslip chose this particular time period to support their theory that a person’s personality can change when he/she is challenged by life events that are traumatic and negative. To highlight how change may occur (i.e., what particular set of circumstances is important in this process), they operationalized life events by measuring changes in their participants physical health, social activity, and unmet psychosocial needs. If such changes do occur it may point to an interactive model of personality development in adulthood.

Be time-efficient!
Tell us your topic!

  • Select a writer from a large pool of experts
  • Share your assignment’s requirements
  • Get a 100% unique and top-quality paper

Place Order

Hartshorne and May in 1928 showed that the personality trait of honesty in children and adults was inconsistent across situations (Maiden, 2003). Environmental theorists, such as Dollard and Miller in 1950 and Skinner in 1953, also argued that the situation or set of environmental contingencies determined how one behaved in a particular instance and that enduring personality structure or dispositions were at best, irrelevant or more likely, nonexistent. Many began to question early trait theorists such as Cattell and Eysenck, who contended that the personality was genetically determined, stable, and relatively unchanging in adults, arguing that personality as measured by trait theorists was primarily based on self-reports, which may be stable over time (Maiden, 2003). These, however, had little validity in predicting how an individual would react to changes in a particular situation.

Mischel found that adjustment to deinstitutionalization among mental patients depended essentially upon the reciprocal interactions between the individual and his/her environment, resulting in little or no consistency between one’s overt behavior and the assessment of personality traits prior to the individual’s discharge (Maiden, 2003). Epstein argued that when a number of behavioral observations were made across a large number of situations and conditions, considerable consistency was found on personality traits. So, it is obvious that there are many theories and studies that have differing opinions when it comes to personality changes.

Costa and McCrae conducted the most extensive and state-of-the-art research on a five-factor trait theory of personality. On the basis of a series of seminal studies, they have articulated a theory of personality structure and functioning, which they believe accurately reflects not only how people say they will behave in a particular situation but also how people really behave in such situations (Maiden, 2003). What is most important is that Costa and McCrae demonstrated that personality dispositions for the most part change very little among the vast majority of adults after the age of 30. McCrae and Costa contend that personality is genetically determined, universal, and unfolds across the life span according to a predetermined plan. It is not determined by and/or is little affected by changes in the environment or culture of an individual. Indeed, they argue that it is the other way around; that is, people change their environment or social role to suit their personality (Maiden, 2003).

For example, McCrae observed that conscientiousness does not attain its highest level in most people until early-to-mid-adulthood. At such time, the environment is then shaped by adults assuming the responsibility of raising a family and pursuing a career (Maiden, 2003). However, it is important to acknowledge that stability may have different adaptive consequences, depending on the particular dimension of the personality being considered. Thus, stability in neuroticism may prove to be maladaptive, while stability in extroversion or agreeableness may work to one’s advantage. Needless to say, the suggestions that personality is not influenced by and individual’s environment or culture and that personality is virtually absolute after the age of 30 have not gone unnoticed.

As we reach middle age and beyond, we tend to care more about our work, responsibilities, and people in our lives. As we can become set in our own ways, we may be less open to meeting new people, and we may become less neurotic and extroverted. Sanjay Srivastava, PhD, a psychologist at Stanford University did some research that suggested that personality changes less and less over time. He performed a self-questionnaire online that was completed by 132,000 Americans and Canadians between the ages of 21 and 60 (Kircheimer, 2003). They were tasked to rate themselves on personality traits known by psychologists as the “Big Five”. These are conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extroversion. Srivastava was somewhat surprised by the results. He found that personality traits change gradually but consistently throughout life; and on average, people are getting better as they get older (Kircheimer, 2003).

His study adds to evidence that personality may not solely result from biology, but changes over time as the result of life stages, experiences, social environment, and gender. Srivastava says that this offers some reassurance to people worried about aging. He states that we can get better as we age, at least at some traits. Psychologist Robert Hogan, PhD, states that people tend to have more integrity and put more emphasis on fulfilling their responsibilities and doing what they say they’ll do (Kircheimer, 2003). He does believe that the best way to evaluate someone’s personality is to have people answer questions on a questionnaire, and then validate their answers with others who know them. This is because we tend to see ourselves different than others see us.

The positive changes in our personalities as we age can be attributed to gaining a better sense of our own identity. As we grow older, we tend to realize who and what we stand for by a certain age. This usually occurs in our late 30’s and on. When we look at Erikson’s stage theory of psychosocial development as we age, we move into the eight and final of Erikson’s stages which is Integrity versus despair. This stage begins at approximately age 65 and ends at death. Psychologists, counselors, and nurses today use the concepts of Erikson’s stages when providing care for aging patients. Erikson’s theory suggests that we pass through eight distinctive developmental stages as they grow and change through life. Erikson was one of the few theorists to at development across the entire course of the lifespan (Cherry, 2019). He was also the first to view the aging process itself as part of human development. At each stage of psychosocial development, people are faced with a crisis that acts as a turning point in development. Successfully resolving the crisis leads to developing a psychological virtue that contributes to overall psychological well-being (Cherry, 2019). At the integrity versus despair stage, the key conflict centers on questioning whether or not the individual has les a meaningful, satisfying life. This a time when we reflect back on our lives. Did we accomplish the things that we set out to do? Do we have regrets about things we should have done or about things we could have done differently?

In the stage of integrity versus despair we begin to tackle the problem of his or her mortality. The onset of this stage is often triggered by life events such as retirement, the loss of a spouse, the loss of friends and acquaintances, facing a terminal illness, and other changes to major roles in our lives. As stated earlier we are looking back on our lives and how we lived and we can either come away with a sense of fulfillment from the lives we lived or a sense of regret and despair over a life misspent. If we are successful, we gain wisdom. If we are unsuccessful, we tend to feel like we have wastes our one chance and we will experience many regrets. This ultimately leaves us with a feeling of bitterness and despair. We must make adjustments in our expectations if we are to be successful during this stage.

Some things or factors that can have an impact on our personalities as we get older can be mentally, emotionally, and physical changes. There is life changing event that are occurring when we reach later adulthood. Some of these events are retirement, becoming a grandparent, friendships and social connections, widowhood, and going from the provider of care to the recipient of care. Some emotions and changes that can occur due to these situations can be frustration, being overwhelmed, loneliness, sadness, and anger (Orosa, 2016). These can occur even if we have a good support system, but if we don’t have a support system, i.e., family and friends then these feelings are increased. There is a struggle with independence versus dependence. We don’t want to give up our independence, and for some this is where it all goes downhill. Its hard to have to depend on someone for daily activities that most of take for granted. We need to be compassionate, patient, and have empathy for our loved ones in this stage. If we put ourselves in their shoes, we can see how we might feel.

I discussed some examples of what can lead to changes in our behaviors above, but a major issue is forgetfulness. Dementia can come along with age. This is one the biggest and hardest things for a person to deal with. When we can’t remember people, or how to do something that we used to do every day it becomes very frustrating. It is also very difficult for family and friends to watch a loved one go through this. We feel helpless and want to fix it. As long as we are supportive and patient it may ease some of the frustration that our loved one is feeling. Dementia is a progressive disease, there is no cure. It also varies per individual as to how quickly it progresses.

Some of the physical changes that we go through as we age can play a role in personality changes. If you are a very active person, but because of your knees or a hip replacement you may not be able to do all of the activities that you are accustomed to doing. This can lead to frustration, sadness, and anger. Some older adults can feel very overwhelmed with how advanced technology is and how it has been integrated into our everyday tasks. This can make something that is simple seem overwhelming to an older adult. This is another factor that gets taken for granted by family members, especially younger family members who have grown up with this technology. Its normal to them. When we encounter our loved ones trying to cope with these significant changes in their lives, we must make sure that we keep an eye on their behaviors and feelings. If we are concerned that it is not normal then we have to get help for them. There are many resources that benefit the elderly. There are professional caregivers that can help monitor your loved one’s behavior and provide the companionship that he or she needs. These can help promote our loved one’s overall wellbeing (Watt, 2011).

There are things we can do to prepare for old age. We can stay healthy by exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, make sure we save for an adequate retirement, avoid smoking and drinking too much alcohol, keep in touch with friends, have a good circle of friends, have a sport or hobby to do regularly, maintain a good relationship with a partner, learn new skills or hobbies, keep active in the community whenever possible, make adjustments to our homes, and moving to an apartment or house that is more suitable for older people. (Boyon, 2019) Above all having a positive outlook or belief about our lives can go a long way in how we take these normal and somewhat major life events that are going to occur. Our personalities are what makes us unique and we all interpret experiences in different ways. What may have a huge impact on one individual may have less of an impact on another. We all cope with things differently.

In conclusion, I set out to prove that as we age our personalities change. I found that this is somewhat true. For the most part our personalities remain stable or intact. By the time we reach our 30’s we for the most part know who we are. So, as we grow older our personalities can be somewhat changed based the different experiences we encounter and whether or not they were traumatic or stressful. Its complicated, but that is not surprising. There are so many factors that can go into it. There are psychological, biological, environmental and social factors that an affect us. In the end if we have a good support system that we can surround ourselves with and we can look back on our lives as a life well lived than this eases our transition and helps us to be able to confront the inevitability of our lives coming to an end.

As We Grow Older Does Our Personality Change? Opinion Essay essay

Особые предложения 2
Открыть

  •  

    Эссе1 Психология, Языки, переводы

Опубликованно:
13.05.2021.

Язык:
Английский

Уровень:
Средняя школа

Литературный список:
Нет

Ссылки:
Не использованы

Фрагмент работы

A great number of people are unsatisfied, because they do not like or accept their personality. From my point of view, a person is not able to change their personality. Personality is something a person is born with. People often try to battle their inner wills and lose a lot of energy and power on something that is not possible to change. Accepting your personality gives you a sense of comfort, it is very important to listen, forgive and help yourself to open your inner strength and possibilities that you were blessed with since you were born.

Коментарий автора

One of the most important and interesting questions in personality research at the moment is whether it changes or remains constant throughout your life. When we talk about personality, we mean a framework of traits that are stable patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. In other words, personality shows what a person is like and how he or she interacts with other people.

This kid's personality might gradually change over time, but whether he comes around on finger puppets is anyone's guess. 
This kid’s personality might gradually change over time, but whether he comes around on finger puppets is anyone’s guess. 
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Between adolescence and adulthood, you go through a host of changes — jobs, regrettable haircuts and relationships that come and go. But what about who you are at your core? As you grow older, does your personality change?

Personality is the pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviors unique to a person. People tend to think of personality as fixed. But according to psychologists, that’s not how it works. «Personality is a developmental phenomenon. It’s not just a static thing that you’re stuck with and can’t get over,» said Brent Roberts, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

That’s not to say that you’re a different person each day you wake up. In the short term, change can be nearly imperceptible, Roberts told Live Science. Longitudinal studies, in which researchers survey the personalities of participants regularly over many years, suggest that our personality is actually stable on shorter time scales. 

Related: Why do people have different personalities?

In one study, published in 2000 in the journal Psychological Bulletin, researchers analyzed the results of 152 longitudinal studies on personality, which followed participants ranging in age from childhood to their early 70s. Each of these studies measured trends in the Big Five personality traits. This cluster of traits, which include extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and neuroticism, are a mainstay of personality research. The researchers found that individuals’ levels of each personality trait, relative to other participants, tended to stay consistent within each decade of life. 

That pattern of consistency begins around age 3, and perhaps even earlier, said Brent Donnellan, professor and chair of psychology at Michigan State University. When psychologists study children, they don’t measure personality traits in the same way they do for adults. Instead, they look at temperament — the intensity of a person’s reactions to the world. We come into the world with unique temperaments, and research suggests that our temperaments as children — for example, whether we’re easy going or prone to temper tantrums, eager or more reluctant to approach strangers — correspond to adult personality traits. «A shy 3-year-old acts a lot different from a shy 20-something. But there’s an underlying core,» Donnellan told Live Science. 

Earlier temperament seems to affect later life experience. For example, one 1995 study published in the journal Child Development followed children from the age of 3 until the age of 18. The researchers found, for instance, that children who were shyer and more withdrawn tended to grow into unhappier teenagers. 

But those decades add up. Throughout all those years, our personality is still changing, but slowly, Roberts said. «It’s something that’s subtle,» he added. You don’t notice it on that five-to-10-year time scale, but in the long term, it becomes pronounced. In 1960, psychologists surveyed over 440,000 high school students — around 5% of all students in the country at that time. The students answered questions about everything from how they reacted to emotional situations to how efficiently they got work done. Fifty years later, researchers tracked down 1,952 of these former students and gave them the same survey. The results, published in 2018 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that in their 60s, participants scored much higher than they had as teenagers on questions measuring calmness, self-confidence, leadership and social sensitivity. 

Again and again, longitudinal studies have found similar results. Personality tends to get «better» over time. Psychologists call it «the maturity principle.» People become more extraverted, emotionally stable, agreeable and conscientious as they grow older. Over the long haul, these changes are often pronounced. 

Some individuals might change less than others, but in general, the maturity principle applies to everyone. That makes personality change even harder to recognize in ourselves — how your personality compares with that of your peers doesn’t change as much as our overall change in personality, because everyone else is changing right along with you. «There’s good evidence that the average self-control of a 30-year-old is higher than a 20-year-old,» Donnellan said. «At the same time, people who are relatively self-controlled at 18 also tend to be relatively self-controlled at age 30.»

So why do we change so much? Evidence suggests it’s not dramatic life events, such as marriage, the birth of a child or loss of a loved one. Some psychologists actually suggest these events reinforce your personality as you bring your characteristics with you to that particular situation, Donnellan said. 

Related: How accurate is the Myers-Briggs personality test?

Instead, changing expectations placed on us — as we adjust to university, the work force, starting a family — slowly wears us in, almost like a pair of shoes, Roberts said. «Over time you are asked in many contexts across life to do things a bit differently,» he said. «There’s not a user manual for how to act, but there’s very clear implicit norms for how we should behave in these situations.» So we adapt.

Depending on how you look at it, it’s a revelation that’s either unsettling or hopeful. Over time, personality does change, progressively and consistently — like tectonic plates shifting rather than an earthquake. «That opens up the question: Over the life course, how much of a different person do we become?» Roberts said.

Originally published on Live Science.

Isobel Whitcomb is a contributing writer for Live Science who covers the environment, animals and health. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Fatherly, Atlas Obscura, Hakai Magazine and Scholastic’s Science World Magazine. Isobel’s roots are in science. She studied biology at Scripps College in Claremont, California, while working in two different labs and completing a fellowship at Crater Lake National Park. She completed her master’s degree in journalism at NYU’s Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

Most Popular

There is long-standing research to support the belief that our basic personality traits are set in our youth and do not change much as we age. A recent study, conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, and reported in the Journal of Psychology and Aging, challenges this idea.

The study measured personality traits in 14-year-olds and then revisited those adolescents 60 years later. Six aspects of personality were measured: self-confidence, conscientiousness, perseverance, desire to excel, originality, and stability of mood.

The results were fascinating. They showed that the adult personalities had almost no correlation to the personalities of their adolescent selves. Does this surprise you?

Are You Anything Like Your Teenage Self?

When I compare my teenage self to my adult self, some of those traits remain constant. I am still dedicated and hardworking and have a strong desire to succeed in my life and work. Those traits allowed me to find success in school and activities in my teens, and later in my career. These measures of conscientiousness, perseverance, and desire to excel have changed form, but remain present in my life.

The nature of adolescence would seem to play a big role in mood stability. During adolescence, hormones run rampant and teenagers are notoriously moody. I am not at all surprised that adults in this study showed a change in mood stability. I am no longer the moody 14-year-old I once was.

What Qualities Did You Demonstrate in Adolescence?

As for originality, we might want to consider what that looks like. Adolescence is time when many teens feel a strong pull to fit in with the crowd rather than stand out. Originality might show up in the form of creative passions such as music or art, but also might be hidden to conform. I was a very creative child but suppressed much of my creativity as an adolescent. Today, I revel in original and visionary thinking.

The area of most change for me, and I suspect for others my age, is in self-confidence. I did not have much self-confidence as an adolescent. I struggled with this throughout my life, and it is only now that I am becoming stronger and more confident in the knowledge of who I am and what I can do. Age has given me the experience and wisdom to understand my worth.

Do Our Basic Personality Traits Change?

Life experience and the information we learn through the years does change us. We grow through our trials and change our ideas, values and beliefs. Do our basic personality traits change? That is a good question and worthy of thought and discussion.

What about you? What similarities do you notice between your teenage self and the woman you are today? Do you think your basic personality has changed since you were an adolescent? This has the makings of a very interesting and lively conversation. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

by Isobel Whitcomb: Good news: we get better over time…

Awaken

Between adolescence and adulthood, you go through a host of changes — jobs, regrettable haircuts and relationships that come and go. But what about who you are at your core? As you grow older, does your personality change?

Personality is the pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviors unique to a person. People tend to think of personality as fixed. But according to psychologists, that’s not how it works. “Personality is a developmental phenomenon. It’s not just a static thing that you’re stuck with and can’t get over,” said Brent Roberts, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

That’s not to say that you’re a different person each day you wake up. In the short term, change can be nearly imperceptible, Roberts told Live Science. Longitudinal studies, in which researchers survey the personalities of participants regularly over many years, suggest that our personality is actually stable on shorter time scales.

In one study, published in 2000 in the journal Psychological Bulletinresearchers analyzed the results of 152 longitudinal studies on personality, which followed participants ranging in age from childhood to their early 70s. Each of these studies measured trends in the Big Five personality traits. This cluster of traits, which include extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and neuroticism, are a mainstay of personality research. The researchers found that individuals’ levels of each personality trait, relative to other participants, tended to stay consistent within each decade of life.

That pattern of consistency begins around age 3, and perhaps even earlier, said Brent Donnellan, professor and chair of psychology at Michigan State University. When psychologists study children, they don’t measure personality traits in the same way they do for adults. Instead, they look at temperament — the intensity of a person’s reactions to the world. We come into the world with unique temperaments, and research suggests that our temperaments as children — for example, whether we’re easy going or prone to temper tantrums, eager or more reluctant to approach strangers — correspond to adult personality traits. “A shy 3-year-old acts a lot different from a shy 20-something. But there’s an underlying core,” Donnellan told Live Science.

Earlier temperament seems to affect later life experience. For example, one 1995 study published in the journal Child Development followed children from the age of 3 until the age of 18. The researchers found, for instance, that children who were shyer and more withdrawn tended to grow into unhappier teenagers.

But those decades add up. Throughout all those years, our personality is still changing, but slowly, Roberts said. “It’s something that’s subtle,” he added. You don’t notice it on that five-to-10-year time scale, but in the long term, it becomes pronounced. In 1960, psychologists surveyed over 440,000 high school students — around 5% of all students in the country at that time. The students answered questions about everything from how they reacted to emotional situations to how efficiently they got work done. Fifty years later, researchers tracked down 1,952 of these former students and gave them the same survey. The results, published in 2018 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that in their 60s, participants scored much higher than they had as teenagers on questions measuring calmness, self-confidence, leadership and social sensitivity.

Again and again, longitudinal studies have found similar results. Personality tends to get “better” over time. Psychologists call it “the maturity principle.” People become more extraverted, emotionally stable, agreeable and conscientious as they grow older. Over the long haul, these changes are often pronounced.

Some individuals might change less than others, but in general, the maturity principle applies to everyone. That makes personality change even harder to recognize in ourselves — how your personality compares with that of your peers doesn’t change as much as our overall change in personality, because everyone else is changing right along with you. “There’s good evidence that the average self-control of a 30-year-old is higher than a 20-year-old,” Donnellan said. “At the same time, people who are relatively self-controlled at 18 also tend to be relatively self-controlled at age 30.”

So why do we change so much? Evidence suggests it’s not dramatic life events, such as marriage, the birth of a child or loss of a loved one. Some psychologists actually suggest these events reinforce your personality as you bring your characteristics with you to that particular situation, Donnellan said.

Instead, changing expectations placed on us — as we adjust to university, the work force, starting a family — slowly wears us in, almost like a pair of shoes, Roberts said. “Over time you are asked in many contexts across life to do things a bit differently,” he said. “There’s not a user manual for how to act, but there’s very clear implicit norms for how we should behave in these situations.” So we adapt.

Depending on how you look at it, it’s a revelation that’s either unsettling or hopeful. Over time, personality does change, progressively and consistently — like tectonic plates shifting rather than an earthquake. “That opens up the question: Over the life course, how much of a different person do we become?” Roberts said.

Source: Live Science

Добавить комментарий

Ваш адрес email не будет опубликован. Обязательные поля помечены *