title: Adult age differences in personality traits in the United States and the People's Republic of China.
abstract: Life experiences for corresponding age cohorts in the United States (US) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have been dramatically different. If cohort effects account for cross-sectional age differences in mean levels of personality traits, different patterns of age differences should be seen in samples from the US and the PRC. The present study examined scores on scales from the California Psychological Inventory (CPI; Gough, 1987) in US (N = 348, age = 19-92 years) and PRC (N = 2,093, age = 18-67 years) samples. Very similar patterns of age correlations were seen. To compare results to other cross-cultural studies, CPI scales were interpreted in terms of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality; an FFM Age-Relatedness Index based on American data accurately predicted CPI age correlations not only in the US but also in the PRC sample. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that there are universal intrinsic maturational changes in personality.
authors.affiliation: Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: McCrae
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007439:Introversion, Psychological; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010553:Personality Development; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept; D012930:Social Dominance; D014481:United States