Personality plasticity after age 30.
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.
Terracciano
Antonio
A
National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. terraccianoa@grc.nia.nih.gov
Costa
Paul T
PT
McCrae
Robert R
RR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012919:Social Behavior