Personality Stability, Development, and Change Chapter 7 Personality Stability, Development, and Change Lecture Slides created by Tera D. Letzring Idaho State University © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Objectives Discuss the stability of personality, including the causes of stability Discuss the development of personality Discuss intentional personality change Discuss the principles of personality continuity and change © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Stability Rank-order consistency Evidence r = .60–.90 for 10-year span Childhood personality predicts adult behavior Personality disorders are stable Rank-order consistency definition: people tend to maintain the ways in which they are different from other people the same age Childhood personality predicts adult behavior: adaptable predicts being cheerful and intellectually curious; impulsive predicts talking more and louder; inhibited predicts longer time to find a stable romantic partner and a first job © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Stability Causes Temperament is affected by genetics Positive emotionality, negative emotionality, effortful control Heterotypic continuity Physical and environmental factors Birth order: debatable, small effect sizes Temperament definition: personality in young children Heterotypic continuity definition: effects of fundamental temperamental tendencies change with age, but temperament and personality stay the same; behaviors associated with traits change Physical factors: gender, height, attractiveness, and so on Environmental factors: rich versus poor, living in the city versus the country, family size © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Stability Causes Early experience: stress Person-environment transactions: active, reactive, evocative Cumulative continuity principle Environment also becomes more stable as we age Psychological maturity Person-environment transactions definition: people tend to respond to, seek out, and create environments that are compatible with, and may magnify, their personality traits Active: seek out compatible environments and avoid incompatible ones Reactive: people respond differently to the same situation Evocative: the person changes the situation Cumulative continuity principle definition: individual differences in personality become more consistent as one gets older Psychological maturity: contributes to stability; includes self-control, interpersonal sensitivity, and emotional stability Activities: Sources of Stability in Your Life; Identifying Person-Environment Transactions © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Development Development and stability can go together Cross-sectional studies: mean-level changes on the Big Five Personality development definition: change in the mean level of a personality trait over time Development and stability can go together: rank-order stability and mean-level change can occur at the same time. Cross-sectional studies definition: surveys of people at different ages © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Mean Scores on Big Five Personality Traits Between Ages 10 and 60 Transaction Process Examples Active person- environment transaction Person seeks out compatible environments and avoids incompatible ones Aggressive person goes to bar where fights are frequent; introvert avoids social gatherings Reactive person- environment transaction Different people respond differently to the same situation Extravert finds party enjoyable; introvert finds same party unbearable Evocative person- environment transaction Aspects of an individual’s personality leads to behavior that changes the situations he or she experiences Conscientious person tells group “it’s time to get to work”; disagreeable person starts argument over minor matter Figure 7.1 on p. 229 This is from cross-sectional data. Activity: Personality Development of the Big Five Traits © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Development Cohort effects: may contribute to age differences in cross-sectional studies Longitudinal studies Similar findings to cross-sectional studies People become more socially dominant, agreeable, conscientious, and emotionally stable; and self-esteem (up to age 50) and ego development increase Confirms the maturity principle Cohort effect definition: People of different ages may differ because they grew up in different social environments. Longitudinal studies definition: the same people are repeatedly measured over the years; a better method for studying development Ego development definition: ability to deal well with the social and physical world and to think for oneself when making moral decisions Maturity principle definition: Traits needed to effectively perform adult roles increase with age, especially conscientiousness and emotional stability. © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Development Findings refer to mean levels of traits Not everyone changes in the same way Personality continues to change, even in old age © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Development Causes Physical development and changes in strength Increases in intelligence and linguistic abilities Hormone-level changes Changes in social roles and responsibilities © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Development The social clock: places pressure on people to accomplish certain things by certain ages Women who followed either the feminine or masculine social clock reported higher contentment and satisfaction than women who followed neither The social clock definition: systematic changes in the demands that are made on a person over the years © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Development Narrative identity Three aspects: actor, agent, author How a person views his or her life, and how its trajectory fits into goals and dreams Themes differ Related to personality: conscientiousness and agency We develop how we see ourselves and our sense of who we are over time Actor: develop social skills, traits, and roles that one needs to take a place in society Agent: a person guided by goals and values; plan for the future to align with desired outcomes Author: to be able to tell your life story Themes differ: luck, success, tragedy; related to culture © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Development Goals across the life span When younger: preparation for the future When older (70+): things that are emotionally meaningful Related to breadth of perspective about time Emotionally meaningful: family, regulation of emotional experience © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Personality Change Desire for change is typical, and usually in the socially desirable direction Reason for wanting change: make life better Four potential methods of change In relation to intentional changes © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Personality Change Psychotherapy and psychiatric drugs: can produce long-term behavior change General interventions: usually aimed at important outcomes Usually aimed at important outcomes such as completing education, decreasing criminal behavior, and improving prospects for employment © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Personality Change Targeted interventions: address certain personality traits Increasing self-control: relaxation, learning to think differently about temptations and frustrations, mindfulness meditation, set realistic goals that are compatible with personal values Targeted intervention examples: practice inductive reasoning and working on puzzles increased openness; writing self-affirmations increased tolerance for stress and decreased defensiveness Activities: Increasing Self-Control and Compassion with Mindfulness Meditation; Increasing Self-control with Goal Setting © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Personality Change Behaviors and life experiences Positive: exercise, starting college or a job, beginning a serious relationship Negative: trying drugs, onset of chronic disease Becoming unemployed Negative life events Travel Military training Exercise: more physical activity in mid-life predicts more stable personality in old age (less of the typical decrease in conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness) Started college: related to decreased self-esteem, but it rebounds quickly and even increases Starting a job or a serious relationship: related to increased conscientiousness Trying drugs: increased neuroticism Onset of chronic disease: increased neuroticism and conscientiousness Becoming unemployed: decreased in agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness; but rebounded when a new job was found Negative life events: increased neuroticism, but also more likely for those high in neuroticism; having a little adversity seems to be good, but too much is harmful Travel: increased confidence, social skills, self-esteem, openness, agreeableness, creativity; decreased neuroticism Military training: increased in agreeableness, but not as much as those who had chosen to perform community service © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Personality Change Obstacles to change Not seeing a reason for change Takes effort Blaming negative experiences and failures on external forces People like consistency and predictability © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Personality Change Overcoming obstacles to change Figure 7.7 on p. 249 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Principles of Personality Continuity and Change “Personality is characterized by stability over the lifespan, and also by significant change” (p. 250). Cumulative continuity Maturity Plasticity Role continuity Cumulative continuity and maturity: discussed earlier in this chapter Plasticity: Personality can change at any time. Role continuity: Taking on roles consistent with one’s personality can help explain stability. Psychological development See Table 7.3 on p. 250. © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Principles of Personality Continuity and Change Identity development Social investment Corresponsive Identity development: People get a sense of who they are and then try to be consistent with it. Social investment: Connections to social structures and institutions, which changes with age, can influence psychological development. Corresponsive: Life experiences can magnify traits that already exist. © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Personality Change: Both Good and Bad Instability and inconsistency can cause problems Most change is adaptive but slow Who do you want to be, and what can you do to make this happen? Instability and inconsistency can cause problems with relationships, how one feels about the self, and long-term goal setting. © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Clicker Question #1 Research has shown that it is possible to intentionally change personality, such as make someone more self-controlled. personality does not change after about age 50. longitudinal studies reveal similar patterns of development as have been found in cross-sectional studies. one principle is sufficient to explain personality change. Correct answer: a © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Clicker Question #2 Personality stability is only affected by genetics. increases as people get older. is so low that adult behavior cannot be predicted by childhood personality. is certainly not affected by birth order. Correct answer: b, and point out that this is called the cumulative continuity principle © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Clicker Question #3 Which of the following statements about personality development is true? Personality changes very little after age 30. Rank-order stability tends to be high. The mean levels of traits change over time. Both b and c are correct. Correct answer: d, and reinforce the idea that change can be looked at in different ways and the meaning of each © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.