Chapter 7 Personality Stability Development and Change Lecture

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. 1

Personality Stability • Rank-order consistency • Evidence – r =. 60–. 90 for 10 -year span – Childhood personality predicts adult behavior – Personality disorders are stable © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 3

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 4

Personality Development • Development and stability can go together • Cross-sectional studies: mean-level changes

Mean Scores on Big Five Personality Traits Between Ages 10 and 60 Transaction Active person- environment transaction Reactive person- environment transaction Evocative person- environment transaction © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Process Person seeks out compatible environments and avoids incompatible ones Different people respond differently to the same situation Aspects of an individual’s personality leads to behavior that changes the situations he or she experiences Examples Aggressive person goes to bar where fights are frequent; introvert avoids social gatherings Extravert finds party enjoyable; introvert finds same party unbearable Conscientious person tells group “it’s time to get to work”; disagreeable person starts argument over minor matter 6

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 7

Personality Development • Findings refer to mean levels of traits • Not everyone changes

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. 9

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 10

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 11

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 12

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 13

Personality Change • Psychotherapy and psychiatric drugs: can produce long-term behavior change • General

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 15

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 16

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. 17

Personality Change • Overcoming obstacles to change © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company,

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 © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 19

Principles of Personality Continuity and Change • Identity development • Social investment • Corresponsive

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? © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 21

Clicker Question #1 Research has shown that a) it is possible to intentionally change personality, such as make someone more self-controlled. b) personality does not change after about age 50. c) longitudinal studies reveal similar patterns of development as have been found in cross-sectional studies. d) one principle is sufficient to explain personality change. © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 22

Clicker Question #2 Personality stability a) is only affected by genetics. b) increases as people get older. c) is so low that adult behavior cannot be predicted by childhood personality. d) is certainly not affected by birth order. © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 23

Clicker Question #3 Which of the following statements about personality development is true? a) Personality changes very little after age 30. b) Rank-order stability tends to be high. c) The mean levels of traits change over time. d) Both b and c are correct. © 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 24