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Personality changes for the better with age
July/August 2003, Vol 34, No. 7

Print version: page 14

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While many may suspect that people's personalities are fixed in childhood, new research suggests that most people's personalities evolve throughout their lives.

Personality changes in men and women older than 30 were demonstrated in a study conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, and published recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 84, No. 5).

The researchers, who evaluated data from 132,515 adults, ages 21-60, looked at overall life span trends in the "Big Five" personality traits--conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness and extraversion.

"One of the major theories of personality asserts that personality traits are largely set by genetics, and, by consequence, changes in personality traits should slow as other functions of maturation slow,"

Conscientious-ness, a trait marked by organization and discipline, and linked to success at work and in relationships, was found to increase through the age ranges studied, with the most change occurring in a person's 20s. Agreeableness, a trait associated with being warm, generous and helpful, bucked the theory that personalities don't change after 30. On the contrary, people in the study showed the most change in agreeableness during their 30s and continued to improve through their 60s. This even happened among men, which debunks the concept of "grumpy old men," Srivastava says.

"The levels of change in these two traits seem to model what would make sense with adult roles," Srivastava says. "Conscientiousness grows as people mature and become better at managing their jobs and relationships, and agreeableness changes most in your 30s when you're raising a family and need to be nurturing."

Conscientiousness
“We become more conscientious when life starts having more demands,” explains Damian.

Meeting expectations with timeliness and professionalism is a skill that grows with both time and need — for example, financial security.

Emotional stability
“As you grow older, your neuroticism might decrease and self-esteem increase,” says Damian.

Emotional stability might change over time in some cases. Damian adds that everyone is different. “If a person experiences a number of difficulties in life, they might become less emotionally stable as they age,” she says.