Personality Development = Degree to which people can change and remain the same over time.
Definition in book = Continuity, consistency, and stability of characteristics of people over time.
Two defining qualities of personality change:
- Internal (Personal, not environmental)
- Enduring
Stability and change can be viewed at three levels of analysis:
- Population level
- Changes or constancies that happen to almost everyone.
- Group level
- Changes or constancies that affect different groups differently.
- Individual difference level
- Of significant interest to personality researchers!
Three forms of stability:
- Rank-order stability
- Stability of the average (mean-level)
- Personal coherence
- Maintenance of rank order relative to others but changes in manifestation of traits.
(Personality profile stability could also be a form because this is often measured in research.)
What parts of our personality undergo change?
- The McAdams model
- Dispositional traits Big Five
- Characteristic adaptations, a person’s desires, beliefs, concerns and coping mechanisms
- The stories that give a life a sense of meaning, purpose and unity. Narrative identity
- Personality development: The accumulation of “layers” of personality as one ages.
Temperament = early personality traits
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Why does our personality change?
Two theories: FFT & SIP
The Five-Fdctor Theory
– Genetics/biology
- Universal
- Limited environmental influences
The Socidl Investment Principle
- Cultural norms
- Assume and identify with adult roles
Cohort effects = personality changes that occur over time as a reflection of the social times in which an individual or group of individuals live.
Age effects = personality changes that occur over time due to the aging of an individual.