Examine individual changes

'{{Multiple issues| {{essay|date=April 2012}} {{confusing|date=April 2012}} }} To understand the changes that can happen within personality, one must first understand personality. Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Personality|url=https://www.apa.org/topics/personality|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-29|website=www.apa.org}}</ref> Every person has their own "individual differences in particular personality characteristics"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Personality|url=https://www.apa.org/topics/personality|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-29|website=www.apa.org}}</ref> that separate them from others. The overall study of personality "focuses on two broad areas: One is understanding individual differences in particular personality characteristics... The other is understanding how the various parts of a person come together as a whole."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Personality|url=https://www.apa.org/topics/personality|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-29|website=www.apa.org}}</ref> An easier way to understand or describe personality is simply to say that one's personality is made up of events, circumstances, as well as genetics, that come together in order to provide someone with defining characteristics and traits. If someone asked one of your friends to describe your personality, what do you think they would say? Those traits and characteristics that define someone are what the general public like to describe as one's personality. Although there is little research overall, there has been compelling initial evidence for personality change. The development of personality is often dependent on the stage of life a person is in, and the extent to which one's levels of characteristics, relative to their age cohort, is stable across long periods of time.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Ashton|first=Michael C.|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=v9q1DQAAQBAJ&pg=GBS.PA86.w.1.0.324|title=Individual Differences and Personality|date=2017-05-30|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-12-809846-2|language=en}}</ref> Cultural and environmental influence are large factors in personality trait differences.<ref name=":0" /> Personality change is usually seen over longer periods of time and is analogical to height, as most development occurs in the earlier stages of life and becomes more stable as one grows into adulthood.<ref name=":0" /> [[The Big Five personality traits|The Big Five]], or Five Factor Model, is the most widely accepted form of personality theory, and especially in terms of personality change.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gurven|first1=Michael|last2=von Rueden|first2=Christopher|last3=Massenkoff|first3=Maxim|last4=Kaplan|first4=Hillard|last5=Lero Vie|first5=Marino|date=2013|title=How universal is the Big Five? Testing the five-factor model of personality variation among forager–farmers in the Bolivian Amazon.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|language=en|volume=104|issue=2|pages=354–370|doi=10.1037/a0030841|issn=1939-1315|pmc=4104167|pmid=23245291}}</ref> Research suggests that genetics play a role in the change and stability of certain traits in a personality. They have also discovered environmental and situational/contextual sources affect personality.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title=Towards an Integrative Model of Sources of Personality Stability and Change|last1=Wagner|first1=Jenny|last2=Orth|first2=Ulrich|date=2020-03-26|last3=Bleidorn|first3=Wiebke|last4=Hopwood|first4=Christopher James|last5=Kandler|first5=Christian|doi=10.31234/osf.io/qzef8|url=http://psyarxiv.com/qzef8/}}</ref> Some debates have pervaded the field of psychology since its beginning. One of the most debated deals with the nature and development of personality. Personality psychology studies one's distinctive style of [[cognition]], behavior, and [[affect (psychology)|affect]]. However, this concept elicits discord among psychologists as some have insisted that it does not exist,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Mischel|first=Walter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXT9o1PQPFgC&q=Mischel+W.+Personality+and+assessment+&pg=PP1|title=Personality and Assessment|date=2013-04-15|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-134-99645-2|language=en}}</ref> while others struggle with issues of measurement. ==Personality exists== [[Personality]], one's characteristic way of feeling, behaving and thinking, is often conceptualized as a person's standing on each [[Big Five personality traits|Big Five personality trait]] ([[extraversion]], [[neuroticism]], [[openness to experience]], [[agreeableness]] and [[conscientiousness]]). A person's personality profile is thus gauged from their standing on five broad concepts which predict, among other life outcomes, behavior and the quality of interpersonal relationships. Initially, it was believed that one's Big Five profile was static and dichotomous in that one was either at one extreme of each trait or another <ref>Funder, D. C. (2010). The Personality Puzzle (5th Ed.). NY: Norton</ref> For example, people are typically categorized as [[introverted]] or [[extraverted]]. Personality was therefore assessed in terms of generalities or averages. In noticing the strong inconsistencies in how people behaved across situations, some psychologists dismissed personality as nonexistent.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} This school of thought attributes human behavior to environmental factors, relegating individual differences to situational artifacts and contesting the existence of individual predispositions. It was led by [[Situationism (psychology)|situationists]] like [[Walter Mischel]] (1968). Their contention held that personality was a fictitious concept. For them, the discrepancies observed across one's behaviors were evidence that inter-individual differences did not exist <ref>Mischel, W. (1968). Personality and assessment. Hoboken, NJ US: John Wiley & Sons Inc.</ref> Some aspects of the situationist perspective even suggest that all human beings are the same and that the differences we observe are simply illusory byproducts of the environment. However, personality experts (sometimes referred to as personologists) soon integrated these inconsistencies into their conceptualization of [[personality]]. They modified the old, more monolithic construct by measuring how people differ across situations. Their new methods of personality assessment describe fluctuations in personality characteristics as consistent and predictable for each person based on the environment he is in and his predispositions. Some work suggests that people can espouse different levels of a personality dimension as the social situations and time of day change<ref name="Fleeson, William 2001">{{cite journal | last1 = Fleeson | first1 = William | year = 2001 | title = Towards a structure- and process-integrated view of personality: Traits as density distributions of states | journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume = 80 | issue = 6| pages = 1011–1027 | doi=10.1037/0022-3514.80.6.1011| pmid = 11414368 }}</ref> Therefore, someone is not [[conscientious]] all the time, but can be conscientious at work and a lot less so when she is home. This work also suggests that intrapersonal variations on a [[trait theory|trait]] can be even larger than interpersonal variations. [[Extraversion]] varies more within a person than across individuals, for example. This work was based on individual self-ratings during the day across a long period of time. This allowed for researchers to assess moment-to-moment and day to day variations on personality attributes.<ref name="Fleeson, William 2001"/> Personologists now tend to agree that people's personalities are variegated and are not to be conceptualized through bipolar characterizations (e.g. extraversion vs introversion). Rather people oscillate between the two extremes of a trait. The pattern of this oscillation then constitutes personality.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} ==The impact of social roles== In addition, social roles (e.g. employee) have been identified as a potential sources of [[personality]] change. Researchers have found strong correspondences between the demands of a [[social role]] and one's personality profile.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Heller | first1 = D. | last2 = Perunovic | first2 = W. Q. E. | last3 = Reichman | first3 = D. | year = 2009 | title = The future of person-situation integration in the interface between traits and goals: A bottom-up framework | journal = Journal of Personality | volume = 43 | issue = 2| pages = 171–178 | doi=10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.011}}</ref> If the role requires that the person enacting it be [[conscientious]], her standing on this trait is more likely to be high. Conversely, once he leaves that role and or takes on another which entails less conscientiousness, he will manifest a lower level standing on that trait. Longitudinal research demonstrates that people's personality trajectories can often be explained by the social roles they espoused and relinquished throughout their life stages. Thus social roles are often studied as fundamental predictors of personality.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ozer | first1 = D. J. | last2 = Benet-Martínez | first2 = V. | year = 2006 | title = Personality and the prediction of consequential outcomes | journal = Annual Review of Psychology | volume = 57 | pages = 401–421 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190127 | pmid=16318601| doi-access = free }}</ref> The goals associated with them elicit the appropriation of certain personality profiles by the people enacting them. For example, employees judged effective by their peers and superiors are often described as conscientious as well. Personality also changes through life stages. This may be due to physiological changes associated with development but also experiences that impact behavior. Adolescence and young adulthood have been found to be prime periods of personality changes, especially in the domains of extraversion and agreeableness.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Soto | first1 = C. J. | last2 = John | first2 = O. P. | last3 = Gosling | first3 = S. D. | last4 = Potter | first4 = J. | year = 2011 | title = Age differences in personality traits from 10 to 65: Big Five domains and facets in a large cross-sectional sample | journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume = 100 | issue = 2| pages = 330–348 | doi=10.1037/a0021717 | pmid=21171787}}</ref> It has long been believed that personality development is shaped by life experiences that intensify the propensities that led individuals to those experiences in the first place,<ref name="Jeronimus2014">{{cite journal|author1=Jeronimus, B.F.| display-authors=etal |year=2014|title= Mutual Reinforcement Between Neuroticism and Life Experiences: A Five-Wave, 16-Year Study to Test Reciprocal Causation|journal= Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=107|issue=4|pages=751–64|pmid=25111305|doi=10.1037/a0037009}}</ref> which is known as the [[Correspondence principle (sociology)|Correspondence Principle]].<ref name="Caspi2011"/> Subsequent research endeavors have integrated these findings in their methods of investigation. Researchers distinguish between mean level and rank order changes in trait standing during old age.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mõttus | first1 = R. | last2 = Johnson | first2 = W. | last3 = Deary | first3 = I. J. | year = 2012 | title = Personality traits in old age: Measurement and rank-order stability and some mean-level change | url = https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/15005461/Personality_traits_in_old_age.pdf| journal = Psychology and Aging | volume = 27 | issue = 1| pages = 243–249 | doi = 10.1037/a0023690 | pmid = 21604884 | hdl = 20.500.11820/39c061a9-27f6-49a2-9b91-3c1293210310 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> Their study of personality trajectories is thus contingent on time and on age considerations. Mottus, Johnson and Geary (2012) found that instability engendered by aging does not necessarily affect one's standing within an age cohort. Hence, fluctuations and stability coexist so that one changes relative to one's former self but not relative to one's peers. Similarly, other psychologists found that [[Neuroticism]], [[Extraversion]] (only in men), and [[Openness to experience|Openness]] decreased with age after 70, but [[Conscientiousness]] and [[Agreeableness]] increased with age (the latter only in men). Moreover, they suggest that there is a decline on each trait after the age of 81.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lucas | first1 = R. E. | last2 = Donnellan | first2 = M. | year = 2009 | title = Age differences in personality: Evidence from a nationally representative Australian sample | journal = Developmental Psychology | volume = 45 | issue = 5| pages = 1353–1363 | doi = 10.1037/a0013914 | pmid=19702397}}</ref> ==Inconsistency as a trait== Personality inconsistency has become such a prevalent consideration for personologists that some even conceptualize it as a predisposition in itself. Fleisher and Woehr (2008) suggest that that consistency across the Big Five is a construct that is fairly stable and contributes to the predictive validity of personality measures. Hence, inconsistency is quantifiable much like a trait, and constitutes an index of - and enhances - the fit of psychological models. To accommodate the inconsistency demonstrated on personality tests, researchers developed the Frame Of Reference principle (FOR). According to this theory, people tend to think of their personality in terms of a specific social context when they are asked to rate them. Whichever environment is cognitively salient at the time of the personality measurement will influence the respondent's ratings on a trait measure.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Reddock | first1 = C. M. | last2 = Biderman | first2 = M. D. | last3 = Nguyen | first3 = N. T. | year = 2011 | title = The relationship of reliability and validity of personality tests to frame-of-reference instructions and within-person inconsistency | journal = International Journal of Selection and Assessment | volume = 19 | issue = 2| pages = 119–131 | doi = 10.1111/j.1468-2389.2011.00540.x | s2cid = 37446065 }}</ref> If, for example, the person is thinking in terms of their student identity, then the personality ratings he reports will most likely reflect the profile he espouses in the context of student life. Accounting for the FOR principle aims at increasing the validity of personality measures. This demonstrates that the predictive validity of personality measures which specify a social context is a lot higher than those measures which take a more generic approach. This point is substantiated by yet another body of work suggesting that FOR instructions moderated the link between extraversion and openness scores on manager ratings of employee performance <ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hunthausen | first1 = J. M. | last2 = Truxillo | first2 = D. M. | last3 = Bauer | first3 = T. N. | last4 = Hammer | first4 = L. B. | year = 2003 | title = A field study of frame-of-reference effects on personality test validity | journal = Journal of Applied Psychology | volume = 88 | issue = 3| pages = 545–551 | doi = 10.1037/0021-9010.88.3.545 | pmid = 12814302 }}</ref> This research thus recognizes the importance of intrapersonal fluctuations contingent on personality is context specific and is not necessarily generalizable across social domains and time. ==Change over a lifetime== There are two very specific types of change that researchers tend to focus on: rank-order change and mean-level change. A ''rank-order change'' refers to a change in an individual's personality trait relative to other individuals; such changes do not occur very often.<ref name="Funder 258">{{cite book|last=Funder|first=David C.|title=The Personality Puzzle|year=2010|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|pages=258|edition=5th|isbn=978-0-393-93348-2}}</ref> A ''mean-level change'' refers to an absolute change in the individual's level of a certain trait over time. Longitudinal research shows that mean-level change does occur.<ref name="Funder 258" /> However, some [[Trait theory|traits]] tend to change while some traits tend to stay stable. During adolescence there are many increases or rapid changes in hormones, societal pressures, and environment among other things. These things theoretically factor into significant personality changes as one progresses through adolescence. As you progress through adulthood personality becomes more stable and predictable because you fall into a pattern of thinking, behaving, and feeling.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Borghuis|first1=Jeroen|last2=Denissen|first2=Jaap J. A.|last3=Oberski|first3=Daniel|last4=Sijtsma|first4=Klaas|last5=Meeus|first5=Wim H. J.|last6=Branje|first6=Susan|last7=Koot|first7=Hans M.|last8=Bleidorn|first8=Wiebke|date=October 2017|title=Big Five personality stability, change, and codevelopment across adolescence and early adulthood|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=113|issue=4|pages=641–657|doi=10.1037/pspp0000138|issn=1939-1315|pmid=28253001|hdl=1874/358188|s2cid=4650504|hdl-access=free}}</ref> While this does occur, personality does not stop changing at a specific age.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Roberts | first1 = Brent W. | last2 = DelVecchio | first2 = Wendy F. | title = The Rank-Order Consistency of Personality Traits From Childhood to Old Age: A Quantitative Review of Longitudinal Studies | journal = Psychological Bulletin | volume = 126 | pages = 3–25 | year = 2000 | doi = 10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.3 | pmid = 10668348 | issue = 1 }}</ref> Biological and social transitions in life may also be a factor for change. Biological transitions are stages like [[puberty]] or first childbirth. Social transitions might be changes in social roles like becoming a parent or working at a first job. These life transitions do not necessarily cause change, but they may be reasons for change. As humans we do not adapt just in our body, our mind also makes changes to itself in order to thrive in our environment. One theory says that whether or not these life transitions cause personality change is based on whether the transition was expected based on age or was unforeseen.<ref name="Caspi and Moffitt">{{Cite journal | last1 = Caspi | first1 = Avshalom | last2 = Moffitt | first2 = Terrie E. | title = When Do Individual Differences Matter? A Paradoxical Theory of Personality Coherence | journal = Psychological Inquiry | volume = 4 | pages = 247–271 | year = 1993 | doi = 10.1207/s15327965pli0404_1 | issue = 4 }}</ref> The events that are expected will cause personality change because those events have common [[Behavioral script|scripts]]. However, events that are unexpected will give prominence to the traits that already exist for the individual.<ref name="Caspi and Moffitt" /> Historical context also affects personality change. Major life events can lead to changes in personality that can persist for more than a decade.<ref name="Jeronimus2014" /> A [[longitudinal study]] followed women over 30 years and found that they showed increases in individualism. This may have been due to the changes that were occurring in the country at the time.<ref name="Roberts and Helson">{{cite journal|last=Roberts|first=Brent W.|author2=Ravenna Helson|title=Changes in Culture, Changes in Personality: The Influence of Individualism in a Longitudinal Study of Women|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|year=1997|volume=72|issue=3|pages=641–651|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.72.3.641|pmid=9120788}}</ref> ===Stressful life events=== Negative life events,<ref name="Jeronimus2013">{{cite journal|author= Jeronimus, B.F., Ormel, J., Aleman, A., Penninx, B.W.J.H., Riese, H.|journal=Psychological Medicine|year= 2013|volume=43|issue=11|pages=2403–15|title= Negative and positive life events are associated with small but lasting change in neuroticism|pmid=23410535|doi=10.1017/s0033291713000159|s2cid=43717734}}</ref> long-term difficulties,<ref name="Jeronimus2014" /> and deteriorated life quality,<ref name="Jeronimus2014" /> all predict small but persistent increases in neuroticism,<ref name="Jeronimus2014" /><ref name="Jeronimus2013" /> while positive life events,<ref name="Jeronimus2013" /> and improved life quality,<ref name="Jeronimus2014" /> predict small but persistent decreases in neuroticism.<ref name="Jeronimus2014" /><ref name="Jeronimus2013" /> There appears to be no point during the lifespan that neuroticism is immutable,<ref name="Jeronimus2014" /> which is known as the Plasticity Principle.<ref name="Caspi2011">{{cite book|last1= Caspi|first1= A.|last2= Shiner|first2= R.|date= 2011|title= Temperament and Personality, in Rutter's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (5th ed)|location= Malden|publisher= Blackwell Publishing Limited|page= [https://archive.org/details/rutterschildadol0005unse/page/182 182]|isbn= 9781444300895|doi= 10.1002/9781444300895|url= https://archive.org/details/rutterschildadol0005unse/page/182}}</ref> ===Mechanisms of change in our life === There are multiple ways for an individual's personality to change. Individuals will change their behavior based on the ideas in their environment that emit [[Reward system#Psychological reward|rewards]] and [[Punishment (psychology)|punishments]]. Some of these ideas might be implicit, like social roles. The individual changes his or her personality to fit into a [[social role]] if it is favorable. Other ideas might be more explicit like a parent trying to change a child's behavior.<ref name="Caspi and Roberts">{{cite journal|last=Caspi|first=Avshalom|author2=Brent W. Roberts|title=Personality Development Across the Life Course: The Argument for Change and Continuity|journal=Psychological Inquiry|year=2001|volume=12|issue=2|pages=49–66|doi=10.1207/S15327965PLI1202_01|s2cid=144947217}}</ref> An individual may decide to actively try to change his or her own behavior/ personality after thinking about his or her own actions. [[Therapy]] involves the same type of introspection. The individual along with the therapist identifies the behaviors that are inappropriate, and then self-monitors in order to change them. Eventually the individual internalizes the behavior they want to attain, and that trait will generalize to other areas of the individual's life. Personality change also occurs when individuals observe the actions of others. Individuals may mimic the behaviors of others and then internalize those behaviors. Once the individual internalizes those behaviors they are said to be a part of that person's personality.<ref name="Caspi and Roberts" /> Individuals also receive feedback from other individuals or groups about their own personality. This is a driving force of change because the individual has social motivations to change his or her personality; people often act a certain way based on the popular/majority vote of the people they are around. For example, a girl who likes country music may say she hates country music when she learns that all her peers don't like country music.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Social Influence Revision Notes {{!}} Simply Psychology|url=https://www.simplypsychology.org/a-level-social.html|access-date=2021-10-04|website=www.simplypsychology.org}}</ref> It has also been shown that major positive and negative life events can predict changes in personality.<ref name="Jeronimus2014"/><ref name="Jeronimus2013"/> Some of the largest changes are observed in individuals with psychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. A meta-analyses found consistent evidence that large increases in neuroticism and large declines on the other major personality traits are observed in individuals with dementia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Islam |first1=Maheen |last2=Mazumder |first2=Mridul |last3=Schwabe-Warf |first3=Derek |last4=Stephan |first4=Yannick |last5=Sutin |first5=Angelina R. |last6=Terracciano |first6=Antonio |title=Personality Changes With Dementia From the Informant Perspective: New Data and Meta-Analysis |journal=Journal of the American Medical Directors Association |date=February 2019 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=131–137 |doi=10.1016/j.jamda.2018.11.004|pmid=30630729 |pmc=6432780 }}</ref> Personality change commonly occurs biologically as life goes on, and as hormones shape our minds and bodies. Research can and does suggest changes can also be brought about by other, more intentional means to help cope with anxiety, shake behavioral habits, or change emotional response to stimuli. * Meditation Studies have shown that mindfulness-meditation therapies have a positive effect of personality maturity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Crescentini|first1=Cristiano|last2=Matiz|first2=Alessio|last3=Cimenti|first3=Matteo|last4=Pascoli|first4=Eric|last5=Eleopra|first5=Roberto|last6=Fabbro|first6=Franco|date=2018|title=Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on Personality and Psychological Well-being in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis|journal=International Journal of MS Care|volume=20|issue=3|pages=101–108|doi=10.7224/1537-2073.2016-093|issn=1537-2073|pmc=5991502|pmid=29896046}}</ref> * Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [[Cognitive behavioral therapy|Cognitive Behavioral Therapy]] has been tested and proved to be effective in the treatment of adults with anxiety disorders.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hofmann|first1=Stefan G.|last2=Smits|first2=Jasper A. J.|title=Cognitive-behavioral therapy for adult anxiety disorders: A meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials|date=April 2008|journal=The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry|volume=69|issue=4|pages=621–632|doi=10.4088/jcp.v69n0415|issn=0160-6689|pmc=2409267|pmid=18363421}}</ref> * Psilocybin Therapy Following psilocybin therapy one study communicates that Neuroticism scores lowered substantially while Extraversion increased.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Erritzoe|first1=D.|last2=Roseman|first2=L.|last3=Nour|first3=M. M.|last4=MacLean|first4=K.|last5=Kaelen|first5=M.|last6=Nutt|first6=D. J.|last7=Carhart-Harris|first7=R. L.|date=November 2018|title=Effects of psilocybin therapy on personality structure|journal=Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica|volume=138|issue=5|pages=368–378|doi=10.1111/acps.12904|issn=1600-0447|pmc=6220878|pmid=29923178}}</ref> ===Change in the Big Five=== The [[Big Five personality traits]] are often used to measure change in personality. There is a mean-level change in the Big Five traits from age 10 to 65.<ref name="Soto1">{{Cite journal | last1 = Soto | first1 = Christopher J. | title = Age Differences in Personality Traits From 10 to 65: Big Five Domains and Facets in a Large Cross-Sectional Sample | journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume = 100 | pages = 330–348 | year = 2011 | doi = 10.1037/a0021717 | pmid = 21171787 | last2 = John | first2 = OP | last3 = Gosling | first3 = SD | last4 = Potter | first4 = J | issue = 2 }}</ref> The trends seen in adulthood are different from trends seen in childhood and [[adolescence]]. Some research suggests that during adolescence rank-order change does occur and therefore personality is relatively unstable.<ref name="McCrae, Costa, and Terrachio">{{cite journal|last=McCrae|first=Robert R. |author2=Paul T. Costa Jr |author3=Antonio Terracciano |author4=Wayne D. Parker |author5=Carol J. Mills |author6=Filip De Fruyt |author7=Ivan Mervielde |title=Personality Trait Development From Age 12 to 18: Longitudinal, Cross-Sectional, and Cross-Cultural Analyses|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|year=2002|volume=83|issue=6|pages=1456–1468|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.83.6.1456|pmid=12500824}}</ref> Gender differences are also shown before adulthood.<ref name=Soto1 /> [[Conscientiousness]] drops from late childhood to adolescence, but then picks back up from adolescence into adulthood. [[Agreeableness]] also drops from late childhood to adolescence, but then picks back up from adolescence into adulthood. [[Neuroticism]] shows a different trend for males and females in childhood and adolescence. For females, Neuroticism increases from childhood to adolescence. Then Neuroticism levels from adolescence into adulthood and continues the adult trend of decreasing. Males however, tend to gradually decrease in Neuroticism from childhood to adolescence into adulthood. [[Extraversion]] drops from childhood to adolescence and then does not significantly change. [[Openness to experience]] also shows a different trend for different genders. Females tend to decrease in Openness to experience from childhood to early adulthood and then gradually increases all throughout adulthood. Males tend to decrease in Openness to experience from childhood to adolescence, then it tends to increase through adulthood. In adulthood, Neuroticism tends to decrease, while Conscientiousness and Agreeableness tend to increase. Extraversion and Openness to experience do not seem to change much during adulthood. These trends seen in adulthood are different from trends seen in childhood and adolescence.<ref name="Soto1"/> [[Big Five personality traits and culture|Cross-cultural]] research shows that German, British, Czech, and Turkish people show similar trends of these personality traits.<ref name="McCrae, Costa, and Ostendorf">{{cite journal|last=McCrae|first=Robert R. |author2=Paul T. Costa Jr |author3=Margarida Pedrosa de Lima |author4=Antonio Simoes |author5=Fritz Ostendorf |author6=Alois Angleitner |author7=Iris Marusic |author8=Denis Bratko |author9=Gian Vittorio Caprara |author10=Claudio Barbaranelli |author11=Joon-Ho Chae |title=Age Differences in Personality Across the Adult Life Span: Parallels in Five Cultures|journal=Developmental Psychology|year=1999|volume=35|issue=2|pages=466–477|doi=10.1037/0012-1649.35.2.466|pmid=10082017}}</ref> Similar trends seem to exist in other countries.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McCrae |first1=Robert R. |last2=Terracciano |first2=Antonio |title=Universal Features of Personality Traits From the Observer's Perspective: Data From 50 Cultures. |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=March 2005 |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=547–561 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.547|pmid=15740445 |url=http://repository.ust.hk/ir/bitstream/1783.1-2007/1/McCrae05.pdf }}</ref> The Big Five personality traits can also be broken down into [[Facet (psychology)|facets]]. Different facets of each personality trait are often correlated with different behavioral outcomes. Breaking down the personality traits into facets is difficult and not yet at a consensus. However, it is important to look at change in facets over a lifetime separate from just the change in traits because different facets of the same trait show different trends.<ref name="Hierarchical linear modeling analys">{{cite journal |last1=Terracciano |first1=Antonio |last2=McCrae |first2=Robert R. |last3=Brant |first3=Larry J. |last4=Costa |first4=Paul T. |title=Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of the NEO-PI-R Scales in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. |journal=Psychology and Aging |date=2005 |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=493–506 |doi=10.1037/0882-7974.20.3.493|pmid=16248708 |pmc=2808690 }}</ref><ref name=Soto1 /> For example, openness with values decreases substantially with age, while openness with aesthetics is more stable.<ref name="Hierarchical linear modeling analys"/> Neuroticism can be broken into the two facets of anxiety and depression. Anxiety has the same trend as Neuroticism for both males and females. For females, anxiety increases from childhood to adolescence, at [[emerging adulthood]] it levels out, and then starts to decrease into and throughout middle age. Anxiety in males tends to decrease from late childhood through adulthood. Depression (not [[clinical depression]], but rather susceptibility to negative affect) shows two peaks in females. Females tend to have higher levels of this kind of depression in adolescence and then again in early adulthood. Depression does, however, have a negative trend through adulthood. For males, depression tends to show an increase from childhood to early adulthood and then shows a slight decrease through middle age.<ref name=Soto1 /> === Late life changes === Although there is debate surrounding whether or not personality can change in the late stages of life, more evidence is being discovered about how the environmental factors affect people of all ages. Changes in health are regarded as an influential source of personality stability and change.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Mueller|first1=Swantje|title=On the role of personality in late life|date=2017|work=Personality Development Across the Lifespan|pages=69–84|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-12-804674-6|last2=Wagner|first2=Jenny|last3=Gerstorf|first3=Denis|doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-804674-6.00006-5}}</ref> Across multiple facets of health which include cognitive, physical, and sensory functioning, older adults' ability to maintain their everyday routine and lifestyle is being challenged.<ref name=":1" /> There are noticeable finds on reverse trends in maturity-related traits, such as increases in neuroticism and declines in conscientiousness.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Stability and change in the Big Five personality domains: Evidence from a longitudinal study of Australians. |journal=Psychology and Aging |year=2012 |doi=10.1037/a0029322 |url=https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0029322|last1=Wortman |first1=Jessica |last2=Lucas |first2=Richard E. |last3=Donnellan |first3=M. Brent |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=867–874 |pmid=22775362 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of the NEO-PI-R scales in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging |journal=Psychology and Aging |date=2005 |doi=10.1037/0882-7974.20.3.493 |pmid=16248708 |pmc=2808690 |last1=Terracciano |first1=Antonio |last2=McCrae |first2=Robert R. |last3=Brant |first3=Larry J. |last4=Costa |first4=Paul T. |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=493–506 }}</ref> Mainly the debate in this area revolves around whether the health consequences of old age can be linked to changes in traits and whether these changes can, in turn, impair health and functioning. ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== *Mischel, W. (1968). Personality and assessment. Hoboken, NJ US: John Wiley & Sons Inc. *{{cite journal | last1 = Ozer | first1 = D. J. | last2 = Benet-Martínez | first2 = V. | year = 2006 | title = Personality and the prediction of consequential outcomes | journal = Annual Review of Psychology | volume = 57 | pages = 401–421 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190127 | pmid=16318601| doi-access = free }} [[Category:Personality]]'