PSY 101 Case Study 2

3/13/2020 PSY105 & PSY101 - Page 3.13 - Evaluating Trait Theories

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Psychology

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Evaluating Trait Theories

Does research support the consistency of personality traits over time and across situations?

Are our personality traits stable and enduring? Or does our behavior depend on where and with whom we find ourselves? In some ways, our personality seems stable. Cheerful, friendly children tend to become cheerful, friendly adults. At a recent college reunion, I [DM] was amazed to find that my jovial former classmates were still jovial, the shy ones still shy, the happy-seeming people still smiling and laughing—50 years later. But it’s also true that a fun-loving jokester can suddenly turn serious and respectful at a job interview. And the personality traits we express can change from one situation to another. Major life events, such as becoming unemployed, can shift our personality from agreeable to slightly rude (Boyce et al., 2015).

The Person-Situation Controversy

Our behavior is influenced by the interaction of our inner disposition with our environment. Still, the question lingers: Which is more important? When we explore this person-situation controversy, we look for genuine personality traits that persist over time and across situations. Are some people dependably conscientious and others unreliable? Some cheerful and others dour? Some friendly and outgoing and others shy? If we are to consider friendliness a trait, friendly people must act friendly at different times and places. Do they?

The point to remember As people grow older their personality stabilizes.

In considering research that has followed lives through time, some scholars (especially those who study infants) are impressed with personality change; others are struck by personality stability during adulthood. As Figure 7 illustrates, data from 152 long-term studies reveal that personality trait scores are positively correlated with scores obtained seven years later, and that as people grow older their personality stabilizes. Interests may change—the avid tropical-fish collector may become an avid gardener. Careers may change—the determined salesperson may become a determined social worker. Relationships may change—the hostile spouse may start over with a new partner. But

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most people recognize their traits as their own, as Robert McCrae and Paul Costa noted (1994), “and it is well that they do. A person’s recognition of the inevitability of his or her one and only personality is...the culminating wisdom of a lifetime.”

Figure 7

Personality stability

Chart depicting trait score correlations over seven years for children, collegians, 30-year- olds, and 50- to 70-year-olds. Trait score correlation between children was about 0.3. For collegians it was a little over 0.5; for 30-year-olds, it was a little over 0.6; and for 50- to 70-year-olds, it was a little over 0.7.

With age, personality traits become more stable, as reflected in the stronger correlation of trait scores with follow-up scores 7 years later. (Data from Roberts & DelVecchio, 2000.)

So most people—including most psychologists—would probably presume the stability of personality traits. Moreover, our traits are socially significant. They influence our health, our thinking, and our job choices and performance (Deary & Matthews, 1993; Hogan, 1998; Jackson et al., 2012; Sutin et al., 2011). Studies that follow lives through time show that personality traits rival socioeconomic status and cognitive ability as predictors of mortality, divorce, and occupational attainment (Roberts et al., 2007).

Any of these tendencies, taken to an extreme, become maladaptive. Agreeableness ranges from cynical combativeness at its low extreme to gullible subservience at its high extreme. Conscientiousness ranges from irresponsible negligence to workaholic perfectionism (Widiger & Costa, 2012).

Multiple-Choice Question

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Which person’s personality traits would be MOST stable and predictable over the next 7 years?

a 3-year-old a 20-year-old a 10-year-old a 40-year-old

Correct. As we get older, our personality traits become more stable and predictable.

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