Age and context effects in personality development: A multimethod perspective.

Abstract

Observing most pronounced personality trait changes during young adulthood raises the question whether the traits are more stable per se after young adulthood or whether greater stability of daily life contexts also contributes to smaller trait changes in older adults. In this longitudinal multimethod study, we tested the competing explanations of trait stability and context stability by examining (a) whether age differences in Big Five trait changes are less pronounced when younger and older people experience similar context conditions, in this case, college life and (b) whether people of similar age change differently in different contexts. Furthermore, based on dual-process models of personality and because previous research has relied on self-ratings, we examined whether assumed personality changes also occur in implicit measures and other-ratings of traits. The sample of 241 adults consisted of older students (Mage = 67.5 years), older age- and education-matched nonstudents (Mage = 67.7 years), and young students (Mage = 21.1 years). We obtained self-ratings, other-ratings, and implicit measures of Big Five traits at four time points over 2 years. The results replicated increases in self-ratings of emotional stability, open-mindedness, extraversion, and conscientiousness in young first-year students and demonstrated distinct patterns of change among older students and older nonstudents. Changes in other-ratings and implicit measures only partly mirrored changes in self-ratings of Big Five traits. The study highlights the importance of different measures of traits to better understand personality development beyond self-ratings, and that in some groups, substantial trait changes are possible beyond young adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).