Chapter 7: Personality Stability, Development, and Change

What trait seems to show the strongest and most noticeable mean-level increase from ages 20 to 30?

conscientiousness

People who show ______ complete milestones earlier

extroversion

What is rank-order consistency of personality?

the idea that people tend to maintain the ways in which they are different from other people of the same age

What is the purpose of the principles of personality development?

they are predictions about personality that can help motivate and guide theory and research

What's the problem with mid-life crisis?

they only did interviews and only asked men and said 90% would experience a midlife cris which is over exaggerative

A change (an increase or, in some cases, a decrease) in the mean level of someone's ______, while maintaining _____, is referred to as _____.

trait, rank-order consistency, personality development

how do you get rid of cohort effect

use longitudinal study

Social clock in 1960s women

women who followed feminine or masculine social clocks reported higher contentment and satisfaction than women who followed neither

Active type

you want a compatible environment and avoid incompatible ones

Match each way we interact with the environment to the appropriate description.

active person-environment transactions: We seek out and possibly even create environments that support our personalities. reactive person-environment transactions: We are dissatisfied with, and will likely avoid, environments that contrast with our personalities. evocative person-environment transactions: We may change our environment so that it better matches our personalities. person-environment transactions: We respond differentially to an environment based on our personalities and will gravitate to environments that match our personalities.

Types of Person-Environment Interactions

active reactive and evocative

how do development and stability go together

bc personality becomes more stable but doesn't stop changing

One of the influencers of early personality is _____. The majority of children are not the oldest in their families, and they are collectively referred to as _____. These children are more likely to be independent and have a number of people in their lives other than their ____ who serve as role models. Contrastingly, ____ are more likely to internalize parental values, perhaps because they have the benefit of the most individual attention.

birth order, laterborns, parents, firstborns

According to the text, the paradox that is central to the study of personality development is that people ____________ throughout their lives, yet fundamental traits remain constant.

change

obstacles for personality change

-not seeing a reason -takes effort -blaming negative experiences on others

Positive correlations between personality trait scores range from 0 to 1.0, with 1.0 being a perfect correlation. If personality traits are consistent in individuals, the correlation between those traits over time should reflect that consistency. Hopwood et al. (2013) were interested in finding out if personality traits are stable over the course of 10 years. What was the high end of the range of correlations found in this study? amd low

.60-.90

high school clique study 3 trends

1) rise of good-at's group 2) our generation values the good-at's and it brings in pressure so students who strive to be good-at's bring the rise of anxiety 3)

Place the steps in order according to McAdams's theory.

1. Actor 2. Agent 3. Author 4. Narrative Identity

Place the findings regarding psychotherapeutic approaches to personality change in order from first to last. Not all findings will apply.

1. the finding that long-term personality change is possible (Smith, Glass, and Miller) 2. the finding showing a consistent increase in emotional stability and extraversion (Robert, et al.) 3. the finding that people in therapy could experience an increase in stress and depression (Chow et al.)

Reactive Type

2 ppl respond different to the same situation

Research shows that ____ percent of people are interested in changing some personality traits. People generally want to change in a ____ desirable way, including wanting to increase four of the Big Five traits. The one trait that people would like to decrease in themselves is ____.

87 to 97, socially, neuroticism

Which of the following are benefits of cross-sectional studies of personality?

Benefit(s) Researchers are able to gather information about people in different age groups. Researchers are able to gather data easily on a lot of people. Not Benefit(s) Researchers are able to gather in-depth, personal information. Researchers are able to control for cohort effects. Researchers are able to gather information on how each person's personality traits change across the life span.

Which of the following are benefits of longitudinal studies of personality?

Benefit(s) Researchers are able to gather information about the same people as they age. Researchers can gather data easily on a lot of people if the research conducted is self-report. Researchers are able to gather information on how personality traits change across the life span. Not Benefit(s) Researchers are able to gather information quickly.

Identify the following principles of personality development as representing either continuity or change.

Continuity: role continuity principle cumulative continuity principle identity development principle corresponsive principle Change: social investment principle plasticity principle maturity principle

Research studies help us to understand how people think about personality stability and change. Identify the statements that represent some of these findings.

Correct Answer(s) Seniors in college think that their personality has changed a lot over their time in college. About 40 percent of middle-aged people believe that their personalities have changed some in the past six years. Personality continually changes, very slowly, throughout life. Most people think that changes in their personality are complete, no matter how old they currently are. Incorrect Answer(s) People want to change their personality because they see it as a challenge. Personality eventually does stop developing.

Identify whether or not the following conditions support overcoming obstacles to change.

Correct Answer(s): desire to change willingness to change Incorrect Answer(s): aversion to change blaming others, not ourselves, for negative experiences

Which of the following main methods have the potential to change personalities?

Correct Answer(s): life experiences general intervention programs targeted intervention programs psychotherapy Incorrect Answer(s): hypnosis biofeedback

Whenever Mathias, who is in his mid-twenties, runs low on money, he burglarizes homes regularly and then sells the stolen goods. However, he is dedicated to changing his personality to be less impulsive. Which of the following things should he identify and do, according to the sociogenomic trait intervention model?

Correct Answer(s): new behaviors to practice thoughts to change behaviors to change Incorrect Answer(s): self-image to idealize

Match each description to the corresponding type of personality research

Cross-Sectional Study: The results are immediately used to develop a theory. Several people in different age groups are surveyed. Cohort effects are a drawback of this type of research. This type of research can be conducted in a relatively short period of time. Longitudinal Study: The results contain more consistent information. People are repeatedly surveyed over an extended time period. Data can take decades to collect.

The maturity principle predicts that some traits will increase in adulthood, and others will decrease. Which of the following traits are expected to increase, and which are expected to decrease?

Expected to Increase: social dominance conscientiousness agreeableness Expected to Decrease: neuroticism openness to experience

Felicia is about to turn 65. She is still very active and feels her contributions in her career are very important. She continues to look for new ideas from her employees on improving the workplace, and just last year, she won the most-hardworking-employee award at her job. What is the best description of Felicia's personality change in older adulthood, according to the maturity principle?

Felica's consistency in conscientiousness and agreeableness is likely to differ from her peers, who are decreasing in those trait

Wei feels depressed and wishes he could be more extraverted. Which of the following would help improve his condition?

Helpful: fluoxetine drug therapy psychotherapy finishing his college education or finding a new job Not Helpful: empathic training toward others psilocybin drug therapy

Match each life experience to the most likely outcome.

Increased Agreeableness: service work international travel Increased Stress Resilience: moderate adversity

Which of the following factors might influence the stability of personality?

Influential Factor(s) age physical attractiveness birth order early experiences Not Influential Factor(s) peer influence a single adult experience

Who made up "midlife crisis"

Levison

____ personality changes that take place with the aid of psychotherapy are measured as behavioral changes in the research. These changes can be in ____ and extraversion. One concern to consider is that other research found increases in ____, among other things, as well as decreases in ____. Psychotherapeutic change has potential risks and benefits.

Long-term, emotional stability, stress, self-esteem

What does the study of mean-level changes in personality across the life span suggest?

Mean-level changes in personality traits occur across the life span

Match each item to the corresponding type of development involved in causing personality change.

Personal Responsibility Due to Cultural Expectations: conscientiousness Life-Span Development: need for skill development (children) need for review and assessment(older adults) need for relationship building (adults) need for skill development (children) need for review and assessment(older adults) Physical Development: hormone levels linguistic ability IQ

Match each core characteristic to the people it best describes.

RESILIENT people who have experienced natural disasters and maintained their core characteristics IMPULSIVE: children whose teachers described them in this way and who are louder and more talkative as adults ADAPTABLE: children whose teachers described them in this way and who are content and curious as adults

Research conducted by Helson, Mitchell, and Moore (1984) examined the idea of a social clock among female participants. Identify whether or not the people described were satisfied with life.

Satisfied: those who followed the Feminine Social Clock (FSC) those who followed the Masculine Social Clock (MSC) Dissatisfied: those who followed neither social clock

rank order change

The change in relative rank of a trait over time, in longitudinal studies (ex: most shy person @ 10 in group - still most shy @ 80?)

What does a study that administers a questionnaire to many people across a wide range of ages exemplify?

a cross-sectional study

cohort effect

a problem in cross-sectional studies bc ppl of diff ages differ because of different environments

What is the process by which different people respond differently to the same situation?

a reactive-person environment transaction

cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

mean level change

absolute change in and individual's traits (relatively to yourself)

Match each principle of personality development to the correct definition

identity development principle: People wish to develop a stable self-schema and then seek to act in accordance with that self-view. role continuity principle: Internalizing certain roles in life can lead to more personality consistency. plasticity principle: Personality can change at any point in life. corresponsive principle: Personal experiences in life, called person-environment transactions, can cause greater consistency (and sometimes even magnification) of traits. cumulative continuity principle: Traits increase in rank-order consistency as people age. maturity principle: People deal with life demands better as they gain skills and experience. Social investment principle: When social roles change significantly over life, personality can change as well.

What is the central conclusion behind the cumulative continuity principle?

individual differences in personality become more consistent as individuals age

What type of personality process could have negative life consequences over time?

instability

Negative life experiences were examined during a 16-year ____ study. The study found that those who had significantly more ____, such as work problems or health crises, had higher neuroticism scores. It was also found that those with higher ____ scores had more negative experiences, showing that the personality trait and the life experience ____ each other.

longitudinal, negative life experiences, neuroticism, affected

People become better equipped to deal with the demands of life, and they acquire experience and skill. This statement best reflects what principle of personality development?

maturity

Research on the ____ shows that necessary traits for adulthood ____ up through middle age, but as people approach old age, some of these same traits ____. This could be because people in old age are ____ focused on their careers and ambition than they once were.

maturity principle, increase, decrease, less

1st born trait

more matures

younger kids traits

more risky and rebellious

According to McAdams, people find it very important to establish what he calls a ____. This is a stepwise process that people use to develop a detailed sense of ____. The first step is understanding oneself as an ____, which happens in early childhood and includes learning required social rules and how to behave according to them. Next, people begin to develop future plans, ideas, goals, and ____ that are used to help make life-planning decisions. This second step takes place when people are approximately _____. Finally, at about 20 years old, people start to consider what their life story will be, meaning what they hope to do, accomplish, and become in their lives. This completes the process.

narrative identity, self, actor, values, 7-9 years old

According to Hudson and Roberts (2014), what trait do most people wish to change in themselves?

neuroticism

Research has found that laterborns are more __________ than firstborns.

open-minded

The interactions that show how our personality influences our behavior choices are known as ______. However, these interactions might also influence our personality, reinforcing and magnifying our characteristics. This interaction between personality and our environment shows us that, even though it may seem like our personality will be ______ until "the end of history," our personality will likely continue developing over time.

person-environment transactions, consistent

cumulative continuity

personality becomes more consistent as people get older

What is temperament and what is it partially determined by?

personality in kids and genetics

Social Clock

places pressure on people to accomplish certain things by certain ages

evocative type

ppl change their situation

The stability of someone's behavior or personality throughout life compared with one's peers is called ____. This stability may be observed over time in changes in someone's specific behavior that are due to maturation but that still reflect consistent underlying characteristics, a process called _____. These lifelong behavioral tendencies that appear in young children as their _____ are at least partially determined by genes.

rank-order consistency, heterotypic continuity, temperament

Match each targeted intervention to the trait that it may help to change.

reduced neuroticism: teaching parents to encourage a child's independence reduced defensiveness: writing about one's values reduced narcissism: training to appreciate the feelings of others increased self-control: meditating increased assertivenes: ssystematic desensitization of phobias and fears increased openness to experience: participating in new activities, such as puzzles, or going to a museum

According to Dan McAdams (2013), what is the first step in the development of one's narrative identity?

seeing oneself as an actor

According to the text, what is the first thing you should do if you want to increase your self-control?

set realistic goals for yourself that are compatible with your personal values

maturity principle

shift toward greater emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness in personality -traits needed to be mature increase as we mature snd get older

The idea that people's traits maintain rank-order consistency is used to illustrate what component of personality?

stability