Is personality stable over time

Psychologists call it the maturity principle. people become more extraverted, emotionally stable, agreeable and conscientious as they grow older.The wage equivalent of accumulative changes in personality due to shocks is small.Type theories suggest that there are a limited number of personality types that are related to biological influences.There is some evidence that personality change in adulthood is related to physical health and longevity.This means that if someone tended to be really conscientious but a bit disagreeable or neurotic early on, they might keep that relative personality profile as they aged, even if some of their traits shifted a bit.

Thus, assessments taken over a shorter time span and assessments taken by older adults are less likely to show change.They mark someone as thinking and behaving in a characteristic way right now—and, probably, tomorrow and even a year from now.Personality is both stable and prone to change.Although it is commonly considered that personality characteristics are stable over long periods of time, some recent theorists have questioned this view.This is probably the norm for most people, especially those near the personality center of the spectrum.

In general, the picture that emerges from the literature is that personality traits are relatively enduring attributes that become more stable from childhood to adulthood.