Personality and perceptions of major life events: Implications for personality development

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Rakhshani ◽  
Richard E. Lucas ◽  
Brent Donnellan ◽  
Ina Fassbender ◽  
Maike Luhmann

Research about the associations between major life events and personality trait development is mixed. Work that evaluates perceptions of life events and how those perceptions are themselves associated with personality traits may help clarify the existing literature. We used a large student sample (N = 1509) to conduct exploratory analyses examining the associations among big five personality traits, different types of life events, a dimensional taxonomy of event characteristics, and beliefs about event-related personality change. Results suggested that (1) associations between personality and event perceptions are often nuanced; and (2) event perceptions were more predictive of beliefs about event-related personality change than were the big five. These findings indicate that event perceptions are not merely proxies for personality traits. This study highlights the importance of subjective event perceptions in the study of major life events and personality development.

2021 ◽  
pp. 089020702110458
Author(s):  
Andrew Rakhshani ◽  
Richard E. Lucas ◽  
M. Brent Donnellan ◽  
Ina Fassbender ◽  
Maike Luhmann

Research examining the associations between major life events and personality trait development is mixed. Work that evaluates perceptions of life events and how those perceptions are themselves associated with personality traits may help clarify the existing literature. We used a large student sample ( N = 1,509) and a demographically diverse sample from a Qualtrics panel ( N = 552) to conduct exploratory analyses examining the associations between the big five personality traits and perceptions of life events. Results suggested that (a) associations between personality and beliefs about event-related personality change differ between students and more representative samples, (b) associations between personality and event perceptions are often nuanced, and (c) event perceptions are not merely proxies for personality traits. These studies highlight the importance of subjective event perceptions in the study of major life events and personality.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Pusch ◽  
Marcus Mund ◽  
Birk Hagemeyer ◽  
Christine Finn

Early adulthood is a time of substantial personality change characterized by large inter-individual diversity. To investigate the role of age in this diversity, the present study examined whether emerging adults differ from an older group of young adults in their Big Five personality development. By means of multi-group latent change modelling, two groups of 16- to 19-year-olds (n = 3,555) and 26- to 29-year-olds (n = 2,621) were tracked over the course of four years and compared regarding four aspects of personality change: Mean-level change, rank-order change, inter-individual differences in change, and profile change. In addition, age-differential socialization effects associated with six first-time life events were investigated. Analyses revealed substantial age differences in all four aspects of change. As expected, emerging adults showed greater change and diversity in change than young adults. However, the six life events had no age-differential impact on change in single traits and Big Five profiles. Overall, the results indicate that age differences should be considered even in specific life stages to advance the understanding of personality development.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted Schwaba ◽  
Wiebke Bleidorn

In this study, we examined trajectories of Big Five personality development in the five years before and after retirement. Our sample was composed of 690 retirees (ages 51-81) and a propensity-score matched comparison group of 532 non-retirees drawn from a nationally representative longitudinal study of the Netherlands. Participants contributed data across a maximum of six measurement waves over a period of seven years. In the month after retirement, participants experienced sudden increases in openness and agreeableness followed by gradual declines in these traits over the next five years. Emotional stability increased before and after retirement. The transition to retirement was not associated with changes in conscientiousness or extraversion. Further, we found significant individual differences in development across the transition to retirement for each personality trait but could not identify any moderators that accounted for these individual differences. These results contribute to our understanding of personality development in older adulthood as well as the temporal dynamics of personality change in response to major life events.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Pusch ◽  
Marcus Mund ◽  
Birk Hagemeyer ◽  
Christine Finn

Early adulthood is a time of substantial personality change characterized by large inter–individual diversity. To investigate the role of age in this diversity, the present study examined whether emerging adults differ from an older group of young adults in their Big Five personality development. By means of multi–group latent change modelling, two groups of 16– to 19–year–olds ( n = 3555) and 26– to 29–year–olds ( n = 2621) were tracked over the course of four years and compared regarding four aspects of personality change: mean–level change, rank–order change, inter–individual differences in change, and profile change. In addition, age–differential socialization effects associated with six first–time life events were investigated. Analyses revealed substantial age differences in all four aspects of change. As expected, emerging adults showed greater change and diversity in change than young adults. However, the six life events had no age–differential impact on change in single traits and Big Five profiles. Overall, the results indicate that age differences should be considered even in specific life stages to advance the understanding of personality development. © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology


2020 ◽  
pp. 089020702096901
Author(s):  
Madeline R Lenhausen ◽  
Manon A van Scheppingen ◽  
Wiebke Bleidorn

A large body of evidence indicates that personality traits show high rank-order stability and substantial mean-level changes across the lifespan. However, the majority of longitudinal research on personality development has relied on repeated assessments of self-reports, providing a narrow empirical base from which to draw conclusions and develop theory. Here, we (1) tested whether self- and informant-reports provided by couples show similar patterns of rank-order stability and mean-level change and (2) assessed self–other agreement in personality development. We charted the Big Five personality trajectories of 255 couples ( N = 510; M age = 27.01 years) who provided both self- and partner-reports at four assessments across 1.5 years. Results indicated similar rank-order stabilities in self- and partner-report data. Latent growth curve models indicated no significant differences between self- and partner-reported personality trajectories, with exceptions to extraversion and agreeableness. We further found strong cross-sectional agreement across all Big Five traits and assessment waves as well as moderate self–other agreement in personality change in emotional stability and agreeableness. These findings highlight the relevance of multi-method assessments in personality development, while providing information about personality stability and change. Discussion focuses on the theoretical implications and future directions for multi-method assessments in longitudinal personality research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S729-S730
Author(s):  
Anna E Kornadt ◽  
Anna E Kornadt

Abstract Despite considerable stability of the Big Five personality traits, there is evidence for personality plasticity and change across the lifespan. In younger years, the investment in social roles, such as entering worklife or starting a family has been shown to drive personality change. With regard to personality in later life, the investigation of social roles has so far been neglected. A questionnaire was developed to assess a large number of social roles that can be assumed in the second half of life. N = 306 participants aged 50 to 86 years reported on their social roles and rated their personality traits. Results show that assuming and investing in certain social roles (e.g. friend, retiree, volunteer) mediated the effects of age on the Big Five, especially for the oldest participants and in the domains openness and extraversion. The findings support the importance of social roles for personality also in later life.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Nemah Abdullah Ayash Ezzi

This study mainly investigated whether there is any correlation between the Big Five Personality Traits of pre-service teachers and their performance in Practicums I&II, and attempted to identify the extent to which the personality traits affect pre-service teachers' performance. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a sample of 110 fourth-year student-teachers; 86 females & 24 male, of the English Department, in the Faculty of Education at Hodeidah University, was selected‎. ‎They enrolled in the four-year B.Ed. course. The Big Five Inventory (BFI) originally developed by John & Srivastava (1999) with little modification was distributed among the selected subjects. This inventory comprised of forty-four statements about the big five personality traits that are Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness. Collected data was analyzed by using simple descriptive and inferential statistical techniques such as mean, Pearson correlation, t-test and f-test. It was found that there is a relationship between the pre-service teachers' performance in Practicums I&II and their personality traits so pre-service teachers' personality DO influence their performance of teaching English. Also, pre-service teachers' personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness are nearly same, so no significant difference found among male and females on these three traits. However, significant difference exists among the females and males on the trait of Neuroticism as female student-teacher score higher than males on this trait. Moreover, both male and female pre-service teachers ‎have quite good level of Extraversion and Agreeableness, and similar reasonable level of Conscientiousness ‎and Neuroticism but their level of Openness is a very low. It is recommended that Teacher Personality Development should be a part of teacher education programs and suggest some strategies for development of pre-service teachers’ personality.


2011 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan S. Hartman ◽  
W. Lee Grubb

This study examined the extent the Big Five personality traits and emotional intelligence can be faked. Using a student sample, the equivalence of measurement and theoretical structure of models in a faking and honest condition was tested. Comparisons of the models for the honest and faking groups showed the data fit better in the faking condition. These results suggest that faking does change the rank orders of high scoring participants. The personality dimensions most affected by faking were emotional stability and conscientiousness within the Big Five and the general mood and stress management dimensions of Bar-On's Emotional Quotient Inventory–Short Form (1997) measure of emotional intelligence.


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