We examined change and stability of the 3 personality types identified by Block and Block (1980) and studied their links with adjustment and relationships. We used data from a 5-wave study of 923 early-to-middle and 390 middle-to-late adolescents, thereby covering the ages of 12-20 years. In Study 1, systematic evidence for personality change was…

Activity level was measured by two independent methods, a mechanical recording device and teacher descriptions, in a sample of 129 children (65 boys and 64 girls), participating in an ongoing longitudinal study. (Author/MP)

Examined longitudinally changes in inhibition from toddler age to age 4 and age 7 years. Found that temperament change in children who tested as inhibited or uninhibited as toddlers was more common than remaining extremely inhibited or uninhibited, but that change was largely limited to intermediate groups. Subgroups distinguished by responses on…

The present study used meta-analytic techniques (number of samples = 92) to determine the patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course. Results showed that people increase in measures of social dominance (a facet of extraversion), conscientiousness, and emotional stability, especially in young adulthood (age 20 to…

In a response to comments by P. T. Costa, Jr., and R. R. McCrae on the current authors' original article, the authors show that Costa and McCrae's writings on personality suggest a belief in immutability of personality traits. The authors agree with Costa and McCrae that new personality trait models that provide an accurate lower order structure…

Assessment of the relationship between ontogenetic (individual) and generational (historical) change in adolescent personality development was the focus of this study. The total sample included 1000 male and female adolescents (ages 13-18) randomly drawn from 32 public school systems in West Virginia following a design using longitudinal sequences…

This study investigated the long-term stability of the nine temperament subcategories which underlie the Thomas and Chess temperament clusters. A homogeneous sample of 55 children and parents was recruited (26 remained at the final data collection interval) and parents provided questionnaire responses on their child's temperament at 2, 4, 6, 18,…

The nature of adolescent trait change appears less dictated by are-related components than by the type of social change patterns which are setting the environmental milieu for adolescents of all ages over a given period of time. (Authors)

In this longitudinal study, 60 mothers rated their toddler's personality traits concerning social relations and exploration of the physical and social world. Data showed that mothers of toddlers from older cohorts were more likely to have stable and consistent, but not more negative, perceptions of their child's personality over six months than…

Described stability and change in the developing teacher's personality from college entrance to established professional status. Freshmen (N=32) who took the Omnibus Personality Inventory were tested 10 years later. Changes were reported on 8 of the 14 OPI scales, indicating improved emotional maturity, psychological adjustment, and self-esteem.…

Personality stability and change in sibling status in the one- and two-child-family are examined in this Study. Q-sort data were analyzed for the same 33 male and 34 female subjects during four periods of their lives-- early and late adolescence and early and middle adulthood. Results indicate that stability of personality was greatest during…

This longitudinal study examined consistency and change in human personality. Rather than studying the consistency of individual differences over time, an approach which considers only the stability of a variable at the group level and ignores differences in stability at an individual level, this study used a person-centered approach to study…

A three-year longitudinal study was conducted to measure two aspects of adolescents' self-concept development: continuity/discontinuity and stability/instability. Results indicated that adolescent self-concept results from continuous growth based on social circumstances and cognitive skills and competencies. (Author/DB)

Applied a person-centered approach to childhood personality development in 28 diverse samples of 3- to 6-year-olds studied over 6 years. Identified resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled personality types. Found that the undercontrolled personality type related to intellectual decline over 6 years. The number of family risks predicted…