Emotional Development Young Adulthood to Late Life **Levensons seasons of life** ** Vaillant: intimacy & career consolidation What experiences do you expect to have in in your 20s & 30s? BirthDeath What experiences do you expect to have in in your 40s and 50? BirthDeath Retirement! Lived more, than have left to live Eriksons Psychosocial Theory of Personality Development 0-18mo 18m-3y or risk isolation. Develop intimate relationship Eriksons Psychosocial Theory of Personality Development 0-18mo 18m-3y If not, become self-centered - stagnant Be generative beyond ones self Loyola Generativity Scale Instructions. For each of the following statements, please indicate how often the statement applies to you: "0" = statement never applies to you. "1" = statement occasionally or seldom applies to you. "2" = statement applies to you fairly often. "3" = statement applies to you very often or nearly always I try to pass along the knowledge I have gained through my experiences. 2. I feel as though I have made a difference to many people. 3. I do not volunteer to work for a charity. 4. I have made and created things that have had an impact on other people. 5. I think that I will be remembered for a long time after I die. 6. I have made many commitments to many different kinds of people, groups, and activities in my life. 7. I have a responsibility to improve the neighborhood in which I live. 8. People come to me for advice. Methods: self-report & **life stories** How does your score compare? Does generativity increase with age? Related to time perspective, & environmental demands Pressure to find satisfying life path before its too late! Pressure to find satisfying life path before its too late! 25% of people (= men & women) report midlife crisis 25% of people (= men & women) report midlife crisis were no more than stressful life events Occurred before 39 and after age 50 For many, there is a positive transition ** self-acceptance, autonomy, & environmental master** What are the symptoms? Midlife Crisis? Eriksons Psychosocial Theory of Personality Development 0-18mo 18m-3y Despair over life choices Feel as sense of integrity with their life Personality How would you describe your personality? How would you describe your personality? Will your personality be the same or different when you are 45? Will your personality be the same or different when you are 45? What about 65? What about 65? Why? Why? In-Class Assignment 9 Purpose of this assignment is to understand methods for assessing personality in adulthood, and be able to identify examples of the 5-factors of personality. Five Factor Model of Personality (Costa & McCrae) TraitExamples Change or stability? Which traits show stability or change with age? Openness to experience Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism 5, 10, 35 8, 13, 28 1, 16, 31 2, 17, 42 9, 19, 39 Focus on Research Small, Hertzog, Hultsch, & Dixon (2003) Aim: examine if personality changes or remains the same as people age Aim: examine if personality changes or remains the same as people age Participants: Victoria Longitudinal Study Participants: Victoria Longitudinal Study 223 adults: 35 to 85 years old 60% female & ethnically diverse M education = 13 years Measure Measure self-reported personality: given twice, 6 years apart Results 1: examine if mean-level on trait changes Results 1: examine if mean-level on trait changes Personality Trait Time 1 Time 2 Openness Conscientiousness7474 Extroversion9999 Agreeableness5051 Neuroticism7574 Mean-level findings suggest personality stability with age, and mostly positive changes. Results 2: stability of rank-order within a group Results 2: stability of rank-order within a group examine correlation between times of testing Personality Trait r Openness.85 Conscientiousness.73 Extroversion.82 Agreeableness.69 Neuroticism.84 High positive rank-order correlations suggest stability of personality with age TraitExamples Change or stability? Openness to experience Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism 5, 10, 35 8, 13, 28 1, 16, 31 2, 17, 42 9, 19, 39 Five Factor Model of Personality (Costa & McCrae) TraitExamples Change or stability? Stability, small decline Stability Stability Stability, small increase Stability, small decline Openness to experience Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism 5, 10, 35 8, 13, 28 1, 16, 31 2, 17, 42 9, 19, 39 Personality is set in plaster after the age of 30! Five Factor Model of Personality (Costa & McCrae)