The study of personality characteristics has been a topic of controversy in terms of their stability. Anusic and Schimmack (2016) carried out a meta-analysis of the stability and change of personality traits, and their findings suggested that personality traits become more stable with age. Specifically, personality traits started becoming more stable during the teenage years and young adulthood (Anusic & Schimmack, 2016). Rantanen, Metsäpelto, Feldt, Pulkikinen, and Kokko (2007) conducted a specific study that resonated the findings by Anusic and Schimmack, but it focused on the Big Five personality traits.
The Big Five personality traits consist of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Rantanen et al. (2007) studied adults between ages of 33 and 42 and concentrated on rank-order stability, which explains a person’s position within a personality trait group in comparison to …show more content…
Grühn, Rebucal, Diehl, Lumley, and Labouvie-Vief (2008) carried out a 12-year longitudinal study that consisted of four periods. The study measured changes in empathy in individuals who were 10 to 83 years old. The results indicated that self-reported empathy did decrease with age, but the researchers’ latent growth curve analyses did not show a longitudinal decrease in empathy due to age (Grühn et al., 2008). Their data suggests that differences in birth cohorts (i.e., older people and younger people) and not differences in age affect empathy (Grühn et al., 2008). Older people and younger people have grown up in different time eras, which have shaped their personalities; in particular, younger people have been exposed to psychology topics more (Grühn et al., 2008). Consequently, younger people have tended to openly talk about their feelings, which explains why they obtained higher empathy scores than the older cohort (Grühn et al.,
The Big Five personality traits consist of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Rantanen et al. (2007) studied adults between ages of 33 and 42 and concentrated on rank-order stability, which explains a person’s position within a personality trait group in comparison to …show more content…
Grühn, Rebucal, Diehl, Lumley, and Labouvie-Vief (2008) carried out a 12-year longitudinal study that consisted of four periods. The study measured changes in empathy in individuals who were 10 to 83 years old. The results indicated that self-reported empathy did decrease with age, but the researchers’ latent growth curve analyses did not show a longitudinal decrease in empathy due to age (Grühn et al., 2008). Their data suggests that differences in birth cohorts (i.e., older people and younger people) and not differences in age affect empathy (Grühn et al., 2008). Older people and younger people have grown up in different time eras, which have shaped their personalities; in particular, younger people have been exposed to psychology topics more (Grühn et al., 2008). Consequently, younger people have tended to openly talk about their feelings, which explains why they obtained higher empathy scores than the older cohort (Grühn et al.,