Stability of personality traits in adulthood

Stability represents a fundamental concept in developmental theory and research. In this article we give an overview of recent work on personality traits and their stability in adulthood. First, we define personality traits and stability. Second, we present empirical evidence supporting change and stability of personality traits across the adult years with respect to conceptually and statistically different forms of stability. Third, we describe mechanisms and processes that enable trait stability. Finally, we discuss implications of trait stability for theory, research, and application. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000080 Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-84313 Accepted Version Originally published at: Allemand, Mathias; Gruenenfelder-Steiger, Andrea E; Hill, Patrick L (2013). Stability of personality traits in adulthood. GeroPsych, 26(1):5-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000080 Stability of Personality Traits 1! Running head: STABILITY OF PERSONALITY Stability of Personality Traits in Adulthood: Mechanisms and Implications Mathias Allemand, Andrea E. Steiger, & Patrick L. Hill University of Zurich University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Accepted for Publication in The Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric Psychiatry Preparation of this article was supported, in part, by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) grant no. CRSI11_130432/1. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mathias Allemand, University of Zurich, Department of Psychology, Binzmühlestrasse 14/24, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland (e-mail: [email protected]). Stability of Personality Traits 2!