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Personality throughout the Lifespan

Personality throughout the Lifespan. Michael Hoerger. Pervasiveness of Personality. Personality. Definitions: A person’s relatively enduring patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings Style of viewing and interacting with the world Often measured with surveys

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Personality throughout the Lifespan

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  1. Personalitythroughout theLifespan Michael Hoerger

  2. Pervasiveness of Personality

  3. Personality • Definitions: • A person’s relatively enduring patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings • Style of viewing and interacting with the world • Often measured with surveys • Highly debated in the 1960s and 1970s • Interaction of… • Individual and situation • Genes and environment • Conscious and unconscious

  4. Temperament • Highly heritable aspects of personality, evident even early in life • Rythmicity: predictability of behavior patterns, especially eating and sleeping • Emotionality: pleasant or unpleasant, intensity and duration of reactions • Activity: energy level • Distractibility: ability to ignore distractors • Sociability: tendency to approach/ avoid

  5. Norms of Reaction • Definition: expected pattern of development, given a specific environment • Temperament interacts with environmental influences in adaptive or harmful ways

  6. Personality Disorders • Style of personality that is inflexible, extreme, and causes impaired functioning • Examples: • Schizotypal: unusual beliefs, socially isolated • Dependent: needs a relationship, can’t make own decisions • Antisocial Personality Disorder: impulsive, manipulative, aggressive

  7. Characteristic Adaptations • Personality can be difficult to change, especially for personality disorders • Rather than trying to modify traits, often psychologists focus on “characteristic adaptations” or how those traits are used • Example for disagreeableness: • Criminal who breaks many laws • Lawyer who argues and debates

  8. Lifespan Perspective • Childhood personality influenced by family • Niche picking: in adulthood, people choose environments more suitable to their genes • People report large changes in personality (though changes tend to be small) • Changes tend to be adaptive • Early to late adulthood: ↓N, ↓E, ↓O, ↑A, ↑C • Criminality tends to decline after age 45

  9. Demographic Differences • Gender: females score higher than males on N and A • Gender convergence: Masculinity and femininity tend to fluctuate with changing family roles; older adults become more androgynous • Birth Order: no differences!

  10. Personality Correlates • Good Health: low Hostility (aspect of A) • Achievement: high C • Political Views: high levels of education related to liberalism (aspect of O) • Psychological Well-being: high E, low N • Assertiveness (aspect of E) may be key for reducing stress; involves expressing one’s feelings and needs, while still respecting others

  11. Michael Hoerger To cite this lecture: • Hoerger, M. (2007, April 11). Personality throughout the Lifespan. Presented at a PSY 220 lecture at Central Michigan University.

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