Why the archetype of the grumpy old man is bullsh*t
Tuesday December 5, 2023
Many of us will change much more than we imagine over the coming decades.
As we get older, many humans become progressively more emotionally stable, more agreeable, and.. wait for it.. even more conscientious!
Emotional stability is linked to fewer mental health problems, agreeableness is linked to being both considerate and kind, while conscientious people are more reliable, more often.
The stereotype of the grumpy man, is bullsh*t. That is not how most humans age.
These findings are from a huge study of how human personality morphs over half a century!
The results showed that while personality is mostly stable over a lifetime, it can also change.
Dr. Rodica Damian, the study’s first author, said:
“The rankings (of personality traits) remain fairly consistent. People who are more conscientious than others their age at 16 are likely to be more conscientious than others at 66.
But, on average, everyone becomes more conscientious, more emotionally stable, and more agreeable.”
How the study was conducted
The study included data from nearly 1800 humans, (ok, 1,795 to be exact). Talk about your longitudinal studies!
These humans were followed for half a century from the ages of 16 to 66!
About 50% of these participating humans saw changes in their personality over fifty years.
Some humans experienced more chane than others, while a few study participants experienced negative shifts in their personality.
The researchers summed up their findings:
“Our findings suggest that personality has a stable component across the lifespan, both at the trait level and at the profile level, and that personality is also malleable and people mature as they age.”
Not all psychologists are convinced, though, that personality is even as stable as all that…
“Our findings suggest that personality has a stable component across the lifespan, both at the trait level and at the profile level, and that personality is also malleable and people mature as they age.”
Harris (2016) tracked people over 63 years to see if their personality had changed.
The result was — that there was no relationship whatsoever between a human’s personality at age 14 and at age 77!
It was as if the second battery of tests — administered 63 years later — had been given to a totally different human being!
Perhaps, then, many of us will change much more than we imagine over the coming decades. We’ll see won’t we?
And now with your forbearance, a coda for our future, which is where the rest of our lives are to be unpacked…
Predictions… by Suzanne Vega
Let's tell the future
Let's see how it's been done.
By numbers. By mirrors. By water.
By dots made at random on paper.
By salt. By dice.
By meal. By mice.
By dough of cakes.
By sacrificial fire.
By fountains. By fishes.
Writings in ashes.
Birds. Herbs.
Smoke from the altar.
A suspended ring or the mode of laughing
Pebbles drawn from a heap
One of these things
Will tell you something.
Let's tell the future
Let's see how it's been done.
By dreams. By the features. By letters.
By dropping hot wax into water.
By nails reflecting the rays of the sun.
By walking in a circle.
By red hot iron.
By passages in books.
A balanced hatchet.
A suspended ring or the mode of laughing
Pebbles drawn from a heap
One of these things
Will tell you something.
Let's tell the future
Let's see how it's been done.
Be well, stay kind, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
Damian, R. I., Spengler, M., Sutu, A., & Roberts, B. W. (2019). Sixteen going on sixty-six: A longitudinal study of personality stability and change across 50 years. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(3), 674–695. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000210
Harris, M. A., Brett, C. E., Johnson, W., & Deary, I. J. (2016). Personality stability from age 14 to age 77 years.Psychology and Aging, 31(8), 862–874. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000133
