Self-perceptions of stability and change in personality at midlife: the UNC Alumni Heart Study

Assessment. 2000 Dec;7(4):379-88. doi: 10.1177/107319110000700406.

Abstract

The finding of personality stability in adulthood may be counterintuitive to people who perceive a great deal of change in their own personality. The purpose of this study is to determine whether self-reported perceived changes in personality are associated with actual changes based on a 6- to 9-year follow-up of 2,242 middle-aged male and female participants of the UNC Alumni Heart Study (UNCAHS). Respondents completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory on two occasions and were asked to reflect back over a 6-year period and assess changes in their personality. The majority of respondents (n = 1,177; 52.5%) reported they had "stayed the same," while 863 (38.5%) reported they had "changed a little" and 202 (9%) reported they had "changed a good deal." Coefficients of personality profile agreement computed to evaluate global personality change for the three perceived change groups were essentially equivalent. Further, directional analyses of domain-specific changes in personality showed that perceived changes were weak predictors of residual gain scores. In an absolute sense, perceptions of stability or change were discordant in 8 of 15 (53%) comparisons. Self-perceptions of change are not an adequate substitute for objective assessments.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Aging / psychology*
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • North Carolina
  • Personality*
  • Self Concept*