Developmental Tasks as a Framework to Study Personality Development in Adulthood and Old Age

Abstract

Research consistently shows that personality development is a lifelong phenomenon, with mean–level and rank–order changes occurring in all life phases. What happens during specific life phases that can explain these developmental patterns? In the present paper, we review literature linking personality development in different phases of adulthood to developmental tasks associated with these phases. Building on previous work, we describe several categories of developmental tasks that are present in all phases of adulthood. However, the specific tasks within these categories change across adulthood from establishing new social roles in early adulthood to maintaining them in middle adulthood and preventing losses in old age. This trajectory is reflected in mean–level changes in personality, which indicates development towards greater maturity (increases in social dominance, conscientiousness, and emotional stability) in early and middle adulthood, but less so at the end of life. Importantly, developmental tasks are not only associated with mean–level changes, but the way in which people deal with these tasks is also related to rank–order changes in personality. We provide an outlook for future research on how the influence of historical time on the normativeness of developmental tasks might be reflected in personality development. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology

Keywords

personality development developmental tasks adulthood old age

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alexander

, Feeney

, Hohaus

, & Noller

(2001). Attachment style and coping resources as predictors of coping strategies in the transition to parenthood. Personal Relationships, 8, 137–152. DOI:10.1111/j.1475–6811.2001.tb00032.x

Almada

S. J.

, Zonderman

A. B.

, Shekelle

R. B.

, Dyer

A. R.

, Daviglus

M. L.

, Costa

P. T.

, & Stamler

(1991). Neuroticism and cynicism and risk of death in middle–aged men: The Western Electric Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 53, 165–175. DOI:0033–3174/91/53O2–O165103.00/

Andersen

S. L.

, Sun

J. X.

, Sebastiani

, Huntly

, Gass

J. D.

, Feldman

, … Perls

T. T.

(2012). Personality factors in the Long Life Family Study. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, gbs117. DOI:10.1093/geronb/gbs117

Ardelt

(2000). Still stable after all these years? Personality stability theory revisited. Social Psychology Quarterly, 392–405. DOI:10.2307/2695848

Arnett

J. J.

(2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480. DOI:10.1037/0003–066X.55.5.469

Bäckman

, & MacDonald

S. W.

(2006). Death and cognition. European Psychologist, 11, 224–235. DOI:10.1027/1016–9040.11.3.224

Baltes

P. B.

(1987). Theoretical propositions of life–span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology, 23, 611–626. DOI:10.1037/0012–1649.23.5.611

Baltes

P. B.

, Lindenberger

, & Staudinger

U. M.

(2006). Lifespan theory in developmental psychology. In Lerner

R. M.

(Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 569–664). New York: Wiley.

Belsky

(1986). Transition to parenthood. Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality, 20, 56–59.

10.

Bleidorn

(2012). Hitting the road to adulthood: Short–term personality development during a major life transition. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 1594–1608. DOI:10.1177/0146167212456707

11.

Bleidorn

, Klimstra

T. A.

, Denissen

J. J. A.

, Rentfrow

P. J.

, Potter

, & Gosling

S. D.

(2013). Personality maturation around the world—A cross–cultural examination of social investment theory. Psychological Science, 24, 2530–2540. DOI:10.1177/0956797613498396

12.

Bowen

C. E.

, Noack

C. M. G.

, & Staudinger

U. M.

(2011). Aging in the work context. In Schaie

K. W.

& Willis

(Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (pp. 263–277). San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press.

13.

Carstensen

L. L.

(1995). Evidence for a life–span theory of socioemotional selectivity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 151–156.

14.

Caspi

, Roberts

B. W.

, & Shiner

R. L.

(2005). Personality development: Stability and change. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 453–484. DOI:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141913

15.

Cohen

(1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

16.

Costa

P. T.

, & McCrae

R. R.

(1994). Set like plaster? Evidence for the stability of adult personality. In Heatherton

T. F.

& Weinberger

J. L.

(Eds.), Can personality change? (pp. 21–40). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

17.

Costa

P. T.

, Herbst

J. H.

, McCrae

R. R.

, & Siegler

I. C.

(2000). Personality at midlife: Stability, intrinsic maturation, and response to life events. Assessment, 7, 365–378. DOI:10.1177/107319110000700405

18.

Denissen

J. J. A.

, Asendorpf

J. B.

, & van Aken

M. A. G.

(2008). Childhood personality predicts long–term trajectories of shyness and aggressiveness in the context of demographic transitions in emerging adulthood. Journal of Personality, 76, 67–100. DOI:10.1111/j.1467–6494.2007.00480.x

19.

Elwell

, & Maltbie–Crannell

A. D.

(1981). The impact of role loss upon coping resources and life satisfaction of the elderly. Journal of Gerontology, 36, 223–232. DOI:10.1093/geronj/36.2.223

20.

Erikson

E. H.

(1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.

21.

Field

, & Millsap

R. E.

(1991). Personality in advanced old age: Continuity or change? Journal of Gerontology, 46, 299–308. DOI:10.1093/geronj/46.6.P299

22.

Fraley

R. C.

, & Roberts

B. W.

(2005). Patterns of continuity: A dynamic model for conceptualizing the stability of individual differences in psychological constructs across the life course. Psychological Review, 112, 60–74. DOI:10.1037/0033–295X.112.1.60

23.

Freund

A. M.

, Nikitin

, & Ritter

J. O.

(2009). Psychological consequences of longevity. Human Development, 52, 1–37. DOI:10.1159/000189213

24.

Gerstorf

, Ram

, Lindenberger

, & Smith

(in press). Age and time–to–death trajectories of change in indicators of cognitive, sensory, physical, health, social, and self–related functions. Developmental Psychology. DOI:10.1037/a0031340

25.

Havighurst

R. J.

(1972). Developmental tasks and education. New York: McKay Company.

26.

Helson

, & Soto

C. J.

(2005). Up and down in middle age: monotonic and nonmonotonic changes in roles, status, and personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 194–204. DOI:10.1037/0022–3514.89.2.194

27.

Holmbeck

G. N.

, Paikoff

R. L.

, & Brooks–Gunn

(1995). Parenting adolescents. In Handbook of parenting, Vol. 1: Children and parenting (pp. 91–118). Hillsdale, NJ, England: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

28.

Hutteman

, Bleidorn

, Keresteš

, Brković

, Butković

, & Denissen

J. J. A.

(2014). Reciprocal associations between parenting challenges and parents‘ personality development in young and middle adulthood. European Journal of Personality, 28, 168–179. DOI:10.1002/per.1932

29.

James

(1890). The principles of psychology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

30.

Jokela

(2010). Characteristics of the first child predict the parents‘ probability of having another child. Developmental Psychology, 46, 915–926. DOI:10.1037/a0019658

31.

Jokela

(2012). Birth–cohort effects in the association between personality and fertility. Psychological Science, 23, 835–841. DOI:10.1177/0956797612439067

32.

Jokela

, Kivimäki

, Elovainio

, & Keltikangas–Järvinen

(2009). Personality and having children: A two–way relationship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 218–230. DOI:10.1037/a0014058

33.

Kandler

, Zimmermann

, & McAdams

D. P.

(2014). Core and surface characteristics for the description and theory of personality differences and development. European Journal of Personality, 28(3), 231–243.

34.

Kim

J. E.

, & Moen

(2001). Is retirement good or bad for subjective well–being? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 83–86. DOI:10.1111/1467–8721.00121

35.

Kivnick

H. Q.

(1982). Grandparenthood: An overview of meaning and mental health. The Gerontologist, 22, 59–66. DOI:10.1093/geront/22.1.59

36.

Lang

F. R.

, Staudinger

U. M.

, & Carstensen

L. L.

(1998). Perspectives on socioemotional selectivity in late life: How personality and social context do (and do not) make a difference. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 53B, P21–P30. DOI:10.1093/geronb/53B.1.P21

37.

Lehnart

, Neyer

F. J.

, & Eccles

(2010). Long–term effects of social investment: The case of partnering in young adulthood. Journal of Personality, 78, 639–670. DOI:10.1111/j.1467–6494.2010.00629.x

38.

Lerner

R. M.

(1984). On the nature of human plasticity. New York: Cambridge University Press.

39.

Löckenhoff

C. E.

, Terracciano

, & Costa

P. T.

(2009). Five–factor model personality traits and the retirement transition: Longitudinal and cross–sectional associations. Psychology and Aging, 24, 722–728. DOI:10.1037/a0015121

40.

Lodi–Smith

, & Roberts

B. W.

(2007). Social investment and personality: A meta–analysis of the relationship of personality traits to investment in work, family, religion, and volunteerism. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 11, 68–86. DOI:10.1177/1088868306294590

41.

Lucas

R. E.

, & Donnellan

M. B.

(2011). Personality development across the life span: Longitudinal analyses with a national sample from Germany. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 847–861. DOI:10.1037/a0024298

42.

Lüdtke

, Roberts

B. W.

, Trautwein

, & Nagy

(2011). A random walk down university avenue: Life paths, life events, and personality trait change at the transition to university life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 620–637. DOI:10.1037/a0023743

43.

Luhmann

, Orth

, Specht

, Kandler

, & Lucas

R. E.

(2014). Studying changes in life circumstances and personality: It's about time. European Journal of Personality, 28(3), 256–266.

44.

Martin

, & Mroczek

D. K.

(2005). Are personality traits across the lifespan sensitive to environmental demands. Journal of Adult Development.

45.

Martin

, Long

M. V.

, & Poon

L. W.

(2002). Age changes and differences in personality traits and states of the old and very old. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57, P144–P152. DOI:10.1093/geronb/57.2.P144

46.

McAdams

D. P.

, & Olson

B. D.

(2010). Personality development: Continuity and change over the life course. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 517–542. DOI:10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100507

47.

McCormick

C. M.

, Kuo

S. I.–C.

, & Masten

A. S.

(2011). Developmental tasks across the lifespan. In Fingerman

K. F.

, Smith

, & Antonucci

T. C.

(Eds.), Handbook of lifespan development (pp. 117–140). Ney York: Springer.

48.

Midanik

L. T.

, Soghikian

, Ransom

L. J.

, & Tekawa

I. S.

(1995). The effect of retirement on mental health and health behaviors: The Kaiser Permanente Retirement Study. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 50B, S59–S61. DOI:10.1093/geronb/50B.1.S59

49.

Mondak

J. J.

, Hibbing

M. V.

, Canache

, Seligson

M. A.

, & Anderson

M. R.

(2010). Personality and civic engagement: An integrative framework for the study of trait effects on political behavior. American Political Science Review, 104, 85–110. DOI:10.1017/S0003055409990359

50.

Mõttus

, Johnson

, & Deary

I. J.

(2012). Personality traits in old age: Measurement and rank–order stability and some mean–level change. Psychology and Aging, 27, 243.

51.

Mõttus

, Johnson

, Starr

J. M.

, & Deary

I. J.

(2012). Correlates of personality trait levels and their changes in very old age: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1921. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 271–278. DOI:10.1016/j.jrp.2012.02.004

52.

Mroczek

D. K.

, & Spiro

(2003). Modeling intraindividual change in personality traits: Findings from the Normative Aging Study. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58, P153–P165. DOI:10.1093/geronb/58.3.P153

53.

Neyer

F. J.

, & Asendorpf

J. B.

(2001). Personality–relationship transaction in young adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1190–1204. DOI:10.1037//0022–3514.81.6.1190

54.

Neyer

F. J.

, & Lehnart

(2007). Relationships matter in personality development: Evidence from an 8–year longitudinal study across young adulthood. Journal of Personality, 75, 535–568. DOI:10.1111/j.1467–6494.2007.00448.x

55.

Orth

, Trzesniewski

K. H.

, & Robins

R. W.

(2010). Self–esteem development from young adulthood to old age: A cohort–sequential longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 645–658. DOI:10.1037/a0018769

56.

Parker

P. D.

, Lüdtke

, Trautwein

, & Roberts

B. W.

(2012). Personality and relationship quality during the transition from high school to early adulthood. Journal of Personality, 80, 1061–1089. DOI:10.1111/j.1467–6494.2012.00766.x

57.

Pinquart

, & Schindler

(2007). Changes of life satisfaction in the transition to retirement: A latent–class approach. Psychology and Aging, 22, 442–455. DOI:10.1037/0882–7974.22.3.442

58.

Reitz

A. K.

, Motti–Stefanidi

, & Asendorpf

J. B.

(2013). Mastering developmental transitions in immigrant adolescents: The longitudinal interplay of family functioning, developmental, and acculturative tasks. Developmental Psychology, 50, 754–765. DOI:10.1037/a0033889

59.

Reitz

A. K.

, Zimmermann

, Hutteman

, Specht

, & Neyer

F. J.

(2014). How peers make a difference: Peer relationships and their role in personality development. European Journal of Personality, 28(3), 279–288.

60.

Roberts

B. W.

, & Bogg

(2004). A longitudinal study of the relationships between conscientiousness and the social–environmental factors and substance–use behaviors that influence health. Journal of Personality, 72, 325–354. DOI:10.1111/j.0022–3506.2004.00264.x

61.

Roberts

B. W.

, Caspi

, & Moffitt

T. E.

(2003). Work experiences and personality development in young adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 582–593. DOI:10.1037/0022–3514.84.3.582

62.

Roberts

B. W.

, & Chapman

C. N.

(2000). Change in dispositional well–being and its relation to role quality: A 30–year longitudinal study. Journal of Research in Personality, 34, 26–41. DOI:10.1006/jrpe.1999.2259

63.

Roberts

B. W.

, & DelVecchio

W. F.

(2000). The rank–order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 3–25. DOI:10.1037//0033–2909.126.1.3

64.

Roberts

B. W.

, Walton

K. E.

, & Viechtbauer

(2006). Patterns of mean–level change in personality traits across the life course: A meta–analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 1–25. DOI:10.1037/0033–2909.132.1.1

65.

Roberts

B. W.

, & Wood

(2006). Personality development in the context of the neo–socioanalytic model of personality. In Mroczek

D. K.

& Little

T. D.

(Eds.), Handbook of personality development. Mahwah: Erlbaum.

66.

Roberts

B. W.

, Wood

, & Caspi

(2008). The development of personality traits in adulthood. In John

O. P.

, Robins

R. W.

, & Pervin

L. A.

(Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (Vol. 3, pp. 375–398). New York: Guil.

67.

Robins

R. W.

, Caspi

, & Moffitt

T. E.

(2002). It's not just who you're with, it's who you are: Personality and relationship experiences across multiple relationships. Journal of Personality, 70, 925–964. DOI:10.1111/1467–6494.05028

68.

Sameroff

A. J.

(1983). Developmental systems: Contexts and evolution. In Kesse

(Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 1. History, theory, and methods (Vol. 1, pp. 237–294). New York: Wiley.

69.

Scollon

C. N.

, & Diener

(2006). Love, work, and changes in extraversion and neuroticism over time. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 1152–1165. DOI:10.1037/0022–3514.91.6.1152

70.

Specht

, Egloff

, & Schmukle

S. C.

(2011). Stability and change of personality across the life course: The impact of age and major life events on mean–level and rank–order stability of the Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 862. DOI:10.1037/a0024950

71.

Staudinger

U. M.

, & Bluck

(2001). A view on midlife development from life–span theory. In Lachman

M. E.

(Ed.), Handbook of midlife development (pp. 3–39). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

72.

Staudinger

U. M.

, & Kunzmann

(2005). Positive adult personality development. European Psychologist, 10, 320–329. DOI:10.1027/1016–9040.10.4.320

73.

Staudinger

U. M.

, Marsiske

, & Baltes

P. B.

(1995). Resilience and reserve capacity in later adulthood: Potentials and limits of development across the life span. In Cicchetti

& Cohen

(Eds.), Developmental psychopathology (Vol. 2, pp. 801–847). New York: Wiley. Retrieved from http://www.midus.wisc.edu/findings/pdfs/95.pdf

74.

Tackett

J. L.

, Slobodskaya

H. R.

, Mar

R. A.

, Deal

, Halverson

C. F.

, Baker

S. R.

, … Besevegis

(2012). The hierarchical structure of childhood personality in five countries: Continuity from early childhood to early adolescence. Journal of Personality, 80, 847–879. DOI:10.1111/j.1467–6494.2011.00748.x

75.

Terracciano

, McCrae

R. R.

, Brant

L. J.

, & Costa

P. T.

(2005). Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of the NEO–PI–R scales in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Psychology and Aging, 20, 493. DOI:10.1037/0882–7974.20.3.493

76.

Terracciano

, McCrae

R. R.

, & Costa

P. T.

Jr. (2010). Intra–individual change in personality stability and age. Journal of Research in Personality, 44, 31–37. DOI:10.1016/j.jrp.2009.09.006

77.

Vaidya

J. G.

, Gray

E. K.

, Haig

, & Watson

(2002). On the temporal stability of personality: Evidence for differential stability and the role of life experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1469–1484. DOI:10.1037/0022–3514.83.6.1469

78.

Van Aken

M. A. G.

, Denissen

J. J. A.

, Branje

S. J. T.

, Dubas

J. S.

, & Goossens

(2006). Midlife concerns and short–term personality change in middle adulthood. European Journal of Personality, 20, 497–513. DOI:10.1002/per.603

79.

Vandewater

E. A.

, & Stewart

A. J.

(1998). Making commitments, creating lives. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 717–738. DOI:10.1111/j.1471–6402.1998.tb00187.x

80.

Wagner

G. G.

, Frick

J. R.

, & Schupp

(2007). The German Socio–Economic Panel Study (SOEP)—Evolution, scope and enhancements. Journal of Applied Social Science (Schmollers Jahrbuch), 127, 139–169.

81.

Wagner

, Gerstorf

, Hoppmann

, & Luszcz

M. A.

(2013). The nature and correlates of self–esteem trajectories in late life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 139–153. DOI:10.1037/a0032279

82.

Weiss

, Sassenberg

, & Freund

A. M.

(2013). When feeling different pays off: How older adults can counteract negative age–related information. Psychology and Aging, 28, 1140–1146. DOI:10.1037/a0033811

83.

Wink

, & Helson

(1993). Personality change in women and their partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 597–605. DOI:10.1037/0022–3514.65.3.597

84.

Wooden

, & Watson

(2007). The HILDA survey and its contribution to economic and social research (so far). The Economic Record, 83, 208–231. DOI:10.1111/j.1475–4932.2007.00395.x

85.

Wortman

, Lucas

R. E.

, & Donnellan

B. M.

(2012). Stability and change in the Big Five personality domains: Evidence from a longitudinal study of Australians. Psychology and Aging, 27, 867–874. DOI:10.1037/a0029322

86.

Zimmermann

, & Neyer

F. J.

(2013). Do we become a different person when hitting the road? Personality development of sojourners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 515–530. DOI:10.1037/a0033019