Keynote Table Chart Text Shape Media dd Slide Personality Development in Middle

ID: 3486836 • Letter: K

Question

Keynote Table Chart Text Shape Media dd Slide Personality Development in Middle Adulthood Stability versus change in personality Many individuals in middle adult perceive important similarities in basic personality traits between their middle aged self and their younger self Theorists such as Erikson and Levinson suggest that considerable change occurs in individuals personality over time Other theorists suggest that personality is stable and continuous throughout the lifespan Ex even tempered 25 year olds are typically even tempered 75 year olds

Explanation / Answer

Personality traits are developmental constructs not only during childhood and adolescence but throughout our lifespan. This means personality traits continue to develop even in adulthood.

According to Erik Erikson’s (1950, 1963) psychoanalytic theory of psychosocial development human development in terms of personality traits comprises eight stages from infancy to adulthood. In each stage an individual confronts a psychosocial crisis which could have an effect on his/her personality development. The outcome of this can either be positive or negative. Even though Erikson was greatly influenced by Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory, Erikson gave more importance to the adaptive and creative nature of Ego while Freud’s focus was more on the conflicts between Id and Superego. According to Erikson, Ego is social in nature and it develops by resolves the conflicts between the Id and Superego. This development of Ego involves establishing a sense of trust in others and a sense of identity in society.

Erikson believed, like many other Psychologists, that personality development takes place in a systematic and orderly manner. Erikson in his stages of personality development, focused on the effects of socialization of individuals in their sense of self.

Erikson describes eight distinct stages of Psychosocial development namely,

Stage

Psychosocial Crisis

Basic Virtue

Age

Trust vs. Mistrust

Hope

Infancy 0-1 1/2 yrs

Autonomy vs. Shame

Will

Early childhood 1 ½ - 3 yrs

Initiative vs. Guilt

Purpose

Play age 3 – 5 yrs

Industry vs. Inferiority

Competency

School age 5 – 12 yrs

Ego Identity vs. Role Confusion

Fidelity

Adolescence 12 – 18 yrs

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Love

Young adult 18 – 40 yrs

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Care

Adulthood 40 – 65 yrs

Ego integrity vs. Despair

Wisdom

Maturity 65+

According to the theory, Erikson explains that Adulthood is the stage of Generativity vs. Stagnation where individuals start settling down with a career; establish families and longing relationships there by develop a sense of being part of a bigger social system. As Erikson explains, during this stage individuals try to pay back to the society by working hard at their jobs, raising their children, taking care of their families as well as conforming to the societal needs and responsibilities. During this stage there is a tendency to become stagnated, since the failure to fulfill all the duties and responsibilities of this stage would make individuals unproductive and they would feel stagnant. This is what Erikson explains about personality development or psychosocial development during adulthood.

Some theorists hold that personality is formed during midlife. But some others believe that personality during midlife or middle adulthood is changing as well as stable. According to Humanistic theorist, Middle adulthood provides in itself a lot of scope for positive change. This change may be normative or non-normative. Normative changes are basically changes in relation to some established norms of society whereas non-normative changes do not follow any existing norms or rules. Many theorists believe that middle adulthood is a period where individuals experience an identity crisis related to the roles they are supposed to perform in the society, the role of a parent, a grandparent, and a responsible citizen. They are expected to discard their self image of their youthful years and take up a more psychologically matured and consistent image.

Newer research studies clearly suggest that an individual’s personality traits evolve throughout their lifespan. A Psychologist and researcher, Dr. Sanjay Srivastava explains that personality do keep changing throughout our lives but as we age the rate of this change slows down just like in all other domains of human development. He conducted a research to test this change occurring in personality during middle adulthood based on trh Big-Five Personality theory. The findings of his study showed that Conscientiousness and Agreeableness are two traits which show a significant level of change during middle adulthood. And this change could be easily understood by the roles individuals take up during this particular period. During middle adulthood, as explained earlier in Erikson’s theory, individuals settle down in their careers and build longing relationships and family. Hence Conscientiousness, a trait associated with order and discipline, mainly in career and relationships, tends to increase during middle adulthood. Likewise, agreeableness is a trait associated with being helpful and warm, this increases or matures as individuals start raising a family and take up the role of a more responsible adult. Openness is a trait associated with interest in engaging in new activities or seeking new relationships. This trait, as the study shows, decrease gradually during middle adulthood since the priority in this stage is becoming more mature and responsible while taking care of one’s family. Finally, a significant change can be seen in Neurotic traits, which is associated with having lower self-confidence and anxiety traits. The study shows that neurotic traits decrease as we get into middle adulthood.

All the above mentioned theories and study findings provide us with an insight that personality, though it keeps changing till the end of our lives, we tend to attain a sense of stability in our basic personality characteristics during middle adulthood. At the same time some of out distinct personality traits undergoes significant levels of changes as we get into middle adulthood and take up a more mature role in society.