Biomedical subjects

Brent W Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to Brent W Roberts.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

The present study used meta-analytic techniques (number of samples = 92) to determine the patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course. Results showed that people increase in measures of social dominance (a facet of extraversion), conscientiousness, and emotional stability, especially in young adulthood (age 20 to 40). In contrast, people increase on measures of social vitality (a 2nd facet of extraversion) and openness in adolescence but then decrease in both of these domains in old age. Agreeableness changed only in old age. Of the 6 trait categories, 4 demonstrated significant change in middle and old age. Gender and attrition had minimal effects on change, whereas longer studies and studies based on younger cohorts showed greater change.

Follow-Up Studies↗

PubMed2006

Personality traits change in adulthood: reply to Costa and McCrae (2006).

In a response to comments by P. T. Costa, Jr., and R. R. McCrae on the current authors' original article, the authors show that Costa and McCrae's writings on personality suggest a belief in immutability of personality traits. The authors agree with Costa and McCrae that new personality trait models that provide an accurate lower order structure of personality traits are needed and explain why the Revised NEO Personality Inventory is not the correct model for that purpose. The authors provide direct evidence refuting the hypothesis that personality traits change only because of biologically based intrinsic maturation. The authors present arguments supporting the contention that meta-analyses should be preferred to single longitudinal studies when drawing inferences about general patterns of personality development. Finally, the authors point out why the differences between their position and Costa and McCrae's are important.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Cross-sectional and longitudinal tests of the Personality and Role Identity Structural Model (PRISM).

A conceptual hierarchy termed the Personality and Role Identity Structural Model, or PRISM, is offered as a framework for incorporating situational information into trait models. PRISM assumes that personality is structured hierarchically with general dispositions subsuming context-specific dispositions (role identities), which, in turn, subsume role-based thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. At Wave 1 (N = 149), we found that general traits account for commonalities across traits measured within role identities and that role identities mediate the relationship between general traits and role criteria. In a longitudinal follow-up of a subsample of the original participants (Wave 2; N = 62), we found that general traits and role-identity traits were more stable than role experiences over time. Also, changes in role experiences were related to changes in role-identity traits, and, in turn, changes in role-identity traits were related to changes in general traits. The potential of PRISM for use in understanding the development of personality traits is discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Becoming the Harvard man: person-environment fit, personality development, and academic success.

The continuity and change of the needs and evaluations of the college environment and person-environment fit (PE fit) with the college environment were studied in a 4-year longitudinal study of students (N = 191). Perceptions of the environment changed more dramatically than corresponding self-perceived needs. PE fit demonstrated moderate levels of consistency over the 4-year span, but no significant increases in mean levels were found over time. Antecedents to PE fit in the college environment included both intelligence and openness to experience. Outcomes associated with PE fit included changes in personality traits linked to openness to experience and higher academic achievement. The implications of the findings for personality development and the relationship of PE fit to successful outcomes are discussed.

Educational Status↗

PubMed2006

The effect of age and role information on expectations for big five personality traits.

In four studies, the authors investigated the extent to which expectations for personality traits in age-graded roles correspond to patterns of personality trait change across the life course. In Studies 1 (N = 43) and 2 (N = 126), the authors examined the age-graded roles of high school student, college student, parent, and grandparent and found that expectations for how people behave in these age-graded roles showed strong parallels to the documented pattern of personality trait development and that this pattern of expectations was largely shared by younger and older participants. In Studies 3 (N = 252) and 4 (N = 123), the authors separated age and role information (e.g., marital, parental, and employment status) and found that people use both sources of information independently in forming expectations of others. The implications for understanding the interplay of expectations and personality trait development are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

The stability of vocational interests from early adolescence to middle adulthood: a quantitative review of longitudinal studies.

The present meta-analysis examined the stability of vocational interests from early adolescence (age 12) to middle adulthood (age 40). Stability was represented by rank-order and profile correlations. Interest stability remained unchanged during much of adolescence and increased dramatically during the college years (age 18-21.9), where it remained for the next 2 decades. Analyses of potential moderators showed that retest time interval was negatively related to interest stability and that rank-order stability was less stable than profile stability. Although cohort standings did not moderate stability, interests of the 1940s birth cohort were less stable than those of other cohorts. Furthermore, interests reflecting hands-on physical activities and self-expressive/artistic activities were more stable than scientific, social, enterprising, and clerical interests. Vocational interests showed substantial continuity over time, as evidenced by their higher longitudinal stability when compared with rank-order stability of personality traits. The findings are discussed in the context of psychosocial development.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Patterns of continuity: a dynamic model for conceptualizing the stability of individual differences in psychological constructs across the life course.

In contemporary psychology there is debate over whether individual differences in psychological constructs are stable over extended periods of time. The authors argue that it is impossible to resolve such debates unless researchers focus on patterns of stability and the developmental mechanisms that may give rise to them. To facilitate this shift in emphasis, they describe a formal model that integrates 3 developmental processes: stochastic-contextual processes, person-environment transactions, and developmental constancies. The theoretical and mathematical analyses indicate that this model makes novel predictions about the way in which test-retest correlations are structured across a wide range of ages and test-retest intervals. The authors illustrate the utility of the model by comparing its predictions against meta-analytic data on Neuroticism. The discussion emphasizes the value of focusing on patterns of continuity, not only as phenomena to be explained but as data capable of clarifying the developmental processes underlying stability and change for a variety of psychological constructs.

Humans↗

PubMed2005

Do people know how their personality has changed? Correlates of perceived and actual personality change in young adulthood.

How much do we think our personality changes over time? How well do our perceptions of change correspond with actual personality change? Two hundred and ninety students completed measures of the Big Five personality traits when they first entered college. Four years later, they completed the same measures and rated the degree to which they believed they had changed on each dimension. Participants tended to view themselves as having changed substantially, and perceptions of change showed some correspondence with actual personality change. Perceived and actual change showed theoretically meaningful correlations with a host of variables related to different aspects of college achievement and adjustment.

Achievement↗

PubMed2005

Personality development: stability and change.

In this review, we evaluate four topics in the study of personality development where discernible progress has been made since 1995 (the last time the area of personality development was reviewed in this series). We (a) evaluate research about the structure of personality in childhood and in adulthood, with special attention to possible developmental changes in the lower-order components of broad traits; (b) summarize new directions in behavioral genetic studies of personality; (c) synthesize evidence from longitudinal studies to pinpoint where and when in the life course personality change is most likely to occur; and (d) document which personality traits influence social relationships, status attainment, and health, and the mechanisms by which these personality effects come about. In each of these four areas, we note gaps and identify priorities for further research.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Goal and personality trait development in emerging adulthood.

The present research examined continuity and change in the importance of major life goals and the relation between change in goals and change in personality traits over the course of college (N = 298). Participants rated the importance of their life goals 6 times over a 4-year period and completed a measure of the Big Five personality traits at the beginning and end of college. Like personality traits, life goals demonstrated high levels of rank-order stability. Unlike personality traits assessed during the same period and in the same sample, the mean importance of most life goals decreased over time. Moreover, each goal domain was marked by significant individual differences in change, and these individual differences were related to changes in personality traits. These findings provide insights into the relatively unstudied question of how life goals change during emerging adulthood.

Achievement↗

PubMed2004

Conscientiousness and health-related behaviors: a meta-analysis of the leading behavioral contributors to mortality.

Previous research has established conscientiousness as a predictor of longevity (H. S. Friedman et al., 1993; L. R. Martin & H. S. Friedman, 2000). To better understand this relationship, the authors conducted a meta-analysis of conscientiousness-related traits and the leading behavioral contributors to mortality in the United States (tobacco use, diet and activity patterns, excessive alcohol use, violence, risky sexual behavior, risky driving, suicide, and drug use). Data sources were located by combining conscientiousness-related terms and relevant health-related behavior terms in database searches as well as by retrieving dissertations and requesting unpublished data from electronic mailing lists. The resulting database contained 194 studies that were quantitatively synthesized. Results showed that conscientiousness-related traits were negatively related to all risky health-related behaviors and positively related to all beneficial health-related behaviors. This study demonstrates the importance of conscientiousness' contribution to the health process through its relationship to health-related behaviors.

Health Behavior↗

PubMed2004

Person-Environment Fit and its implications for personality development: a longitudinal study.

Continuity and change in Person-Environment Fit (PE Fit) and its relation to personality development was studied in a 4-year longitudinal study of college students (N=305). PE Fit demonstrated moderate rank-order stability and small increases in mean-levels over time. Antecedents to PE Fit included gender (being male), high academic ability, low agreeableness, and low neuroticism. Outcomes associated with PE Fit included greater personality consistency and changes in personality in the direction of higher self-esteem and lower agreeableness and neuroticism. The implications of the findings for personality development are discussed.

Achievement↗

PubMed2004

A longitudinal study of the relationships between conscientiousness and the social-environmental factors and substance-use behaviors that influence health.

The present study tested the relationships among conscientiousness-related traits, social-environmental factors that affect health, and substance-use behaviors across a 30-year period from age 21 to age 52 in the Mills Longitudinal study of women (N=99). Results showed that the trait of social responsibility (a facet of conscientiousness) assessed at age 21 predicted family, work, and substance use outcomes at midlife (age 43 and age 52). In turn, marital quality, duration of marriage, divorce, participating in paid work, status level of work, and marijuana consumption were associated with changes in social responsibility. The implications for personality, health, and personality development are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

On traits, situations, and their integration: a developmental perspective.

The question of whether the person or the situation is largely responsible for behavior has plagued psychology intermittently for the last half century. Studies of the heritability, stability, and consensual validity of traits have clearly demonstrated the existence of traits. However, there is continuing controversy about the role of traits and situations in the enterprise of personality psychology. The goal of this article is to describe how insights yielded from adopting a developmental approach can foster the successful integration of the person and the situation across the life span. Five key lessons are described: (a) age matters--studying different age groups can lead to biases for and against traits and situations; (b), if age matters, time matters more--longitudinal and within-participant designs demonstrate that traits and situations are reciprocally related; (c) examine multiple types of change--focusing on one type, such as mean-level change, can lead to inappropriate conclusions about the merits of persons or situations; (d) be sensitive to levels of analysis--the relative breadth of persons and situations may determine the relative influence of the two; (e) pay attention to process--process models lead inextricably to transactional explanations.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2003

Work experiences and personality development in young adulthood.

This longitudinal study provides an analysis of the relationship between personality traits and work experiences with a special focus on the relationship between changes in personality and work experiences in young adulthood. Longitudinal analyses uncovered 3 findings. First, measures of personality taken at age 18 predicted both objective and subjective work experiences at age 26. Second, work experiences were related to changes in personality traits from age 18 to 26. Third, the predictive and change relations between personality traits and work experiences were corresponsive: Traits that "selected" people into specific work experiences were the same traits that changed in response to those same work experiences. The relevance of the findings to theories of personality development is discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Personality development and growth in women across 30 years: three perspectives.

This article addresses three questions about personality development in a 30-year longitudinal study of women (N = 78): (1) To what extent did the women maintain the same position in relation to each otheron personality characteristics over the 30 years, and what broad factors were related to the amount of change in their rank order? (2) Did the sample as a whole increase or decrease over time on indices of personality growth, and did they change in ways distinctive to women? (3) Were experiential factors associated with individual differences in the amount of change? Results showed that personality was quite consistent while also showing that time interval was positively related to rank-order change and age was negatively related to rank-order change. Over the period from age 21 to age 52, the women increased on measures of norm-orientation and complexity and showed changes on measures of Dominance and Femininity/Masculinity consistent with the hypothesis that changing sex roles would lead to increases in Dominance and increases, then decreases, in Femininity/Masculinity. A third set of results showed that changes in Dominance and Femininity/Masculinity were associated with life circumstances such as marital tension, divorce, and participation in the paid labor force. The implications of the findings for personality development and growth are discussed.

Adult↗