A British study looked at personalities of participants as itemized by teachers when they were 14 years of age, and then contacted those people again at age 77 to see if their personalities had changed over time.
They had, and University of Houston Psychology professor Dr. Kimberly Schoger says that’s to be expected. “There are many, many studies that show that temperament is stable over the lifetime, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be influenced by thing in the environment,” she tells KTRH News. Dr. Lawrence Abrams, a Houston clinical psychologist, says there can be medical/physiological changes, relationships, and other experiences that will influence the person you become.
“Between 20 and 40 we see some personality changes because of all those role transitions, depending on their experiences,” adds Dr. Schoger. She says 60% of personality if genetically based and therefore not likely to change during a lifetime.
The study examined six personality traits specifically: self-confidence, perseverance, stability of moods, conscientiousness, originality, and desire to excel. The study found little if any stability in those traits.