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Berkeley, California (pte033/12.05.2003/13:21) - Contrary to previous supposition, it has been found that the five most important character traits in human beings evolve and develop throughout a person's lifetime. According to researchers at the University of Berkeley, California, the character of a person is not fully developed at the age of thirty, as previously believed.
The research involved the study of 132,515 people between the ages of 21 and 60 for the so-called "Big Five": openness, neuroticism, extroversion, good-naturedness and conscientiousness. In an article published in the science magazine Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the team of scientists, led by Sanjay Srivastava, says that one of their findings is that, in the thirties, a person becomes more good-natured. (The 13-page study is available in pdf-format under http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/press_releases/may_2003/psp8451041.pdf )
Conscientiousness also grows throughout the years. The main development in the area occurs in the twenties.
Neuroticism is different between the sexes. The older a woman becomes, the less emotionally stable she is. A man, of the same age, however, shows no change in his emotional behaviour.
Women become less extroverted in later years, whereas with men there is no change. According to the study, neuroticism and extroversion are more prevalent in young women. The study has discovered that both sexes with particular character traits grow closer together as they grow older.
The level of openness in both sexes apparently doesn't change.
The results of this study contradict the notion that personality doesn't change in later years. Researchers say that there is proof that character is not genetically predestined.
"In our study we found that character traits changed gradually but systematically over the years. Partly more so after the age of thirty," Srivastava said.
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