9: Trait Stability Flashcards
What is sequential design?
Combines longitudinal and cross-sectional designs.
What are cohort effects?
Qualities of a particular generation which may be idiosyncratic.
Millennials tend to be more civic-minded, more educated, fewer stable job opportunities, and are the first generation with the Internet. Jean Twenge criticized the generation as being what?
Overly narcissistic and self-entitled.
There are two types of stability/continuity that scientists study in personality. What are they?
Absolute continuity: constancy in the quantity or amount of an attribute over time.
Differential continuity: consistency of individual differences within a sample of individuals over time, to the retention of an individual’s relative placement in a group.
What question does differential continuity ask?
Are you still in the same rank order compared to everyone else 10 years later?
Absolute continuity is typically studied with what? Differential continuity?
Means and standard deviations.
Correlation coefficients (same concept as test-retest reliability).
What are the four possibilities for continuity?
High differential/high absolute: rank order kept, means similar at both time points.
High differential/low absolute: e.g., people maintain rank order in social anxiety relative to everyone else, but on average less socially anxious at Time 2 versus Time 1.
Low differential/high absolute: rare, individual people change great deal over time but in random directions; net effect is group average remains same, but individuals vary.
Low differential/low absolute: not really found for personality traits.
Personality traits are typically _____ when it comes to change.
Resistant.
The Big Five (OCEAN) has very strong continuity in what domain? Explain.
Differential continuity.
Correlations range from .46 to .83, stronger for short time frames than long ones.
What is the trend of absolute continuity for agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience?
Mean levels tend to increase as people get older for agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability.
Mean levels increase with age but begin to gradually decline as people get older with openness to experience.
What is the trend of absolute continuity for narcissism and psychopathy?
Means begin high, decrease with age.
How has perfectionism changed over time?
Means have increased.
