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Can a person's personality traits change as they grow older?

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Margaret Mead conducting fieldwork in Bali — personality American anthropologist Margaret Mead with a woman and her niece in Bali, 1936. Mead conducted fieldwork there to study the role of culture in personality formation.

While some personality traits may show stability from childhood into adulthood, research indicates that lasting personality traits generally emerge after six or seven years of age. Adulthood and aging are characterized by both growth and decline, with personality development influenced by changing biological status and social contexts. Theories suggest that adulthood involves significant qualitative changes and transformations of earlier life patterns in response to life's demands. For instance, Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development highlight critical challenges individuals face throughout adulthood, such as the need for intimacy, generativity, and ego integrity. Daniel J. Levinson's research also divides adult life into distinct eras, each with its own developmental periods and transitions. While some studies suggest continuity in personality, others indicate changes, particularly in how individuals process information and manage interpersonal relationships.12