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12 - Development of Personality across the Life Span

from Part III - Development, Health and Change: Life Span and Health Outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Olivia E. Atherton ,
M. Brent Donnellan  and
Richard W. Robins
Edited by
Philip J. Corr  and
Gerald Matthews
Philip J. Corr
Affiliation:
City, University London
Gerald Matthews
Affiliation:
University of Central Florida
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Summary

These abiding concerns about the consistency of personality have continued to the present. The research literature provides a fairly clear picture about how personality changes across the lifespan, but vigorous debate continues about the degree to which stability and change in personality stems from intrinsic biological maturation, major life transitions and associated changes in social roles, or self-initiated desires to change personality. These debates make the field of personality development one of the most active, contentious and intellectually vibrant areas of personality psychology.

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The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology , pp. 169 - 182
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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