Personality stability and change in early adulthood: A behavioral genetic analysis
Abstract
Seventy-nine monozygotic and 48 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire twice, averaging 20 years of age at first and 30 years at second testing. There were significant mean decreases in measures of Negative Emotionality (NE), increases in measures of Constraint (CO), but no significant mean changes for measures of Positive Emotionality (PE). Variance decreased for measures of NE but remained stable for measures of PE and CO. Biometrical analyses revealed that (a) NE variance reduction was due to diminishing genetic influences, (b) personality stability change was due largely to genetic factors, and (c) although some evidence for genetic influence on personality change was observed, change was largely determined by environmental factors
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In a longitudinal study of twins surveyed at age 20 and then again at age 30, about 80 percent of the variance of the stable component of personality was attributed to genetic factors.
“In a longitudinal study of twins surveyed at age 20 and then again at age 30, about 80 percent of the variance of the stable component of personality was attributed to genetic factors (McGue, Bacon and Lykken [1993]).”
From Personality Psychology and Economics (2011) · cites this paper as McGue, Bacon and Lykken [1993]
In the same study, change in measured personality was mostly attributed to environmental factors.
“In the same study, change in measured personality was mostly attributed to environmental factors.”
From Personality Psychology and Economics (2011) · cites this paper as McGue, Bacon and Lykken [1993]
Earlier behavior genetic studies have been inconsistent regarding sex differences in impulsivity.
“Earlier behavior genetic studies have been inconsistent regarding sex differences in impulsivity, with some reporting significant sex differences in traits such as control and constraint (Finkel & McGue, 1997), and others reporting no significant differences in sex (McGue et al., 1993).”
From Genetic and environmental influences on impulsivity: A meta-analysis of twin, family and adoption studies (2011) · cites this paper as McGue et al., 1993
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- Authors
- McGue, M., Bacon, S., & Lykken, D. T.
- Affiliations
- University of Minnesota (US)
- ORCID
- McGue, Matt
- Venue
- Developmental Psychology
- Published
- 1993-01
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 96-109
- ISSN
- 0012-1649 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0599
- OpenAlex
- W2096331259
- Cited by
- 455
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 11.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- personality stability, personality change, early adulthood, negative affectivity, positive affectivity, constraints, genetic factors, environmental influences, monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins, biometric analysis, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire
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