AP® Psychology · Free response

Is personality stable across the lifespan?

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Q2: Evidence-Based Question (EBQ) · no calculator · 7 points · about 45 minutes

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The question

Name: ______________________   Date: ____________   Is personality stable across the lifespan? (7 points)

Study

Source 1: Source 1

Introduction

Researchers asked how consistent people's Big Five trait scores are over long periods.

Participants

1,200 adults in Germany, ages 30 to 60 at the start, followed for 12 years.

Method

Participants completed the same Big Five personality inventory at the start and again 12 years later. For each trait, the researchers correlated each person's first score with their second score (rank-order consistency).

Results

Scores at the two times were strongly positively correlated for every trait, from r=0.62r = 0.62 for agreeableness to r=0.74r = 0.74 for extraversion. People who scored high relative to others at the start usually still scored high 12 years later.

Invented study for practice.

Correlation between Big Five scores 12 years apart (invented data)
TraitCorrelation over 12 years
Openness0.71
Conscientiousness0.68
Extraversion0.74
Agreeableness0.62
Neuroticism0.65

Study

Source 2: Source 2

Introduction

Researchers asked whether average trait levels shift as people move from adolescence into middle age.

Participants

3,000 people in the Netherlands, in five age groups (15, 25, 35, 45 and 55 years old), 600 per group.

Method

Each participant completed a Big Five inventory once. The researchers compared the mean conscientiousness score (scale 1 to 5) across the age groups.

Results

Mean conscientiousness rose from 3.0 at age 15 to 3.6 at age 25, 3.8 at age 35, 3.9 at age 45 and 4.0 at age 55. Older groups also scored somewhat higher on agreeableness and lower on neuroticism.

Invented study for practice.

20304050012345Age group (years)Mean conscientiousness (1 to 5)

Study

Source 3: Source 3

Introduction

Researchers asked whether a major new social role, a first full-time job, goes with changes in conscientiousness.

Participants

400 young adults in Australia, ages 20 to 24, followed for four years.

Method

Participants completed a Big Five inventory every year. The researchers compared the change in conscientiousness (scale 1 to 5) between those who began a first full-time job during the study and those who did not.

Results

Conscientiousness rose by a mean of 0.4 points in those who started a full-time job and by 0.1 points in those who did not.

Invented study for practice.

00.10.20.30.40.5GroupMean change (points)Started full-time jobDid not

  1. (A) Propose a specific and defensible claim based in psychological science that responds to the question: is personality stable across the lifespan? [1 point]

  2. (B(i)) Support your claim using at least one piece of specific and relevant evidence from one of the sources. [1 point]

  3. (B(ii)) Explain how the evidence from B(i) supports your claim using a psychological perspective, theory, concept or research finding learned in AP® Psychology. [2 points]

  4. (C(i)) Support your claim using a different piece of specific and relevant evidence from another source. [1 point]

  5. (C(ii)) Explain how the evidence from C(i) supports your claim using a different psychological perspective, theory, concept or research finding than the one used in B(ii). [2 points]