Researchers have found that people get nicer as they get older. This contradicts earlier studies showing that people’s personalities don’t change after around age 30, due to genetic programming.
Scientists studied 132,000 people between the ages of 21 and 60. Each one took a personality test on a website that measured conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness and extraversion. The results: conscientiousness increased throughout life and particularly during the 20’s, when people become more organized and disciplined. Agreeableness improved during the 30’s, as people become warmer, more generous and helpful.
Neuroticism declined with age in women but did not change in men, meaning women become more stable as they grow older. Also, women become more private and less extraverted as they grow older, but men stay just the same.
The researchers say, “The findings in this article suggest that people continue to mature well into adulthood.” This could be the result of a mixture of genes, experiences and hormonal changes. So if you’re living with someone who’s grumpy and hard to get along with?just wait.
It takes a long time for some people to change?and Atlantis wasn’t built in a day, either.
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