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Mapping the Landscape of Personality in Childhood and Adolescence
Author(s) -
Shiner Rebecca L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
social and personality psychology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.699
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 1751-9004
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00315.x
Subject(s) - psychology , personality psychology , personality , narrative , developmental psychology , big five personality traits , temperament , personality development , context (archaeology) , early childhood , social psychology , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , biology
From infancy, children vary in their typical emotions and behaviors, and by the middle of childhood, children have richly differentiated personalities. In this paper, I review the personality differences that youths exhibit from early childhood through adolescence, using a three‐part taxonomy developed by (McAdams, D. P., & Pals, J. L. American Psychologist, 2006; 61, 204–217). First, children exhibit a dispositional signature , including first temperament traits and later the Big Five personality traits, which show some consistency across situations and over time. Second, youths display characteristic adaptations that are more specific to particular life contexts; these include mental representations, strategies, and goals. Third, adolescents form personal narratives , stories about their lives that reflect and shape their identities. I describe the differences youths exhibit in these three domains and situate these differences in the context of overall development in childhood and adolescence. New work on youths’ personalities can serve as the foundation for future lifespan perspectives on personality development.