psychological development might continue throughout life, and one of
history’s boldest thinkers, Carl G. Jung, was among the earliest to takethis step. His chapter on “The Stages of Life” in Modern Man in Search of
a Soul (Jung, 1933) foreshadowed many of the central ideas in geronto -
logical thinking, including the curve of life (Bühler, 1935), the rise of
the repressed (Levinson, Darrow , Klein, Levinson, & McKee, 1978), thefeminization of men and masculinization of women (Gutmann, 1970),disengagement theory (Cumming & Henry , 1961), and the midlife cri -
sis (Jacques, 1965).
A more elaborated and systematic position was offered by Erik
Erikson (1950), who postulated stages of psychosocial development toparallel Freud’s stages of psychosexual development, then extendedthem beyond adolescence and across the remaining years of life.
The next few decades saw the beginnings of empirical research on
personality and aging, some of it guided by the theories of Erikson orJung, much of it in search of new theoretical perspectives (J. Block,4 PERSONALITY IN ADULTHOOD
Neuroticism
Calm—WorryingEven-tempered—TemperamentalSelf-satisfied—Self-pityingComfortable—Self-consciousUnemotional—EmotionalHardy—Vulnerable
Extraversion
Reserved—AffectionateLoner—JoinerQuiet—TalkativePassive—ActiveSober—Fun-lovingUnfeeling—Passionate
Openness to Experience
Down-to-earth—ImaginativeUncreative—CreativeConventional—OriginalPrefer routine—Prefer varietyUncurious—CuriousConservative—LiberalAgreeableness
Ruthless—SoftheartedSuspicious—TrustingStingy—GenerousAntagonistic—AcquiescentCritical—LenientIrritable—Good-natured
Conscientiousness
Negligent—ConscientiousLazy—HardworkingDisorganized—Well-organizedLate—PunctualAimless—AmbitiousQuitting—Persevering
TABLE 1. The Five-Factor Model of Personality
Note. Adapted from Costa and McCrae (1986c).