firm the essential stability of personality . In a later study we looked at
the 7-year stability of peer ratings of men and women (Costa & Mc -
Crae, 1992b). For the five NEO-PI domains, the retest correlations
ranged from .63 to .84.
Critics could, of course, argue that spouses and peers form a crys -
tallized concept that is the source of apparent stability , but such argu -
ments become increasingly implausible. It is far more parsimonious and
plausible to admit that personality really is stable.
Accounting for Variance and Correcting for Unreliability
The typical 10-year stability coefficient of .71 reported by Block (1977)can be interpreted to mean that 50% (or .71 squared) of the variance in122 PERSONALITY IN ADULTHOOD
TABLE 14. Stability Coefficients for Spouse Ratings
of Men and Women
NEO-PI scale Men Women Total
Neuroticism .77 .86 .83
Anxiety .67 .82 .75Angry Hostility .76 .81 .78Depression .69 .74 .72Self-consciousness .65 .77 .76Impulsiveness .70 .81 .75Vulnerability .62 .70 .68
Extraversion .78 .77 .77
Warmth .76 .70 .75Gregariousness .71 .72 .73Assertiveness .68 .75 .72Activity .72 .63 .68Excitement Seeking .65 .75 .69Positive Emotions .78 .77 .77
Openness .82 .78 .80
Fantasy .73 .73 .73Aesthetics .83 .70 .79Feelings .71 .65 .70Actions .78 .69 .75Ideas .75 .72 .75Values .81 .72 .76
Note. All correlations are significant at p< .001. Adapted from Costa and
McCrae (1988b).