of scale with age would suggest that the trait increases with age; a nega -
tive correlation suggests that the trait declines.)
Four scales in the 16PF—low Emotional Stability , Suspiciousness,
Tension, and Guilt-proneness—-measure aspects of Neuroticism; noneof them showed cross-sectional age differences. Four GZTS scales—Emotional Stability , Objectivity , Personal Relations, and Masculinity—tap emotional adjustment, the polar opposite of Neuroticism. Masculinitywas slightly lower for older subjects in both samples studied by Douglasand Arenberg (1978), whereas Personal Relations was slightly higher;there were no differences in Emotional Stability or Objectivity in eithersample. Age was also uncorrelated with PRF scales related to Neuroti -
cism: Social Recognition, Defendence, and Succorance. Apparently
there are few age differences in Neuroticism.
There is more evidence of age differences in Extraversion. GZTS
General Activity and Ascendance were lower in older BLSA men in bothsamples, as was Sociability in the first BLSA sample. Age was also nega-tively related to PRF needs for Exhibition and Play . However, there wereno age differences in the need for Affiliation, nor in any of the 16PFExtraversion scales: Warmth, Assertiveness, Surgency , Adventurous-ness, and Group Dependence.
Age trends in Openness are mixed. Needs for Change and Sen-
tience appeared to decline with age, whereas the need for Understand-ing increased. GZTS Thoughtfulness also increased, but there were noage differences in needs for Harmavoidance or Autonomy or in 16PFscales measuring aesthetic sensitivity , imaginativeness, and liberal think -
ing.
Agreeableness is not well measured by the 16PF scales, but GZTS
Friendliness was a bit higher among older subjects, as was the need forAbasement. Needs for Dominance and Aggression appeared to declinewith age. All these data point to a cross-sectional increase in Agreeable -
ness.
Although GZTS Restraint was higher for older men in both of
Douglas and Arenberg’s samples, other measures of Conscientiousness—l6PF Superego Strength and Self-Control and PRF needs for Achieve -
ment, Order, Endurance, Cognitive Structure, and low Impulsiveness—
showed no relationship to age.
There are several different ways to interpret these studies, and most
of the interpretations would be championed by one writer or another.Growth or Decline in Personality 61