Similar Personality Changes among Younger and Older Adults: Findings from a Multi-Method Intervention Study on Socio-Emotional States and Traits

Past research showed that personality traits develop less strongly after younger adulthood, though the underlying processes remain poorly understood, and personality intervention studies scarcely investigated age differences. Also, existing findings are mostly limited to explicit assessments of personality traits (i.e., questionnaires). In this preregistered, multi-method study, we examined associations between changes in personality states and explicit and implicit trait self-concepts in younger and older adults ( N  = 165, age range = 19–78 years) after an eight-weeks socio-emotional intervention, three and 12 months later. Findings indicate changes in personality states, explicit self-concepts for both traits, and the implicit self-concept of extraversion. Only state changes in emotional stability predicted changes in the corresponding explicit but not implicit trait self-concept. Importantly, the effects were consistent across age groups, and exploratory analyses showed higher engagement among older adults throughout the intervention. The findings emphasize that older adults might benefit as much from socio-emotional interventions as younger adults, and potential age differences in skill acquisition might be set off through engagement.