Age, personality, and the Holtzman Inkblot Technique. 1986

P T Costa, and R R McCrae

Recent longitudinal studies using personality questionnaires and ratings have shown remarkable stability across the adult years. In an investigation of age changes and differences in personality as measured by the Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT), ninety-three men and women aged twenty-five to ninety were administered Form A of the HIT; forty-four of these were retested one to three years later. Stability coefficients ranged from .07 for Form Appropriateness to .73 for Form Definiteness, with most variables showing significant but moderate stability. Repeated measures analyses of variance showed increases in six variables and decreases in two others, but only one of these changes was paralleled by cross-sectional age differences. Correlations with self-report measures of the broad personality domains of neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience failed to show hypothesized relations, and the associations seen were attributable to chance. It was concluded that the HIT measures perceptual-cognitive variables that are moderately stable in adulthood.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007282 Ink Blot Tests Projective tests utilizing ink blots to which a subject responds. They are used in personality diagnosis. Blot Test, Ink,Blot Tests, Ink,Ink Blot Test,Test, Ink Blot,Tests, Ink Blot
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D010551 Personality Behavior-response patterns that characterize the individual. Personalities
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly
D000369 Aged, 80 and over Persons 80 years of age and older. Oldest Old
D000375 Aging The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time. Senescence,Aging, Biological,Biological Aging

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