It has been argued that behaviour and personality will change over time. You might imagine that personality will change with personal growth if you believe in self-actualization (at which we looked in Chapter 6). Many people like to think that they change for the better over time (becoming wiser, more mature, and more insightful), but there is also research that shows an impressive level of stability in personality traits (particularly extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness), and intelligence over time (Costa and McCrae, 1992; Deary, 2004).

Which view would you prefer to believe and why?