CHAPTER OUTLINE

Personality Development in Adulthood

Theories of Adult Personality

Personality Traits

OPPOSING PERSPECTIVES: Local Context Versus Genes

Intimacy

Friends and Acquaintances

Family Bonds

Committed Partners

Generativity

Parenthood

Caregiving

Employment

The Changing Workplace

A VIEW FROM SCIENCE: Accommodating Diversity

Combining Intimacy and Generativity

WHAT WILL YOU KNOW?

• Do adults keep the personality traits they had as infants?
• When is it better to divorce than to stay married?
• When is it better to be unemployed than to have a job?

I broke two small bones in my pelvis—a mishap I caused myself: I was rushing, wearing smooth-soled shoes, carrying papers, in the rain, after dark, stepping up a curb. I fell hard on the sidewalk. That led to a 911 call, an ambulance, five hospital days, five rehab days, heartfelt admiration for the physical therapists who got me walking, and deep appreciation of colleagues who taught my classes for two weeks.

I mention that minor event because it spotlights generativity. My four children, adults now, cared for me far beyond what I thought I needed. The two nearby daughters, Elissa and Sarah, got to the emergency room within an hour; Rachel flew in from Minnesota and bought me new shoes with slip-proof treads; Bethany drove down from Connecticut with planters, dirt, flowers, and trees to beautify my home. They brought me books and a computer, questioned nurses and doctors, phoned insurance companies, filled prescriptions, arranged taxis, pushed my wheelchair, and did laundry, shopping, cooking, and cleaning.

It was hard for me to accept help. I had told my friends that I wanted no visitors. One said, “You can’t move, you are stuck in bed, I am coming.” I’d planned to immediately return to the classroom because I thought my students needed me. But after several days in the hospital, I realized I needed them as much as, or more than, they needed me. ·