Which Big Five trait tends to increase progressively over the lifespan?

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Question restatement: Which Big Five trait tends to increase progressively over the lifespan?

Option A: Neuroticism. This trait is often found to decrease somewhat with age in many longitudinal studies, though individual trajectories vary. It is not typically characterized as steadily increasing across the lifespan, so this choice is inconsistent with the general aging pattern of Neuroticism.

Option B: Agreeableness. Across many studies of personality development, Agreeableness tends to increase with age as people become more cooperative, trusting, and prosocial. This pattern aligns with research on maturation and social-role transitions in adulthood, making this option plausible as a trait that rises over time.

Option C: Openness. Openness to experience often shows a more complex pattern: some research suggests it remains relatively stable into adulthood or may even decrease in later life for many individuals. It is not commonly described as a progressive increase across the entire lifespan, so this choice is less consistent with typical longitudinal findings.

Option D: All of the Big Five tends to increase progressively over the lifespan. Given that evidence indicates at least some Big Five traits (like Neuroticism and Openness) do not consistently increase with age—and may even decline—the blanket statement that all five increase over the lifespan is inaccurate.

Putting these assessments together, the option that best matches the common longitudinal trend of increasing with age is the one describing Agreeableness, while the others either do not increase, show different patterns, or claim universal increases across all traits.

PSYC20009_2025_SM2 Supplementary or Special Exam: Personality and Social Psychology (PSYC20009_2025_SM2)- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

Which Big Five trait tends to increase progressively over the lifespan?

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