Stress, Coping And Personality In Aging Men And Women

Aging

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Abstract

Summary of work: National character stereotypes are widely shared, but do not reflect assessed levels of personality traits. In a study using national character stereotype data from the Personality Profiles of Cultures Project, we investigated culture-level features that might be related to stereotypes. Data from Northern and Southern Italians rating the stereotypes of Northern and Southern Italians showed that (1) in-group and out-group assessments agreed that Southern Italians were more emotional and warmer but less hard-working than Northern Italians; (2) stereotypes of Italians in general resembled Southern Italians, not Northern Italians; and (3) neither stereotype matched the assessed personality profile of Italians. Across 49 cultures, climatic warmth was related to perceptions of interpersonal warmth, whereas national wealth (Gross Domestic Product per capita) was related to perceived conscientiousness. National character stereotypes were not systematically related to aggregated levels of beliefs and values.[unreadable] [unreadable] At the suggestion of colleagues in Belgium, a new Adolescent Personality Profiles of Cultures Project (APPOCP) has been begun. In this study, younger (12-16) and older (15-17) adolescents were rated by college students in 30 cultures using a new, more readable version of the NEO-PI-R, the NEO-PI-3. This will allow a cross-sectional examination of age differences in this portion of the lifespan, as well as a replication of cultural differences in aggregate personality scores. In addition, other college students will be asked to use the National Character Survey to rate the typical adolescent, adult, and older man or woman in their culture. These data speak to the universality of or cultural variation in gender and age stereotypes. Correlations of these NCS data with known patterns of gender and age differences in personality will allow us to assess their accuracy.[unreadable] [unreadable] The study of aggregate personality traits is important for an understanding of health and aging because through them the many associations between personality and health may be writ large. For example, with colleagues in Russia, we recently found that at the individual level within cultures, HIV stigmatization was negatively related to Openness, especially O6: Values. This effect appears to be magnified at the aggregate level: Cultures with very low levels of O6 include South Africa and Zimbabwe, where official reluctance to deal with HIV infection has led to devastating epidemics. The full range of aggregate personality traits might be relevant to a host of social, economic, and health outcomes. However, subsequent analyses also showed that factors like national wealth are important confounders, and need to be carefully controlled