Personality consistency: Eminent architects 25 years later

Abstract: One hundred and twenty‐four American male architects representing three levels of eminence and creativity were studied by Donald W. MacKinnon and his collaborators in 1958–1960. The present report is based on a follow‐up of 70 of the 83 (78%) surviving architects (mean age 71 years, with a range of 62–88). The architects were individually interviewed at their place of residence between 1983–1984 and received several of the same tests they had received 25 years before, including the Adjective Check List (ACL) and the California Psychological Inventory (CPI). The present study offered the architects a chance to look back at lifelong careers, and it allowed the researchers to establish that the distinct personality characteristics of the three groups of architects remained remarkably stable, and were at least partially responsible for moderating longevity and achievement. Opportunities for full‐time practice were radically different for the three groups after age 65. The interview data suggested th...

[1]  S. Dudek,et al.  Personality determinants of the commitment to the profession of art , 1991 .

[2]  N. Charness.  The role of theories of cognitive aging: comment on Salthouse. , 1988, Psychology and aging.

[3]  M. Perlmutter.  Cognitive potential throughout life. , 1988 .

[4]  W. Hoyer.  Acquisition of knowledge and the decentralization of "g" in adult intellectual development. , 1987 .

[5]  Robert Glaser,et al.  Thoughts on Expertise , 1985 .

[6]  Dean Keith Simonton,et al.  Genius, Creativity and Leadership: Historiometric Inquiries. , 1984 .

[7]  Dean Keith Simonton,et al.  Genius, Creativity, and Leadership: Historiometric Inquiries , 1984 .

[8]  Paul B. Baltes,et al.  New perspectives on the development of intelligence in adulthood: Toward a dual-process conception and a model of selective optimization with compensation , 1984 .

[9]  J. Schuerger,et al.  Temporal stability of personality by questionnaire. , 1982 .

[10]  Stephen Cole,et al.  Age and Scientific Performance , 1979, American Journal of Sociology.

[11]  R. S. Albert,et al.  Toward a behavioral definition of genius. , 1975, The American psychologist.

[12]  L. Lacey,et al.  Psychology of Scientist: XXXI. Discriminability of a Creativity Scale for the Adjective Check List among Scientists and Engineers , 1974 .

[13]  Klaus F. Riegel.  Dialectic operations: the final period of cognitive development. , 1973, Human development.

[14]  H. Lehman,et al.  The psychologist's most creative years. , 1966, The American psychologist.

[15]  W. Dennis,et al.  Creative productivity between the ages of 20 and 80 years. , 1966, Journal of gerontology.

[16]  D. W. Mackinnon.  PERSONALITY AND THE REALIZATION OF CREATIVE POTENTIAL. , 1965, The American psychologist.

[17]  Donald W. MacKinnon,et al.  Creativity and images of the self. , 1963 .

[18]  D. W. Mackinnon,et al.  The nature and nurture of creative talent. , 1962 .

[19]  W. Dennis,et al.  Age and productivity among scientists. , 1956, Science.

[20]  W. Dennis.  Variations in Productivity Among Creative Workers , 1955 .

[21]  H. Lehman.  Age and Achievement , 1953 .