Older adults tend to be better at controlling impulses; that is, they’re better at self-control and self-discipline and tend to be better at rule-following than young adults—traits that have to do with Factor III (Conscientiousness). Self-control increases steadily every decade after the age of twenty. Some of this has to do with the development of the prefrontal cortex, which continues through the early twenties, and yet we see additional age-related dispositional changes in impulse control that we haven’t found a cause for yet.
