When Do We Become the Person We Ought to Be?

A new survey of 557 Americans reveals a significant age effect in how people judge their moral character: 38% of young adults feel they are far from the person they ought to be morally, while only 14% of those 55 and older feel this way, with older respondents increasingly likely to believe they have already become the person they should be. The findings suggest that self-reflection on moral improvement—a concept young people call "maxxing"—decreases substantially with age.