What term refers to the consistency of personal factors such as personality and intelligence throughout one's life?

The term that best refers to the consistency of personal factors such as personality and intelligence throughout one's life is "stability and change." This concept encompasses the idea that while some aspects of an individual's personality and cognitive abilities may remain stable over time, others may change due to various influences, such as experiences and environmental factors.

This idea is central to developmental psychology, as it seeks to understand how much of our personal characteristics are fixed versus how much they can be altered by life experiences. Acknowledging both stability and change allows psychologists to explore the factors that contribute to our development across the lifespan, enabling a nuanced understanding of personality development and cognitive growth.

The other terms do not specifically address the idea of personal consistency over time. Stages of psychosocial development relates more to specific phases people undergo in their social and emotional growth. Temperament refers to the individual differences in emotional reactivity that are often observable from infancy, but does not encapsulate the broader idea of personality and intelligence consistency. The zone of proximal development is a concept concerning educational practices and the potential for learning, rather than personal traits.