Toward an Integrative Model of Sources of Personality Stability and Change

Abstract

There is now compelling evidence that people’s typical patterns of thinking, feeling, striving, and behaving are both consistent and malleable. Therefore, researchers have begun to examine the distinct sources of personality stability and change. In this article, we discuss traditional classifications of sources, review key findings, and highlight limitations and open questions in research on personality stability and change. We conclude by describing an integrative model and by outlining important directions for future research.

Leisure Activities as a Driver of Personality Development? A Random-Intercept Cross-lagged Panel Model Across 13 Years in Adulthood

“…In line with recent theories on personality change and stability (Roberts, 2018;Wagner et al, 2020;Wrzus & Roberts, 2017, for an overview, see also Specht et al, 2014), we hypothesized a gradually unfolding effect of leisure activities on personality and vice versa. We thus assumed that changes in participation in leisure activities may be a source of individual differences in personality development across the lifespan.…”

“…Despite differences in details, recent theoretical frameworks (Roberts, 2018;Wagner et al, 2020;Wrzus & Roberts, 2017) broadly describe personality change as a bottom-up process: Recurrent and enduring short-term changes in behavior and daily life experiences drive long-term changes in personality traits. These theories also propose transactional processes: Personality traits evoke a characteristic pattern of behavior that increases the probability of exposure to specific environments and life experiences (i.e., selection effects).…”

The joint power of personality and motivation dynamics for occupational success: Bridging two largely separated fields

“…Such findings expand recent findings on the changeability of traits in general (e.g. Bleidorn & Hopwood, 2018;Schwaba & Bleidorn, 2017;Wagner et al, 2020) to reflect a broader perspective that illustrates the longterm stability and change of expectancy beliefs as well. The transitional phase from early to middle adulthood appears to be highly sensitive to changes in both constructs, with change patterns that roughly resemble maturation in "core" personality traits such as emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (Roberts & Mroczek, 2008) as well as expectancy beliefs such as intellectual self-concept and occupational self-efficacy, both of which became more positive across time.…”

“…It has been argued that the successful accomplishment of developmental tasks and social roles may provide the content for this desire and thus help to fulfill the first condition in the framework (Huttemann et al, 2014). This is in line with the best-established evidence to date, which highlights the functions of social role investment and developmental task fulfillment as key sources for trait changes (for an overview, see Wagner et al, 2020). In the occupational context, the desire to become more successful, earn more money, or be a better leader could trigger trait changes toward becoming more diligent, assertive, or careful.…”

“…Although the framework of self-regulated personality development has not yet been empirically tested, research over the last two decades has been able to support some of the components described above and may be able to help integrate others: Research has robustly illustrated that substantial personality trait change can be observed, particularly in the phase from early to middle adulthood, with people becoming increasingly more mature Wagner et al, 2020). In accordance with the assumed mechanisms, taking on new occupational roles and investing effort in these roles has been found to be related to lasting personality trait change (Denissen et al, 2014;Lodi-Smith & Roberts, 2007;Roberts et al, 2003).…”