Abstract
What leads personality to develop in adulthood? Values, guiding principles that apply across contexts, may capture motivation for growth and change. An essentialist trait perspective posits that personality changes only as a result of organic factors. But evidence suggests that psychosocial factors also influence personality change, especially during young adulthood. In the Life and Time study of sources of personality change in adulthood, we specifically explore ethically-relevant value priorities, those related to the relative prioritization of narrow self-interest over the concerns of a larger community. According to Rollo May (1967), “mature values”, including aspects of both self-transcendence and self-determination, should serve to diminish or prevent neurotic anxiety. This is consistent with research on materialism, which is associated with lower well-being. An index based on May’s proposal and several related constructs (materialism, unmitigated self-interest, collectivism and individualism) are tested longitudinally as possible antecedents of Big Five/Six personality trait change using bivariate LCMSR models in a national community sample (N = 864 at Time 1). Contrary to an essentialist trait perspective, these value priorities more often preceded change in personality traits than vice-versa. Somewhat consistent with May’s theory, higher “mature” values preceded higher openness (statistically significant at the p < .005 level). Higher vertical individualism significantly preceded lower compassion, intellect and openness. At the suggestive (p < .05) level, higher unmitigated self-interest preceded lower conscientiousness, higher vertical individualism preceded higher volatility, higher mature values preceded higher honesty/propriety and politeness, higher horizontal collectivism preceded higher orderliness, agreeableness, and assertiveness and lower intellect, and higher horizontal individualism preceded lower withdrawal. In two of three cases, suggestive personality-as-antecedent-of-values-change effects were reciprocal with the values-effects: higher conscientiousness scores reciprocally preceded lower unmitigated self-interest, and higher volatility higher vertical individualism. No significant or suggestive “stand-alone”, non-reciprocal personality on values effects were found.
Highlights
What leads personality to develop in adulthood? Values, guiding principles that apply across contexts, may capture motivation for growth and change
The most self-focused component, indicates a focus on autonomy in an unequal world in which individuals compete for status, whereas horizontal individualism indicates a value for autonomy in a more equal world of unique, independent, and self-reliant individuals
The Life and Time Study is a four-wave, three-year longitudinal study on values and social roles as sources of personality change, including three separate samples: a national sample recruited via Mechanical Turk, an e-mail marketing firm, Google Adwords, and Craigslist ads in communities around the United States whose demographic profile was favorable to enhancing minority representation; a student sample recruited on college campuses; and a sample of informants recruited by participants to provide peer-ratings on themselves
Summary
What leads personality to develop in adulthood? Values, guiding principles that apply across contexts, may capture motivation for growth and change. This study explores the role of a set of ethically-relevant, broaderscope versus self-focused values as antecedents of personality trait change, providing a test of this common-sense, values-influence-behavior view. The current study focuses on these kinds of values, described by Thalmayer, Saucier, Srivastava, Flournoy, and Costello (2019) This contrast between broader-scope versus self-focused values is associated with cultural and moral socialization, which presumably continues throughout adulthood. Values are not commonly measured as a spectrum from broader-scope to self-focused values To explore this less familiar domain, value priorities are tested in several ways in the current study. They are measured in terms of an index derived from the theoretical writings of Rollo May (1967), who outlined the starting point for a values-driven theory of personality change. Collectivists value duty, obligation, social harmony, and self-transcendence (Le & Levenson, 2005), and both components in terms of hierarchy would appear to capture broaderscoped values: Vertical collectivism indicates a focus on duties to family or other in-groups where some have more authority than others, whereas horizontal collectivism indicates s strong value for relationships with peers who are more or less one’s equal (Triandis & Gelfand, 1998)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
