Trait Means and Desirabilities as Artifactual and Real Sources of Differential Stability of Personality Traits

Using data from 3 personality trait inventories and 7 samples, we show that trait items that have means near the scale midpoint and that vary more in their perceived desirability (e.g., items related to dominance, creativity, traditionalism, and organization) tend to be more stable over time, wherea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality 2012-06, Vol.80 (3), p.665-701
Main Authors: Wood, Dustin, Wortman, Jessica
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accounting
Adolescent
Creativity
Desirability
Dominance
Domination
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Measurement
Organization
Personality
Personality Inventory
Personality psychology
Personality traits
Reproducibility of Results
Short term
Social Dominance
Students - psychology
Tradition
Young Adult
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Summary:Using data from 3 personality trait inventories and 7 samples, we show that trait items that have means near the scale midpoint and that vary more in their perceived desirability (e.g., items related to dominance, creativity, traditionalism, and organization) tend to be more stable over time, whereas items with means near the scale maximum or minimum and that vary less in their perceived desirability (e.g., items related to agreeableness, intellect, and reliability) tend to be less stable. Our findings indicate that items with means near the scale maximum or minimum have lower stabilities primarily due to having lower measurement dependability (i.e., short‐term stabilities unlikely to reflect true change). However, items varying more in their desirability are more stable even after accounting for measurement dependability, consistent with the view that trait stability is facilitated in part by individuals actively working to develop in the direction they find desirable.
ISSN:0022-3506
1467-6494
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00740.x