A Fundamental Difference in the Nature of Personal Values and Personality Traits Revealed Through Different Patterns of Stability Across Their Distributions

Objective: Personal values and personality traits are both important aspects of personality, but much is still unknown about the fundamental differences between the constructs, including how their patterns of temporal stability compare. This paper investigated patterns of intra-individual stability in both values and traits. Method: Quantile correlations were estimated between each of the 20 refined personal values and the same values 2 years later in a large longitudinal sample of Australian adults (N = 2875). The same was done for each of the 15 Five-Factor Model trait facets in a subsample of these participants (n = 2424). Results: It was observed that more important values tended to remain more stable over time, while traits retained a similar stability regardless of trait strength, and frequently showed small decreases in stability at extreme levels. Conclusions: Findings indicate that highly prioritized values may be a more central aspect of the self, and a more reliable element for predicting future outcomes, than less highly prioritized values, but in contrast, traits do not function in a way that is dependent on trait strength.