Life events and personality trait change: A coordinated data analysis

Abstract

Life events have been theorized to elicit personality trait changes. However, the empirical evidence for event-related personality development remains inconclusive. Even comprehensive reviews and meta-analyses are limited by the availability of effect sizes, the control for relevant confounders, and the way time is treated in the analyses. To overcome these limitations, we conducted a coordinated data analysis and examined event-related personality changes across seven large-scale panel studies (Ntotal = 196,256). Furthermore, we investigated corresponding event-related changes in life satisfaction and self-esteem as benchmarks for the interpretation of effect sizes. Integrating the results across panel studies, we found several consistent changes in the Big Five personality traits in response to life events. For example, new employment predicted increases in conscientiousness and emotional stability, whereas marriage predicted a decrease in openness. However, event-related changes in the Big Five personality traits were small (average bstd = 0.05), with effect sizes similar to those of event-related changes in self-esteem but smaller than corresponding changes in life satisfaction. Building on these findings, future research should focus on the life events with replicable effects on personality development and examine how these life events lead to personality changes.Plain Language SummaryPersonality traits such as extraversion and conscientiousness change throughout the lifespan. Theories on personality development suggest that life events like retirement, divorce, or graduation may drive these personality changes. However, existing research on this topic has been inconclusive. In the present study, we combined the data of seven panel studies to advance our understanding of whether and how life events change personality traits. In these panel studies, personality traits, life satisfaction, and self-esteem were assessed every few years in large, representative samples (more than 195,000 individuals in total). Across these panel studies, we found several consistent effects of life events predicting personality changes. For example, starting a new job predicted increases in people’s conscientiousness and emotional stability, whereas marriage predicted a decrease in openness. However, event-related changes in the Big Five personality traits were less pronounced than corresponding changes in life satisfaction. The present study is an important step toward a better understanding of the sources of personality development.