An investigation of factors affecting the stability of work aspect preferences

How stable psychological characteristics are across time and situations remains a controversial issue in psychology. This study investigates the stability of values and preferences related to work of adult students who were sitting initially for their matriculation examination and subsequently, six months later, had entered a course or occupation. Using four types of stability (characteristic, factor, hierarchical, and response pattern) four facets of human valuing were examined. Results revealed sufficient stability for work aspect preferences to be considered as traits. However, the data do not discount the possibility of “state” effects, even though it was also found that neither demographic nor career compromise factors appeared to significantly influence these results. It is concluded that for both research and counselling, broader conceptions of human valuing are required.