People hold narrative beliefs about how humans in general change over the course of the lives: In some areas, we expect growth (e.g., wisdom), while in others, we expect stability (e.g., extroversion)

Getting better all the time: Master narratives, expectations of change, and their effect on temporal appraisals. James G. Hillman and David J. Hauser. Social Cognition in press, https://psyarxiv.com/25b8f (removed due to publisher's embargo).

Abstract: People hold narrative beliefs about how humans in general change over the course of the lives. In some areas, we expect growth (e.g., wisdom), while in others, we expect stability (e.g., extroversion). However, do we apply those same expectations to the self? In five studies (total N = 1,358), participants rated selves as growing over time in domains where they expected others to stay stable over time (e.g., extroversion, optimism, quick-wittedness). This effect was significantly stronger for growth domains (e.g., wisdom, rationality). Thus, narrative beliefs about change impacted appraisals of temporally-extended selves; in domains where everyone improves, people rate themselves as improving considerably. However, in domains where others stay the same, people also rate themselves as improving. Implications for future temporal self-appraisal research, heterogeneity of effect sizes in self-appraisal research, and between culture differences in narratives are discussed.

Keywords: Self-Appraisal, Temporal Comparisons, Growth Expectations, Master Narratives