Final answer:
The incorrect statement about personal values is that they are not motivational in nature; in reality, values are a significant motivational force. Other statements concerning the stability, generational variation, cross-cultural applicability, and potential incompatibility of values are true.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that is NOT true about personal values is D. Values are not motivational in nature. Personal values play a significant role in motivation, guiding our actions and decisions towards what we consider important and worthwhile. On the other hand, statements A, B, C, and E reflect truths about personal values:
- Values are generally stable but can change over time and differ across cultures, as cultural expectations and societal norms evolve.
- Values can indeed vary across generations due to changes in societal beliefs and circumstances.
- Schwartz's value theory has been widely applied and accepted across different cultures, indicating that there are common elements in what different societies value.
- Not all values are compatible because they can represent different aspects of what is considered good or important, making some irreconcilable or incomparable.
For example, cultural differences manifest in attitudes toward behaviors such as public displays of affection between men, which vary greatly from one society to another. Furthermore, while values suggest an ideal of how we should behave, real culture often doesn’t align with these ideals, as seen with American teenagers and the value of celibacy clashing with the reality of teen pregnancies. Finally, we see that values reflect much more than our personal desires; they're also shaped by and contribute to our collective social beliefs.