Personality traits such as conscientiousness and impulsivity correlate with temporal discounting,
the degree to which individuals discount the value of future relative to present rewards. These
variables have, in turn, been hypothesized to relate to income inequality in the United States. A
key but untested assumption of this hypothesis is that the association among these variables is
distinct across socioeconomic classes. The purpose of the present research is to test that
assumption. N = 1,100 adults with annual income ranging from at or below the poverty line ($0 -
$20,000) to upper-middle class ($200,000+) completed personality measures and a measure of
temporal discounting. The results of our preregistered analyses indicated a positive association of
income with trait planfulness, and a negative association with trait impulsivity and one parameter
of temporal discounting that captures a bias to prefer sooner rewards to a greater degree if they
are delivered that day. Our results can inform psychological theories of inequality and a broader
conversation about effective public policy.