•Some personal changes are consistent with the self-concept while others disrupt identity.•In general, improvement is less disruptive to self-continuity than worsening.•Moral and personality characteristics are viewed as less mutable than memories or preferences.•Changes that match expectations and desires are less disruptive than changes that do not. Five studies explore how anticipating different types of personal change affects people’s perceptions of their own self-continuity. The studies find that improvements are seen as less disruptive to personal continuity than worsening or unspecified change, although this difference varies in magnitude based on the type of feature being considered. Also, people’s expectations and desires matter. For example, a negative change is highly disruptive to perceived continuity when people expect improvement and less disruptive when people expect to worsen. The finding that some types of change are consistent with perceptions of self-continuity suggests that the self-concept may include beliefs about personal development.