The HEXACO and five-factor models of personality in relation to RIASEC vocational interests

The current study extended the empirical research on the overlap of vocational interests and personality by (a) testing hypothesized relations between RIASEC interests and the personality dimensions of the HEXACO model, and (b) exploring the HEXACO personality model's predictive advantage over the five-factor model (FFM) in capturing RIASEC interests. Results of correlations based on a sample of 437 college students (157 men and 280 women) revealed support for eight of 21 hypothesized HEXACO–RIASEC relations for men and nine of 21 for women. Results of multiple regressions revealed that HEXACO accounted for more variance in RIASEC interests than did the FFM, and that HEXACO accounted for significant incremental variance beyond that explained by the FFM in four of six RIASEC interests for men and in five of six RIASEC interests for women.     

Precursors of learning experiences in Social Cognitive Career Theory

This study extended the research on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; [Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79–122]) by examining the contributions of 3 person inputs (personality, gender, and conformity to gender role norms) to career-related learning experiences for each of Holland’s [Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources] 6 RIASEC themes. Participants (144 female and 113 male college students) completed measures of personality, conformity to feminine and masculine role norms, and learning experiences for Holland’s RIASEC themes. Results of path analyses indicated that the combination of person inputs explained a significant proportion of variance in each of the RIASEC-based learning experiences. Results supported 9 of 13 hypothesized relations involving personality, and suggested that for some personality traits, the relation to RIASEC-based learning experiences is both direct and indirect, via conformity to gender role norms. Results also revealed that gender predicted learning experiences for 5 of the 6 Holland themes; however, 4 of those relations were partially or completely mediated by conformity to gender role norms. Finally, findings supported 5 of 12 hypothesized relations involving conformity to gender role norms, and suggested that gender role conformity may be most relevant to learning experiences in the Realistic and Social domains.     

The relationship between personality, approach to learning and academic performance

This study considers the relationship between students' approaches to learning, as measured by a short-form of Entwistle and Tait's (1995) Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI), the Big Five personality factors, as measured by Cattell's 16PFi, and the background variables of age, gender and prior educational achievement and academic performance. Subjects were 146 social science undergraduate students at a university in Scotland. Structural equation modelling identifies the Big Five personality factor scores account for between 22.7% and 43.6% of the variance across scores on the three approach to learning dimensions. Four of the Big Five personality factors and the three approach to learning dimensions were found to be poor predictors of academic performance. A linear regression analysis with academic performance as the dependent variable and age, prior educational attainment and conscientiousness as independent variables, accounted for 24.1% of the variance in performance. Our investigation suggests approach to learning is a subset of personality. However, we conclude it makes sense to measure these two groups of variables separately in educational settings.     

The role of individualism and the Five-Factor Model in the prediction of performance in a leaderless group discussion

Personality has seen a resurgence in the work performance literature. The Five-Factor Model (FFM) represents a set of personality factors that has received the most attention in recent years. Despite its popularity, the FFM may not be sufficiently comprehensive to account for relevant variation across performance dimensions or tasks. Accordingly, the present study also considers how individualism may predict additional variance in performance beyond the FFM. The study involved 152 undergraduate students who experienced a leaderless group discussion (LGD) exercise. Results showed that while the FFM accounted for variance in students' LGD performance, individualism (independence) accounted for additional, unique variance. Furthermore, analyses of the group compositions revealed curvilinear relationships between the relative amount of extraversion, conscientiousness, and individualism in relation to group-level performance.     

Conscientiousness,Its Facets,and the Prediction of Job Performance Ratings: Evidence against the narrow measures

This study empirically tested the predictions of the three basic perspectives on the bandwidth debate about the relationship between personality and job performance, regarding the validity of conscientiousness and its facets. The sample consisted of 226 police officers. Conscientiousness and three facets (order, industriousness, and self‐control) were correlated with three performance criteria (overall job performance, task performance, and orderliness). A Schmid–Leiman transformation made it possible to residualize the variance of the facets and to isolate their unique contribution to the prediction of performance measures. The results showed that conscientiousness predicted the three criteria (true validities of.25,.28 and.37, respectively) and that the facets neither predicted job performance nor showed incremental validity over conscientiousness. Finally, the implications of the findings for theory and practice are commented on, and future research is suggested.     

Role of perfectionism and Five-Factor model traits in career indecision

Although perfectionism has been linked to a variety of mental health problems, the relevance of perfectionism in other life domains is just beginning to receive attention. Given the evidence that personality plays an important role in career choice and adjustment, the present study evaluated whether aspects of perfectionism make any unique contribution to the prediction of career indecision beyond certain traits of the Five-Factor model that may also be related to career indecision. Results showed that both maladaptive and adaptive perfectionism accounted for unique variance in career decision-making self-efficacy beyond variance predicted by neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness. In contrast, only maladaptive perfectionism accounted for unique variance in certainty of career commitment beyond variance predicted by neuroticism and conscientiousness. Results are discussed in terms of perfectionism, the role of personality in career indecision, and implications for career counseling.     

Personality facets and RIASEC interests: An integrated model

Research examining links between personality and interest have typically focused on links between measures of the five factor model and Holland’s RIASEC types. However, the five factor model of personality can be divided in to a larger set of narrow domain personality scales measuring facets of the ‘big five’ traits. Research in a number of fields indicates that facet scales are effective for clarifying the relationship between personality and other broad constructs, including academic achievement, job performance, stress and coping, and achievement motivation. In the present study links between personality facets and the RIASEC model were examined using property vector fitting. Obtained results are consistent with previous research suggesting that the use of facet-level personality measures can clarify relations between personality and other constructs, and provides new information linking personality facets and interests. The use of facet-level measures of personality expands the range of personality concepts that can be presented to individuals who are exploring career options.     

The Effects of Cognitive Ability and Conscientiousness on Performance Over Time: A Censored Latent Growth Model

This study examined the extent to which cognitive ability and conscientiousness predicted initial academic performance (i.e., grade point average) and changes in performance over the course of college students' careers. A censored latent growth model that controlled for initial performance was used. Results showed positive effects of cognitive ability and conscientiousness on initial performance, but only positive effects of conscientiousness on performance change. However, because initial performance negatively affected performance change, cognitive ability and conscientiousness negatively indirectly affected performance change through initial performance. In addition, results revealed cognitive ability accounted for more variance in initial performance than conscientiousness, and conscientiousness accounted for more variance in performance change than cognitive ability. Finally, results show that, beyond the third semester, conscientiousness is a better predictor of student performance than cognitive ability.     

The location of three dispositions towards ridicule in the five-factor personality model in the population of Slovak adults

The aim of the present study is the location of gelotophobia (fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at) and katagelasticism (joy of laughing at others) in the five-factor personality model. In the sample of 425 Slovak adults, gelotophobes can be described as introverted neurotics with lower inclination to openness. Personality factors explained 46.7% of the variance in gelotophobia. Gelotophilia is related to extraversion, low neuroticism and low conscientiousness. The personality predictors accounted for 21.3% of the variance in gelotophilia. Katagelasticists could be described by extraversion and low agreeableness and conscientiousness. The explained proportion of the variance in katagelasticism is 37.3%. The explained variance of gelotophobia and gelotophilia is comparable to previous German and Taiwanese findings. However, there is a higher explained variance in katagelasticism in Slovakia than in the samples of Germans and samples of Taiwanese. Suggestions for future research are given.     

Precursors of learning experiences in Social Cognitive Career Theory

This study extended the research on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; [Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79-122]) by examining the contributions of 3 person inputs (personality, gender, and conformity to gender role norms) to career-related learning experiences for each of Holland’s [Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources] 6 RIASEC themes. Participants (144 female and 113 male college students) completed measures of personality, conformity to feminine and masculine role norms, and learning experiences for Holland’s RIASEC themes. Results of path analyses indicated that the combination of person inputs explained a significant proportion of variance in each of the RIASEC-based learning experiences. Results supported 9 of 13 hypothesized relations involving personality, and suggested that for some personality traits, the relation to RIASEC-based learning experiences is both direct and indirect, via conformity to gender role norms. Results also revealed that gender predicted learning experiences for 5 of the 6 Holland themes; however, 4 of those relations were partially or completely mediated by conformity to gender role norms. Finally, findings supported 5 of 12 hypothesized relations involving conformity to gender role norms, and suggested that gender role conformity may be most relevant to learning experiences in the Realistic and Social domains.     

Personality facets and RIASEC interests: An integrated model

Research examining links between personality and interest have typically focused on links between measures of the five factor model and Holland’s RIASEC types. However, the five factor model of personality can be divided in to a larger set of narrow domain personality scales measuring facets of the ‘big five’ traits. Research in a number of fields indicates that facet scales are effective for clarifying the relationship between personality and other broad constructs, including academic achievement, job performance, stress and coping, and achievement motivation. In the present study links between personality facets and the RIASEC model were examined using property vector fitting. Obtained results are consistent with previous research suggesting that the use of facet-level personality measures can clarify relations between personality and other constructs, and provides new information linking personality facets and interests. The use of facet-level measures of personality expands the range of personality concepts that can be presented to individuals who are exploring career options.     

Personality complexes in adolescence: Traits,interests, work values,and self-evaluations

Following the recent trend in psychology towards a more integrative view of personality, the study attempted to establish the connections and underlying complexes of fundamental personality dispositions within two cohorts of Swiss adolescents in eighth and eleventh grade (N = 492, ages 13–19): Big-Five basic traits, big six vocational interests, work values, and generalized self-efficacy and externality of control beliefs. Five factors were identified which accounted for 60% of variance among the relations of the variables: (1) enterprising-conventional interests, (2) favorable personality dispositions, (3) social-artistic personality characteristics, (4) investigative-realistic interests, and (5) work value endorsement. Cross-sectional findings indicate that particularly agreeableness and conscientiousness become closer related to interests and work values with increasing grade-level.     

META-ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL OF PERSONALITY AND HOLLAND'S OCCUPATIONAL TYPES

The purpose of this study is to examine the nature and magnitude of the relationship between 2 widely accepted models for classifying individual differences–the 5-factor model of personality and Holland's RI-ASEC occupational types. Based on extensive meta-analyses, our results illustrate that there are meaningful relations between some FFM personality dimensions and some RIASEC types. The strongest relationships were obtained between the RIASEC types of enterprising and artistic with the FFM personality dimensions of Extraversion and Openness to Experience, p = .41 and .39, respectively. Three other RIASEC types had moderate correlations with at least 1 FFM personality trait. In contrast, the realistic type was not related to any FFM personality traits. Multiple regression analyses in which each RIASEC type is regressed on the FFM scores (based on meta-analytic estimates), revealed a multiple R of .11 for realistic, .26 for investigative, .42 for artistic, .31 for social, .47 for enterprising, and .27 for conventional types. The overall conclusion from the study is that although FFM personality traits and RIASEC types are related, they are not merely substitutes for each other.     

Personality Configurations in Self‐Managed Teams: A Natural Experiment on the Effects of Maximizing and Minimizing Variance in Traits

In this study, we examined the impact of seeding teams to create maximal and minimal levels of extroversion and conscientiousness variance. Using the theories of complementary and supplementary fit, we make predictions regarding the main and interactive effects of extroversion and conscientiousness variance on performance. Testing our hypotheses in a longitudinal study of MBA teams, our results demonstrate that the combination of minimizing conscientiousness variance (consistent with complementary fit) and maximizing extroversion variance (consistent with supplementary fit) produced the highest levels of short‐term and long‐term performance.     

SAT Performance: Understanding the Contributions of Cognitive/Learning and Social/Personality Factors

This study identifies a number of sources of individual differences in SAT performance by examining the simultaneous contributions of factors from two otherwise disparate research areas, namely cognition/learning and social/personality. Preliminary analysis revealed that just the cognitive/learning measures accounted for 37.8, 41.4 and 21.9% of the variance in SAT, V-SAT and Q-SAT performance, respectively while just the social/personality measures accounted for 21.4, 18.2 and 17.3% of the variance. When combined, cognitive/learning and social/personality factors accounted for even larger amounts of variance in performance; specifically 43.4, 44.6 and 28% for the SAT, V-SAT and Q-SAT, respectively. Finally, the results revealed that three measures consistently predicted performance on the SAT, V-SAT and Q-SAT; two measures were the learning/cognitive factors of working memory and integration of new text-based information with information from long-term memory and one measure was the social/personality factor, test anxiety.     

Complex mediating effects of rumination facets between personality traits and depressive symptoms

This study investigates whether facets of rumination statistically mediate the relationships between Big Five personality traits and depressive symptoms. Self-reported personality traits and rumination were investigated as predictors of depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional sample of 3043 participants aged 18–60 years (68.8% female). Multiple regression analysis investigated which personality traits and rumination facets best explained variance in depressive symptoms. Structural equation modelling was used to determine whether facets of rumination mediated the relationships between personality traits and depressive symptoms. Multiple regression analysis found that variance in depressive symptoms was best explained by the personality traits neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness; and both facets of rumination, brooding and reflection. Structural equation modelling added that the effects of neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness and openness on depressive symptoms were statistically mediated by brooding; the effects of neuroticism, extroversion and openness to depressive symptoms were statistically mediated by reflection. Rumination facets statistically mediated the effects of various personality traits on depressive symptoms. These results provide insights into which individuals may be best suited to treatments for depression targeting rumination.     

The Impact of Contextual Self‐Ratings and Observer Ratings of Personality on the Personality–Performance Relationship1

This study examined 2 possible ways of increasing the predictive validity of personality measures: using observer (i.e., supervisor and coworker) ratings and work‐specific self‐ratings of Big Five personality factors. Results indicated that among general self‐ratings of Big Five personality dimensions, Conscientiousness was the best predictor of in‐role performance, and Agreeableness and Emotional Stability were the best predictors of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Observer ratings of personality accounted for incremental variance in job performance (in‐role performance and OCB) beyond that accounted for by general self‐ratings. However, contrary to our expectations, work‐specific (i.e., contextual) self‐ratings of personality generally did not account for incremental variance in job performance beyond that accounted for by general self‐ratings.     

The Influence of Holland's Vocational Interests on Work-Family Conflict: An Exploratory Analysis

Drawing on a sample of 438 working professionals from various organizations across the central United States, the authors investigated the relationship between Holland's (1959, 1997) RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) model and employee perceptions of work-family conflict. Results revealed that the RIASEC model contributed unique variance in predicting work-family conflict beyond demographic characteristics and the Big Five personality constructs. The RIASEC interests were found to be associated with different dimensions of work-family conflict. These results signal that vocational interests may influence not only work-related attitudes and behaviors (e.g., job satisfaction, performance), but also one's ability to balance work and family demands.     

Cognitive and Personality Predictors of Leader Performance in West Point Cadets

The question of how to develop effective leaders is one of major importance to military organizations. This study, which examines a large cohort of U.S. Military Academy cadets over time, tests the influence of cognitive and personality variables on military leadership performance over a 4-year period. Hierarchical multiple regression procedures are used to identify factors at entry into the Academy that successfully predict military development grades as upperclassmen, 3 to 4 years later. A moderately stable cross-validated model reveals cognitive factors (college entrance scores, social judgment skills, and logical reasoning) and personality factors (agreeableness and conscientiousness) that contribute to later leader performance. A main effect for gender on leader performance was also identified, with women performing better than men. The amount of variance in leader performance scores accounted for by variables examined here, although modest, is notable considering the time interval involved. Nevertheless, future studies should explore additional factors, particularly personality ones, that may influence leader performance in developing leaders.     

Moderating effect of self-determination in the relationship between Big Five personality and academic performance

Previous studies have shown that both personality and motivation are important factors in student academic performance. This study examined how the interactions between the Big Five personality traits and self-determination motivation orientations affect students' academic performance. The hypotheses were empirically tested using cross-sectional data collected from 249 primary school students in China. The correlation analysis found that self-determined motivation and four of the five personality traits (not emotional instability) were significantly positively related to academic performance in English. The hierarchical regression analysis revealed that, after controlling for gender, openness to new experience and conscientiousness both positively predicted English performance. Significant interaction effects were found between agreeableness and self-determined motivation, and between conscientiousness and self-determined motivation. However, conscientiousness and agreeableness only positively predicted academic performance when the student's self-determined motivation was low.