Personality and "success" among a selected group of lawyers

As part of a larger study, eleven subjects--male, Caucasian, native-born, early 70s, lawyers, life-long (since 1922) participants in the Terman Study of the Gifted--were interviewed. From the edited tapes, seven qualified raters evaluated Various measures of life success and completed a 100-item Q-sort for all subjects. In general, the very highest successes were related to contentment, self-confidence, openness and spontaneity, a wide range of cultural interests, and relative freedom from pervasive feelings of hostility, irritability and dissatisfaction. The general results are corroborated by Terman Study data available for these same subjects for years 1922, 1927, and 1940. Some implications of these findings for child-rearing, marriage and the possible governance of one's life are explored.