PT Journal
AU Golle, J
   Rose, N
   Göllner, R
   Spengler, M
   Stoll, G
   Hübner, N
   Rieger, S
   Trautwein, U
   Lüdtke, O
   Roberts, BW
   Nagengast, B
TI School or Work? The Choice May Change Your Personality
SO Psychological science
PY 2019
BP 32
EP 42
VL 30
IS 1
PU SAGE Publications
DI 10.1177/0956797618806298
WP https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/macau_mods_00000749
LA en
DE Humans; Follow-Up Studies; Personality; Personality Development; Choice Behavior; Career Choice; Education; Adolescent; Adult; Female; Male; Young Adult; Propensity-score Analysis; Educational Pathways; Big Five Traits; Vocational Interests
SN 0956-7976
AB According to the social-investment principle, entering new environments is associated with new social roles that influence people's behaviors. In this study, we examined whether young adults' personality development is differentially related to their choice of either an academic or a vocational pathway (i.e., entering an academic-track school or beginning vocational training). The personality constructs of interest were Big Five personality traits and vocational-interest orientations. We used a longitudinal study design and propensity-score matching to create comparable groups before they entered one of the pathways and then tested the differences between these groups 6 years later. We expected the vocational pathway to reinforce more mature behavior and curtail investigative interest. Results indicated that choosing the vocational compared with the academic pathway was associated with higher conscientiousness and less interest in investigative, social, and enterprising activities.
PI Thousand Oaks, Calif.; New York, NY; Malden, Mass.
ER