Can Personality Traits Predict Adult Career Success

Ex. 1 Read and translate the text.

A longitudinal study conducted over 70 years explored the relationship between personality traits using the five-factor model of personality (“Big Five”) and general mental ability with career success. For the purposes of the study, two aspects of career success were considered: intrinsic success (job satisfaction) and extrinsic success (income and occupational status).

The dimensions of the five-factor model include neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Neuroticism involves six facets: anxiety, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, vulnerability, and impulsiveness. Extroversion involves sociability and is related to the experience of positive emotions. Conscientiousness includes three related facets: achievement orientation, dependability, and orderliness. Openness to experience is characterized by intelligence and unconventionality. Agreeableness is being trusting of others and likeable.

The study explored several hypotheses in measuring intrinsic and extrinsic career success. The primary hypotheses are as follows:

‒ Neuroticism will be negatively related to intrinsic and extrinsic career success.

‒ Extroversion will be positively related to intrinsic and extrinsic career success.

‒ Conscientiousness will be positively related to extrinsic career success.

‒ Personality measures collected in adulthood will explain more variance in career success than will childhood measures.

‒ General mental ability will be positively related to extrinsic career success.

‒ Personality will explain incremental variance in career success beyond that explained by general mental ability.

Researchers used the intergenerational studies, a set of three studies that followed participants from early childhood to retirement. The Institute of Human Development at the University of California, Berkeley administered the studies. Results indicated that neuroticism was significantly negatively correlated with job satisfaction (intrinsic career success), while openness to experience, conscientiousness, and general mental ability were significantly positively correlated with job satisfaction.

Neuroticism is negatively correlated to intrinsic and extrinsic career success. Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely to experience a variety of problems, including negative moods, anxiety, fear, depression, irritability, and physical symptoms. Neurotic individuals are likely to be especially affected by negative life events and to have bad moods linger. These factors carry over into their work environment and affect both job satisfaction and income/occupational level.

The second hypothesis that extroversion is positively correlated to intrinsic and extrinsic career success was only partially supported. Extroversion was positively correlated to extrinsic career success, but no correlation was found between extroversion and job satisfaction (intrinsic career success). Researchers found that conscientiousness and income/occupational status were positively correlated. In an unhypothesized effect, researchers found that the correlation between conscientiousness and job satisfaction was the most consistent result.

Results indicate a correlation between particular career paths and particular traits and between personality traits and intrinsic and extrinsic career success. Since the personality traits are relatively stable over time, it is possible to predict career success using childhood personality measures.

In terms of career paths chosen by different personality types, the study showed that extroverts tended to gravitate toward social jobs and jobs high in interpersonal activities. Conscientious individuals tended to be attracted to investigative jobs and those jobs that require thinking, organizing, and understanding. Those who rated high in general mental ability also tended to gravitate toward investigative jobs, but they stayed away from conventional, ruleregulated jobs. Study participants who ranked high on the neuroticism factor were most likely to be employed in jobs involving physical activity.

 

Ex. 2 Answer the following questions in the space provided.

1. How many participants were enrolled in the study?

2. What two areas of career success were studied?

3. What were the researchers’ hypotheses?

4. Which hypotheses were not supported by the findings of the study?

5. Is it important to try to match personality, mental ability, and career path? Why or why not?

6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages to job candidates if a company uses personality test results as hiring or promotion criteria.

 

 

Литература

 

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6. Understanding Psychology // Readings and Case Studies in Psychology [Electronic Resource]. – 2015. – Mode of access: http://www.glencoe.com. – Date of access: 02.10.2015.

7. Murphy, R. English Grammar in Use, 4^th edition / R. Murphy. – Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2012. – 306 p.

8. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English / ed. J. Crowner. – Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1995. – 1428 p.

 

 

 

 

 

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Акулич Юлия Евгеньевна

Английский язык.