Running head: DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 1
Transcript of Running head: DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 1
Running head: DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 1
Personality and Achievement Motivation as Determinants of Career Choice
Robyn G. Glaser
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Honours)
Murdoch University
This thesis is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Murdoch University, 2012.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 2
I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main
content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary
educational institution.
Robyn Glaser
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 3
Copyright Acknowledgement
I acknowledge that a copy of this thesis will be held at the Murdoch University Library.
I understand that, under the provisions of s51.2 of the Copyright Act 1968, all or part of
this thesis may be copied without infringement of copyright where such a reproduction
is for the purposes of study and research.
This statement does not signal any transfer of copyright away from the author.
Signed:
Full Name of Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Honours)
Thesis Title: Personality and Achievement Motivation as Determinants of Career Choice
Author: Robyn Glaser
Year: 2012
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality,
achievement motivation, and career choice. One hundred and thirty six participants
recruited through the psychology subject pool at Murdoch University and through
snowball sampling using Facebook completed the 50-Item Set International Personality
Item Pool Big-Five Factor Markers, the Cassidy and Lynn Achievement Motivation
Scale, and the Personality-Related Position Requirements Form. The association
between personality and career choice was generally supportive of those hypothesised
by Raymark, Schmit, and Guion (1997). Achievement motivation was significantly
correlated with extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness. Mediation analysis found
that achievement motivation fully mediated the relationship between extraversion and
general leadership and that between conscientiousness and ambition. The implication of
these findings is that organisations and career advisors could have a better understanding
of what type of job or career an individual prefers based on their personality. Future
research might consider if individuals have had experience in their preferred career. This
could allow for further comparison into whether individuals with similar personalities
have similar jobs.
Keywords: personality, achievement motivation, career choice
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Acknowledgments
The contributions of many different individuals have made this thesis possible. I would
like to extend my appreciation especially to the following individuals.
I am thankful to my supervisor, Dr Graeme Ditchburn, for his support, guidance, and
advice throughout the year. Without his guidance I would not have been able to put this
research study together.
Of course, this research study would not have been possible without the contribution of
the participants.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my mum, dad, sister, and grandma for their
unconditional support and understanding during the honours year. It is greatly
appreciated.
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Personality and Achievement Motivation as Determinants of Career Choice
Previous studies such as Barrick and Mount (1991) and Hogan, Hogan, and
Roberts (1996) have explored the ‘personality’ of jobs by examining the relationship
between personality and work. Other studies have only examined the relationship
between personality and career choice (Bipp, 2010) or between achievement motivation
and career choice (Bono & Judge, 2003). Therefore my study will be exploring
personality, achievement motivation, and career choice as they are not usually discussed
in the one study. I will also be re-examining the Raymark, Schmit, and Guion (1997)
study to see if personality can predict the type of job or career an individual prefers.
Career Decision Making
There are a number of career choice theories, while not directly relevant to this
study have elements that can be useful to consider. For instance a lot of the career
choice theories have the core component of personality throughout. Personality can help
explain how and why individuals choose a particular career. Some popular career choice
theories are the theory of vocational choice by Holland, the work adjustment theory, and
the self-concept theory of career development formatted by Super (Leung, 2008).
Individuals base their career decisions career environment, skills, abilities,
attitudes, values, and having meaningful roles (Holland, 1959). If an individual starts a
new job and they are in a good career environment, can show their skills and abilities,
are able to express their attitudes and values, and believe they have a meaningful role
they will most likely stay in the job as they will feel satisfied by their career decision
(Holland, 1959). However if an individual starts a new job and finds they are unable to
use their skills or express their attitudes and values then there is as a low degree of
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match between an individuals personality and their work environment (Holland, 1959).
This is more likely to result in an individual feeling they have made the wrong career
decision. It is therefore important for an organisation to understand when selecting an
employee that there needs to be a high degree of match between the employees
personality and their work environment in order for the employee to feel they have made
the right career decision (Leung, 2008).
The theory of work adjustment is similar to the theory of vocational choice as an
individual bases their career decisions on whether the work environment matches their
needs (Dawis & Lofquist’s, as cited in Osipow, 1990). An individual chooses a career
based on their needs, abilities, and if they are able to develop their skills. They are
therefore more likely to perform well in the job if they feel that the work environment
matches with their needs (Dawis & Lofquist, as cited in Osipow, 1990).
Another theory on how individuals make career decisions is the self-concept
theory of career development. Super (1980) suggested that career decisions are based on
a process of developing an individual’s self-concept which includes physical and mental
growth, personal experiences, and environmental characteristics. Therefore an
individual chooses a career based on their interests, abilities, and values (Super, 1980).
All these theories share the view that an individual’s values, attitudes, and
interests are important factors when making a career decision. Also that the work
environment has to match an individual’s values, attitudes, and interests in order for an
individual to feel they have made the right career choice (Leung, 2008). Therefore each
type of job may require different abilities and personality traits which may suit different
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 8
individuals according to their abilities, needs, values, interests, traits, and self-concepts
(Super, 1980).
Five Factor Model and Description
Until the 1980s the majority of research on personality especially on workplace
outcomes concluded that personality did not matter (Barrick, Mount, & Judge, 2001).
This view changed with the emergence of the five factor model of personality (FFM),
which grouped and classified traits into five independent and universal personality traits;
extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and neuroticism (Barrick et
al., 2001). According to Goldberg (1992) these five personality traits have traditionally
been labeled as; surgency (extraversion), agreeableness, conscientiousness
(dependability), culture, intellect, or openness, and emotional stability (opposite of
neuroticism). These personality traits make up the basic structure of personality
(Goldberg, as cited in Bipp, Steinmayr, & Spinath, 2008) and are a widely accepted way
of categorising personality (Bergner, Neubauer, & Kreuzthaler, 2010).
The FFM can be used to explain and predict individual differences over many
settings such as mental health, job satisfaction, and work performance (Judge, Heller, &
Mount, 2002). Extraversion is described as an individual who is sociable, positive,
assertive, active, bold, energetic, and adventurous (Barrick et al., as cited in Digman,
1990). Agreeableness is the tendency for an individual to be trusting, sympathetic, and
cooperative rather than competitive. Conscientiousness is the degree to which an
individual is organised, ordered, diligent, thorough, reliable, hardworking, determined,
self-disciplined, and achievement striving (Costa & McCrae, 1988). Openness involves
creativity, sophistication, curiosity, and willingness to consider different approaches
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(Barrick & Mount, 1991). Neuroticism is the tendency for an individual to experience
psychological distress, for example; depression, anger, embarrassment, insecurity, and
worry (Barrick et al., as cited in Digman, 1990).
Five Factor Model and Career Choice
Individual differences are often taken into account to explain how job
characteristics influence work motivation and performance. Individuals will select, keep,
or quit their jobs based on their personality traits (Bipp, 2010). The FFM has led to an
increase in the study of personality which has led to the conclusion that personality has
important relationships with performance, motivation, and job satisfaction (Parks &
Guay, 2009).
The FFM has been related to different behaviours such as job performance and
achievement (Ozer & Benet-Martinez, 2005). There is research supporting neuroticism
and conscientiousness as predictors of job performance across all types of jobs (Barrick
et al., as cited in Digman, 1990). Conscientiousness is a good predictor of job
performance as a conscientious individual gives the maximum to reach their work
objectives (Touze, 2005). Agreeableness, extraversion, and openness were also valid
predictors of job performance. However the role of these three personality traits varies
across settings and therefore might not be applicable to all jobs (Barrick et al., 2001).
Agreeableness has been found to be predictive of an individual’s learning behaviour and
having social jobs in the workplace (Touze, 2005). Barrick and Mount (as cited in
Touze, 2005) found that extraversion and openness were good predictors of success in
training. The reason for this is that in training sessions an individual is often in a social
interaction type of setting and therefore being sociable and open is important to be
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successful in this context (Touze, 2005). It was also found that neuroticism did not have
strong correlations with the different measures of performance. One reason for this is
that individuals with severe emotional problems are usually naturally selected out of the
workplace and so are not in these situations to begin with (Barrick & Mount, as cited in
Touze, 2005).
Studies have found that individuals who scored high on extraversion placed
more emphasis on being able to exert influence in the workplace and were more
attracted to enriched jobs (Furnham, Petrides, Tsaousis, Pappas, & Garrod, 2005).
Extraverted individuals want to obtain rewards in order to be motivated. Since rewards
are obtained by excelling more than others extraverts could be expected to be motivated
by a desire to get ahead of others (Barrick, Stewart, & Piotrowski, 2002). Therefore
individuals who are extraverted are likely to have cognitive motivations consistent with
striving for status (Barrick et al., 2002).
Mount, Barrick, and Stewart (1998) found a positive correlation between
agreeableness and performance for team oriented jobs. When stressed, agreeable
individuals were found to cope through self sacrifice rather than through superiority
(Costa, Zonderman, & McCrae, as cited in Barrick et al., 2002). Individuals who are
agreeable are therefore likely to have cognitive motivations consistent with goals to
strive for relationships and unity (Barrick et al., 2002).
Individuals who scored high on conscientiousness preferred jobs that allow them
to demonstrate their competence and provide them opportunities for achievement
(Furnham et al., 2005) and were more likely to be disciplined, dependable, methodical,
and purposeful (Costa & McCrae, 1988). Individuals high in conscientiousness also look
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for meaningful jobs where they can take responsibility and get recognition for doing
well (Furnham et al., 2005).
Individuals who scored high in openness were more creative and curious.
Furthermore they easily adjusted to novelty and preferred work environments that
offered stimulation and potential for growth or autonomy rather than status (Barrick et
al., 2002). They were also imaginative, adventurous (Costa & McCrae, 1988), and
unconventional (Mount et al., 1998).
Neuroticism has not been found to link to motivational goals and can detract
from performance (Costa & McCrae, 1988). Individuals who scored high on neuroticism
were more likely to experience problems in the workplace, such as stress, fear,
irritability, and anxiety (Barrick & Mount, 1991). Individuals high in neuroticism were
found to be attracted to jobs with mainly extrinsic job factors or found it important to
earn money more than emotionally stable individuals (Furnham et al., 2005).
According to Hogan et al. (1996) different jobs have different personality
profiles. For example studies have found that for sales jobs, extraversion and
agreeableness was predictive of performance. For manual industrial workers
conscientiousness and agreeableness was positively related to job performance and
extraversion and openness was unrelated or in some cases negatively related to
performance (Kierstead, as cited in Hogan et al., 1996).
Raymark, Schmit, and Guion, researchers well respected in the field of selection
and assessment state that the predictive utility of a personality assessment is improved
when the personality profile for a specific job is studied through rational analysis or a
thorough personality oriented job analysis. According to Raymark et al. (1997) the
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Personality-Related Position Requirements Form (PPRF) was designed to identify
aspects of work potentially related to individual differences in personality (see
Appendix A for the PPRF). If the personality traits that are relevant for some jobs are
not identified then the individual might be overlooked for selection. The PPRF is a
supplement to other job analysis techniques which allows a thorough examination of the
job performance that is related to personality variables (Raymark et al., 1997).
Individuals rate the job relevance of a number of behaviors that have been linked
to personality dimensions of interest (Raymark et al., 1997). This type of job analysis
can aid in determining non-cognitive characteristics that are important to an occupation
(Jenkins & Griffith, 2004). The behavioral statements on the PPRF are very general in
nature, so that they can be used with any job. These general statements can be linked to
specific tasks that are thought to lead to successful performance. Performance ratings for
these specific tasks might be useful for building either specific or global job
performance criterion measures (Raymark et al., 1997).
The PPRF has 12 dimensions used to measure career choice. General leadership
is the tendency to take charge and influence behaviour (Raymark et al., 1997). Interest
in negotiation is having an interest in mediation between parties (Raymark et al., 1997).
Ambition is the desire to achieve and perform better the next time (Raymark et al.,
1997). Friendly disposition is interacting easily and enjoying socialising (Raymark et al.,
1997). Sensitivity to the interests of others is being caring and concerned for others
(Raymark et al., 1997). Cooperative or collaborative work tendency is the desire to work
with others to achieve a common goal (Raymark et al., 1997). General trustworthiness is
being trusted by following through on a promise and not sharing confidential
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information (Raymark et al., 1997). Adherence to a work ethic is being hard working
and complying with the organisations policies (Raymark et al., 1997). Thoroughness and
attentiveness to details is completing a task with attention to every aspect (Raymark et
al., 1997). Emotional stability is having a calm and relaxed approach to situations or
individuals (Raymark et al., 1997). Desire to generate ideas is having a preference for
situations where one can be creative or find new solutions (Raymark et al., 1997).
Tendency to think things through is the tendency to evaluate information and to consider
the consequences (Raymark et al., 1997). It was demonstrated that these 12 dimensions
were useful in differentiating among jobs as 260 job descriptions were clustered into
occupational groups to form several sample job description profiles for different types of
jobs (Raymark et al., 1997).
Achievement Motivation
It is evident from some of the relationships between personality, for example
extraversion and conscientiousness that achievement motivation is also an important
factor in career decision making. Achievement motivation is part of the earliest
psychological theory of motivation which referred to the achievement motive as one of
the three basic human motives (Murray, as cited in Steinmayr & Spinath, 2008). The
theory suggested that achievement related situations are characterised by approach and
avoidance components that trigger hope for success or fear of failure (Murray, as cited
in Steinmayr & Spinath, 2008).
Achievement motivation is the drive to achieve success and is related to
competitiveness, persistence, and striving for perfection (Kaplan & Maehr, 1999). It is
the desire to accomplish a difficult task, overcome obstacles, and attain a high standard
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(Salami, 2004). Achievement motivation is also the personal striving of individuals to
attain goals within their social environment (Cassidy & Lynn, 1989). One of the first
researchers to have an interest in achievement motivation was Henry Murray in 1938.
Murray defined need for achievement as: “To accomplish something difficult. To
master, manipulate or organize [sic] physical objects, human beings, or ideas.” (Murray,
p. 164, as cited in Ziegler, Schmidt-Atzert, Buhner, & Krumm, 2007).
McClelland further developed the concept of achievement motivation (Castenell,
1983) and described it as a learned, unconscious drive, where behaviour involves
competition with a standard of excellence. If successful a positive feeling is produced
and if unsuccessful a negative feeling is produced (McClelland, as cited in Castenell,
1983). Although achievement motivation is related to winning and high performance it
is satisfied by succeeding and excelling rather than with extrinsic rewards (McClelland,
as cited in Sagie, 1994).
More recent research suggested that the key to success of an individual is their
achievement motivation level (Heyman, 2008). Researches defined the main
characteristics of achievement motivation as working ambitiously, being self-confident,
and motivated (Tutar, Altinoz, & Cakiroglu, 2011). Other characteristics included;
competitiveness, independence, eagerness to learn, preferring of regular and continuous
work, being focused (Tutar et al., 2011), wanting to attain high performance goals (Hart
& Albarracin, 2009), wanting to be responsible for any decisions made (Heyman, 2008),
enjoying challenges (Ibrahim & Gwari, 2011), having a higher tendency to take risks
(Spence, Pred, & Helmreich, as cited in Tutarl et al., 2011) valuing competence
(McClelland, as cited Collins, Hanges, & Locke, 2004), being creative, having strong
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instincts of achieving individual and organisational success (Epstein & Harackiewicz, as
cited in Tutar et al., 2011), and preferring achievement related feedback (Hart &
Albarracin, 2009).
Individuals high in achievement motivation usually find their current
responsibilities inadequate and so consider new responsibilities to fix this, are likely to
respond to failure with increased effort (Kuhl, 1978), respond well to constructive
criticism, and do not fear failure, meaning they persist at tasks more than individuals
low in achievement motivation (Ibrahim & Gwari, 2011). It has been found that
individuals low in achievement motivation were seen as ‘quitters’, expected failure,
avoided meaningful challenges (McClelland, as cited Collins et al., 2004), and were less
likely to respond to failure with increased effort (Kuhl, 1978).
There has been a considerable volume of research on types and levels of
motivation in employment, sports, and social life (Hegarty, 2010). Culture, gender, and
age have been found to influence an individual’s achievement motivation level
(Vermeer, Boekaerts, & Seegers, as cited in Shekhar & Devi, 2012). For example in
collectivist cultures achievement motivation is usually correlated with social versus
individual goals. Also found was cultural differences in perceptions of what it takes to
achieve. For example listening versus participating and collaborating versus working
individually (Trumbull & Rothstein-Fisch, 2011).
Achievement Motivation Theories
The achievement motivation theory evolved from work McClelland began in the
1940s and 1950s. McClelland (as cited in Moore, Grabsch, & Rotter, 2010) suggested
that individuals are motivated in varying degrees by their need for achievement, need for
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 16
affiliation, and need for power. These three needs are acquired or learned during an
individual’s lifetime (Lussier & Achua, as cited in Moore et al., 2010).
Another theory, achievement goal theory has become an important framework
for understanding achievement motivation (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). According to
Barron and Harackiewicz (2001) individuals can be motivated to achieve for two
reasons, to increase their competence by learning more (mastery) or by trying to perform
well compared to others (performance). Harackiewicz and Elliot (1993) found that
individuals low in achievement motivation had higher levels of intrinsic motivation
when faced with mastery goals and individuals high in achievement motivation were
most interested when assigned performance goals.
Atkinson and Feather (as cited in Ibrahim & Gwari, 2011) proposed a theory of
achievement motivation with an individual’s achievement behaviour being based on the
individual’s predisposition to achievement, the probability of success, and the
individual’s perception of the value of the task (Atkinson & Feather, as cited in Ibrahim
& Gwari, 2011). An individual’s perception of probability of achieving a task causes the
need to achieve and fear of failure. When it comes to probability of success an
individual high in achievement motivation prefers moderate risk. An individual low in
achievement motivation does not want to take any risks and if are forced to, choose an
easy task where they could not fail or a task so difficult that it was not expected to be
completed successfully (Atkinson & Feather, as cited in Ibrahim & Gwari, 2011).
Achievement Motivation and Personality
Correlations between the FFM and achievement motivation have been found in
previous studies (Schuler & Prochaska, as cited in Bergner et al., 2010). Achievement
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 17
motivation was found to be positively correlated with conscientiousness and
extraversion, and negatively with neuroticism, impulsiveness, and fear of failure (De
Guzman, Calderon, & Cassaretto, as cited in Komarraju, Karau, & Schmeck, 2009). The
reason for this might be because there are similarities between descriptions of an
individual who is high achievement motivation, conscientious, and extraverted.
Achievement motivation might have been negatively correlated with neuroticism,
impulsiveness, and fear of failure as a neurotic individual was found to worry a lot,
experience negative emotions, and not want to attempt a hard task for the fear of failure,
which does not fit with the description of an individual high in achievement motivation
(De Guzman et al., as cited in Komarraju et al., 2009). According to Dweck and Leggett
(1988) openness and achievement motivation was positively correlated as being creative
allowed an individual to work in an environment that offered stimulation, a chance to be
ambitious, and to take risks.
Emotional stability was found to relate to self-efficacy motivation, believing that
one is capable of successfully performing a given activity (Judge, Erez, & Bono, as cited
in Parks & Guay, 2009). The reason for this is because emotionally stable individuals
were more effectively able to control their negative emotions when performing required
tasks and so had higher self-efficacy motivation (Park & Guay, 2009). Eggens,
Hendriks, Bosker, and Van der Werf (2010) found that emotionally stable individuals
were less likely to be concerned with achieving compared to individuals low in
emotionally stability. Eggens et al. (2010) suggested the reason for this is that
individuals who are low in emotional stability are easily overwhelmed and therefore
work harder to try and reduce these feelings.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 18
Achievement Motivation and Career Choice
Motivation effects achievement, level of occupation achieved, and career
satisfaction (Atkinson, as cited in Farmer, 1985). Achievement motivation is strongly
linked with organisational effectiveness, predicting job satisfaction, determinants of job
performance (Bono & Judge, 2003), and career success (Bergner et al., 2010).
According to Jenkins (1987) once an individual selects a job its structure of roles
and rewards shapes the individual's motives in work values, perceptions, and
satisfactions. Differently motivated individuals may respond differently to the same
structure in a job (Jenkins, 1987). Also similarly motivated individuals may respond
differently in differently structured work situations. For example an individual may
respond more to a job where they receive recognition for completing a task well
(Jenkins, 1987). Therefore working conditions and resulting satisfactions may affect an
individual’s motivation level (Jenkins, 1987).
Previous research found that individuals high in achievement motivation
performed better under working conditions of challenge, autonomy, and rapid feedback
(Jenkins, 1987). It was found that career involved women who were high in
achievement motivation at university valued status mobility, working with individuals,
and reported job satisfaction from competition (Jenkins, 1987). Men high in
achievement motivation were more aware of achievement related aspects of their job
and became bored more quickly than those low in achievement motivation (Veroff &
Feld, as cited in Jenkins, 1987).
Many studies have found a significant relationship between work values and
vocational interests, occupational choice and job specific skills, and achievement
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 19
motivation and occupation choice (Salami, 2004). Achievement motivation significantly
influenced individuals in making an occupational choice (Salami, 2004). High
achievement motivation and low fear of failure individuals differed from those in terms
of their occupational choice who were low in achievement motivation and high in fear
of failure (Salami, 2004). This difference is because the high achievement motivation
and low fear of failure individuals possessed more accurate occupational perceptions
and aspired to higher level occupations (Tseng & Carter, as cited in Salami, 2004). Also
individuals high in achievement motivation had high self-efficacy expectations and
believed they had the ability to be successful in difficult tasks, meaning they were more
likely to pursue challenging careers such as nursing, science, or engineering (Salami,
2004). Therefore Salami (2004) suggested that achievement motivation significantly
predicted career choice.
McClelland (as cited in Collins et al., 2004) argued that individuals high in
achievement motivation are more likely to pursue careers that allowed for more control
over outcomes, provided more direct and immediate feedback on performance, and
offered moderate levels of risk. Therefore an individual high in achievement motivation
was found to prefer an entrepreneurial environment as they had more opportunity to take
advantage of the characteristics associated with high achievement motivation
(McClelland, as cited in Collins et al., 2004). Individuals high in achievement
motivation were also more attracted to management positions within a business setting
rather than to other types of positions that did not involve management in a business
setting such as politics, secretaries, or engineers (McClelland, as cited in Collins et al.,
2004).
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 20
Current Study
My study is re-examining the Raymark et al. (1997) study to see if I find the
same significant positive correlations Raymark et al. (1997) found between the five
personality traits and the 12 dimensions on the PPRF. Table 1 shows the hypotheses for
my study derived from the table Raymark et al. (1997) used in their study. It is slightly
different to the Raymark et al. (1997) table as I did not use the NEO PI-R or include
secondary predictors. Table 1 also indicates which PPRF dimensions and personality
traits I anticipated to be correlated with achievement motivation, which was not in the
Raymark et al. (1997) table.
My study is also examining the relationship between personality, achievement
motivation, and career choice. Specifically it is anticipated that extraversion,
conscientiousness (De Guzman et al., as cited in Komarraju et al., 2009), and openness
(Dweck & Leggett, 1988) will be significantly postively correlated with achievement
motivation. A stepwise multiple regression between personality and career choice and
between personality and achievement motivation will be run to determine what
personality traits predict career choice and achievement motivation.
My study also wants to determine if achievement motivation acts as a mediator
between personality and career choice. Specifically I will run two mediations, the first
between extraversion, achievement motivation, and general leadership and the second
between conscientiousness, achievement motivation, and ambition. I have chosen
extraversion and general leadership as I expect to find a significant positive correlation
between extraversion and general leadership (Raymark et al., 1997), extraversion and
achievement motivation (De Guzman et al., as cited in Komarraju et al., 2009), and
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 21
general leadership and achievement motivation (McClelland, as cited in Collins et al.,
2004). Therefore it would be anticipated that a full mediation will occur as all three
variables are expected to be linked. I have chosen the variables conscientiousness and
ambition as I expect to find a significant correlation between conscientiousness and
ambition (Raymark et al., 1997), conscientiousness and achievement motivation (De
Guzman et al., as cited in Komarraju et al., 2009), and ambition and achievement
motivation (Tutar et al., 2011). It would therefore be anticipated that a full mediation
will occur as all three variables are expected to be linked.
Table 1
Hypothesised Relationships Between Individual Differences and Career Dimensions
Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Openness Emotional
stability
Achievement
motivation
General leadership * * *
Interest in negotiation * *
Ambition * * *
Friendly disposition *
Sensitivity to others *
Cooperative work * *
General trustworthiness * *
Work ethic * * *
Thoroughness to details * *
Desire to generate ideas * *
Think things through * *
PPRF emotional stability * *
Achievement motivation * * *
Note. Sensitivity to interest of others = Sensitivity to others; Cooperative or collaborative work tendency = Cooperative work; Adherence to a work ethic = Work
ethic; Thoroughness and attentiveness to details = Thoroughness to details; Tendency to think things through = Think things through.
DE
TE
RM
INA
NT
S O
F C
AR
EE
R C
HO
ICE
2
2
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 23 23
Method
Participants and Procedure
My study comprised of 152 participants who were recruited through the
psychology subject pool at Murdoch University and through snowball sampling using
Facebook. Age and gender data was not available. Of the 152 questionnaires 16
responses were excluded from the data as they were incomplete. Participants who were
recruited through the psychology subject pool at Murdoch University received 0.5 credit
hours for participating. The participants were directed online to a page with an
information letter (see Appendix B) explaining the study. Friends, relatives, and
acquaintances of the researcher were sent information letters through Facebook.
Participants were told that the study was designed to explore the relationships between
career choice and personality. Participants completed a consent form online before being
able to proceed onto the questionnaire page. The questionnaire took approximately 25
minutes to complete. Participants were recruited between May 2012 and August 2012.
Materials
Measure of personality. The 50-Item Set International Personality Item Pool
(IPIP) Big-Five Factor Markers (see Appendix C) was published on the IPIP website
and can be freely downloaded from the internet for use in research. Responses were
provided using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Very Inaccurate and 5 = Very Accurate).
According to Goldberg (2001) the internal consistency reliability estimates (coefficient
alpha) for each of the five domains are .87 (extraversion), .82 (agreeableness), .79
(conscientiousness), .84 (openness), and .86 (emotional stability). The IPIP scales have
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 24
good internal consistency and relate strongly to major dimensions of personality
assessed by the NEO-FFI (Gow, Whiteman, Pattie, & Deary, 2005).
Measure of achievement motivation. The original Cassidy and Lynn
Achievement Motivation Scale (CLAMS) consisting of 49 items has strong internal
reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of .87 (Hart, Karau, Stasson, & Kerr, 2004). In order
to manage the possible impact of survey fatigue the number of items was reduced to 28
based on weighted factor loadings as cited in Cassidy and Lynn (1989). The CLAMS is
available in Appendix D. Using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree and 5 =
Strongly Agree), participants were asked to report the degree to which they think or
behave in a specific manner.
Measure of career choice. The PPRF was used to measure career choice.
Participants provided responses to 36 items arranged in 12 sets designed to tap each of
the Big Five personality traits. There were three items for each set. Responses were
provided using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Not At All and 5 = Extremely). The 12 sets are
effective in the differentiation of occupational categories. The intrarater reliability for 11
of the 12 sets ranged between .72 and .92. Work Ethic was less reliable at .60 (Raymark
et al., 1997).
Results
Table 2 shows the means, standard deviations, and Cronbach’s alphas for the
PPRF, The 50-Item Set IPIP Big-Five Factor Markers, and achievement motivation. All
scales were sufficiently reliable (Nunnally, as cited in Cortina, 1993) with the exception
of cooperative or collaborative work tendency which was .54.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 25
Table 3 shows the correlations between personality and career choice and
indicates which were significant. Table 4 shows my hypotheses and indicates which
were significant. Table 5 shows the correlations between achievement motivation and
career choice and indicates which were significant.
Correlations between achievement motivation and personality were run (see
Appendix E for the correlation table). The significant positive correlations between
achievement motivation and extraversion (r = .33, p < .001), conscientiousness (r = .20,
p = .021), and openness (r = .28, p = .001) support the hypotheses of De Guzman et al.
(as cited in Komarraju et al., 2009) and Dweck and Leggett (1988).
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 26
Table 2
Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alphas for the PPRF, the 50-Item Set
IPIP Big-Five Factor Markers, and Achievement Motivation
Variable M SD Cronbach’s
alpha
General leadership 3.67 .63 .68
Interest in negotiation 3.38 .92 .85
Ambition 3.98 .61 .76
Friendly disposition 3.37 .94 .82
Sensitivity to others 3.41 .78 .64
Cooperative work 3.54 .72 .54
General trustworthinessa 3.76 .69 .69
Work ethica 4.04 .70 .73
Thoroughness to detailsa 3.54 .90 .84
Desire to generate ideasa 3.70 .80 .74
Think things througha 3.60 .67 .81
PPRF emotional stabilitya 3.58 .78 .77
Extraversion 3.30 .77 .90
Agreeableness 4.16 .54 .82
Conscientiousness 3.66 .60 .81
Openness 3.74 .48 .72
Emotional stability 3.06 .72 .86
Achievement motivation 3.46 .42 .67
Note. N = 136. a n = 135.
22
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 27
Table 6 shows the stepwise multiple regression between personality and career
choice. Table 7 shows the second stepwise multiple regression between personality and
achievement motivation. These stepwise multiple regressions were run to determine
what personality traits predict career choice and achievement motivation.
Table 8 shows the mediation between extraversion and general leadership with
achievement motivation as the mediator. Table 9 shows the second mediation between
conscientiousness and ambition with achievement motivation as the mediator. These
mediations were run as it was expected from the significant correlations (Baron &
Kenny, 1986) that a full mediation should occur.
Table 3
Bivariate Correlations Between Personality and Career Choice
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
1 - .15 -.03 .20* .21* .20* .21* .09 .47** .14 .19* .02 .08 -.02 .13 -.06 .05
2 - .17* .25** .01 .05 .21* .17* .06 .24** .09 .08 .23** -.06 .08 .04 .003
3 - .06 .15 .10 -.10 .23** -.14 -.06 .03 .09 .19* .17 -.002 .08 .03
4 - .01 .18* .05 .21* .12 .11 .08 .12 .11 .11 .27** .26** .13
5 - .08 -.12 -.13 -.17 -.09 -.02 .05 .20* -.03 .01 -.07 .19*
6 - .47** .52** .32** .42** .33** .38** .47** .43** .35** .46** .37**
7 - .34** .45** .64** .42** .23** .24** .29** .52** .30** .36**
8 - .21* .39** .37** .44** .52** .34** .51** .50** .38**
9 - .37** .36** .14 .11 .17 .26** .15 .21*
10 - .63** .47** .40** .46** .45** .43** .46**
11 - .39** .27** .37** .48** .41** .49**
12a - .48** .46** .34** .54** .50**
13a - .36** .35** .42** .35**
14a - .34** .54** .49**
15a - .61** .45**
16a - .49**
17a -
Note. 1= Extraversion; 2 = Agreeableness; 3 = Conscientiousness; 4 = Openness; 5 = Emotional stability; 6 = General leadership; 7 = Interest in negotiation; 8 =
Ambition; 9 = Friendly disposition; 10 = Sensitivity to interest of others; 11 = Cooperative or collaborative work tendency; 12 = General trustworthiness; 13 =
Adherence to a work ethic; 14 = Thoroughness and attentiveness to details; 15 = Desire to generate ideas; 16 = Tendency to think things through; 17 = PPRF
emotional stability. a n = 135.
* p < .05. ** p < .01.
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Table 4
Results of the Hypothesised Relationships Between Individual Differences and Career Dimensions
Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Openness Emotional
stability
Achievement
motivation
General leadership *(.20*) *(.18*) *(.62**)
Interest in negotiation *(.21*) *(.05)
Ambition *(.09) *(.23**) *(.54**)
Friendly disposition *(.06)
Sensitivity to others *(.24**)
Cooperative work *(.09) *(.03)
General trustworthinessa *(.09)
*(.31**)
Work ethica *(.19*) *(.20*)
*(.41**)
Thoroughness to detailsa *(.17)
*(.33**)
Desire to generate ideasa *(.27**)
*(.31**)
Think things througha *(.26**)
*(.38**)
PPRF emotional stabilitya *(.19*)
*(.29**)
Achievement motivation *(.33**) *(.20*) *(.28**)
a n = 135.
*p < .05. **p < .01.
28
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Table 5
Bivariate Correlations Between Achievement Motivation and Career Choice
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1 - .47** .52** .32** .42** .33** .38** .47** .43** .35** .46** .37** .62**
2 - .34** .45** .64** .42** .23** .24** .29** .52** .30** .36** .36**
3 - .21* .39** .37** .44** .52** .34** .51** .50** .38** .54**
4 - .37** .36** .14 .11 .17 .26** .15 .21* .32**
5 - .63** .47** .40** .46** .45** .43** .46** .34**
6 - .39** .27** .37** .48** .41** .49** .22*
7a - .48** .46** .34** .54** .50** .31**
8a - .36** .35** .42** .35** .41**
9a - .34** .54** .49** .33**
10a - .61** .45** .31**
11a - .49** .38**
12a - .29**
13 -
Note. 1 = General leadership; 2 = Interest in negotiation; 3 = Ambition; 4 = Friendly disposition; 5 = Sensitivity to interest of others; 6 = Cooperative or
collaborative work tendency; 7 = General trustworthiness; 8 = Adherence to a work ethic; 9 = Thoroughness and attentiveness to details; 10 = Desire to generate
ideas; 11 = Tendency to think things through; 12 = PPRF emotional stability; 13 = Achievement motivation. a n = 135.
* p < .05. ** p < .01.
29
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DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 31
Table 6
Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis for Personality Variables Predicting PPRF
Dimensions
Criterion Predictors B SE(B) β t
General
leadership
Extraversion .17 .07 .20 2.41*
R² = .04, F(1,
134) = 5.80*
Interest in
negotiation
Extraversion .25 .10 .21 2.45*
R² = .04, F(1,
134) = 5.99*
Ambition Conscientiousness .24 .09 .23 2.77**
R² = .05, F(1,
134) = 7.66**
Sensitivity to
others
Agreeableness .35 .12 .24 2.85**
R² = .06, F(1,
134) = 8.14**
Work ethic Conscientiousness .22 .10 .19 2.27*
R² = .04, F(1,
133) = 5.15*
Desire to
generate ideas
Openness .44 .14 .27 3.17**
R² = .07, F(1,
133) = 10.02**
Think things
through
Openness .36 .12 .26 3.09**
R² = .07, F(1,
133) = 9.52**
PPRF emotional
stability
Emotional
stability
.21 .09 .19 2.27*
* p < .05. ** p < .01.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 32
Table 7
Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis for Personality Variables Predicting
Achievement Motivation
Criterion Predictors B SE(B) β t
Achievement
motivation
R² = .11, F(1,
134) = 16.56**
Extraversion .16 .04 .30 3.70**
R² = .16, F(2,
133) = 12.40**
Conscientiousness .18 .07 .21 2.60**
R² = .19, F(3,
132) = 10.62**
Openness .14 .06 .19 2.47*
* p < .05. ** p < .01.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 33
Table 8
Mediation Analysis Between Extraversion, Achievement Motivation, and General
Leadership
R R² R² change Beta
Analysis one:
General
leadership on
extraversion
.20 .04* .20*
Analysis two:
Achievement
motivation on
extraversion
.33 .11** .33**
Analysis three:
Step 1: General
leadership on
achievement
motivation
.62 .38** .62**
Step 2: General
leadership on
extraversion
.62 .38 .000 -.002
* p < .05. ** p < .01.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 34
Table 9
Mediation Analysis Between Conscientiousness, Achievement Motivation, and Ambition
R R² R² change Beta
Analysis one:
Ambition on
conscientiousness
.23 .05** .23**
Analysis two:
Achievement
motivation on
conscientiousness
.20 .04* .20*
Analysis three:
Step 1: Ambition
on achievement
motivation
.54 .30** .52**
Step 2: Ambition
on
conscientiousness
.56 .31 .02 .13
* p < .05. ** p < .01.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 35
Figure 1 illustrates the results of the mediation between extraversion,
achievement motivation, and general leadership. Figure 2 illustrates the results of the
mediation between conscientiousness, achievement motivation, and ambition.
R² = .11
.33* .62* R² = .38
(.11**)
.20* (-.002 ns)
*p < .05. ** p < .01.
Figure 1. The relationship between extraversion and general leadership as mediated by
achievement motivation.
Achievement
motivation
General
leadership Extraversion
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 36
R² = .04
.20* .52* R² = .30
(.11**)
.23* (.13 ns)
*p < .05. ** p < .01.
Figure 2. The relationship between conscientiousness and ambition as mediated by
achievement motivation.
The size of the indirect effect is calculated as the product of the direct effects of
the independent variable on the mediator variable and the mediator variable on the
dependent variable (Baron & Kenny, 1986). The indirect effect of extraversion on
general leadership (.33)(.62) = .20, and its direct effect is .20, yielding a total effect
coefficient of .40. Accordingly .20/.40, 50% of the effect of extraversion on general
leadership is mediated through achievement motivation, and .20/.40 = 50% is direct.
The indirect effect of conscientiousness on ambition (.20)(.52) = .10, and its direct effect
is .23, yielding a total effect coefficient of .33. Accordingly .10/.33, 30% of the effect of
conscientiousness on ambition is mediated through achievement motivation, and .23/.33
= 70% is direct.
The effect was significant using the Sobel test, z = 4.65, p < .001, and revealed
that achievement motivation was mediated by extraversion and general leadership. The
Conscientiousness Ambition
Achievement
motivation
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 37
effect was significant using the Sobel test, z = 2.01, p = .044, and revealed that
achievement motivation was mediated by conscientiousness and ambition.
Discussion
Personality and Career Choice
In terms of the correlations analyses, the results replicated some of the findings
of Raymark et al. (1997). These findings could help career advisors when making
recommendations to an individual as they may have a better idea of what job or career
an individual prefers based on their personality. The desire to pursue certain types of
jobs does not change in an individual but having certain personality characteristics may
predispose an individual to want to seek out a certain kind of job or career. In order to
explore this further a stepwise multiple regression analysis was also run to see what
personality traits most predict the PPRF dimensions. Constraints do not allow for a full
consideration of all the correlations and stepwise multiple regressions. However I will
discuss the ones most strongly correlated.
As hypothesised by Raymark et al. (1997) extraversion was significantly
positively correlated with general leadership. This may have been found as according to
Barrick et al. (2002) an extraverted individual are predicted to have cognitive
motivations consistent with striving for status which is similar to the Raymark et al.
(1997) definition of general leadership which included taking charge. Also Furnham et
al. (2005) described extraverts as wanting to have influence in the workplace, another
characteristic of general leadership (Raymark et al., 1997). This may indicate why
extraversion and general leadership was significantly positively correlated, as they have
similar characteristics to describe them. Therefore an individual who is extraverted may
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 38
prefer a job that allows them to pursue a leadership role. Although openness was also
found to be correlated with general leadership the stepwise multiple regression indicated
that extraversion is the sole determinant and openness adds no predictive power.
Therefore extraversion might be the best personality trait to predict if an individual
prefers to seek out a job that may require leadership.
As hypothesised by Raymark et al. (1997) extraversion was significantly
positively correlated with interest in negotiation. Extraverts are likely to strive for status
(Barrick et al., 2002) and want to have an influence in the workplace (Furnham et al.,
2005). An extravert may therefore lead the negotiations between others (Raymark et al.,
1997) in order to have their say and have an influence. In the stepwise multiple
regression it was found that extraversion was the sole determinant of interest in
negotiation, which could indicate that an individual who is extraverted might be more
likely to seek out a job that allows them to negotiate and help others negotiate.
As hypothesised by Raymark et al. (1997) conscientiousness was significantly
positively correlated with ambition. High conscientiousness means that an individual is
focused, committed to the task, and purposeful (Costa & McCrae, 1988). Ambition is
about working to excel rather than working to only perform a required task (Raymark et
al., 1997). Therefore adherence to a work ethic and ambition might have both been
significantly positively correlated to conscientiousness as the characteristics that
describe conscientiousness such as purposeful could indicate that they are likely to be
ambitious as they have a reason for completing a task rather than doing it because it is a
requirement of their job. In the stepwise multiple regression it was found that
conscientiousness was the sole determinant of ambition which may suggest that an
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 39
individual who is conscientiousness may seek out a job where they are able to work to
achieve rather than work to complete assigned tasks.
As hypothesised by Raymark et al. (1997) agreeableness was significantly
positively correlated with sensitivity to interest of others. Raymark et al. (1997)
described sensitivity to interest of others as an individual having genuine concern for
others. This definition can be seen as similar to an agreeable individual who Costa and
McCrae (1988) described as trusting and sympathetic. An individual who is trusting and
sympathetic might be thought of as genuine in their concern for others. An individual
who is agreeable is more likely to prefer working as a unified team (Barrick et al., 2002)
which could demonstrate that an agreeable individual could want everyone to agree and
get along in the team, therefore showing their sensitivity to interest of others. In the
stepwise multiple regression it was found that agreeableness was the sole determinant of
sensitivity to interest of others which may indicate that an individual who is agreeable is
more likely to seek out a job where they can engage in team projects, not be in a
competitive environment (Mount et al., 1998), and listen to others with work related
problems (Raymark et al., 1997).
As hypothesised by Raymark et al. (1997) openness was significantly positively
correlated with a desire to generate ideas. Given that individuals high in openness are
creative, curious (Barrick et al., 2002), and imaginative (Costa & McCrae, 1988) they
might prefer to come up with unconventional ideas that have been considered before
(Mount et al., 1998). Therefore an individual high in openness may prefer a job where
they are allowed to come up with their own ideas as they prefer an environment where
they can be stimulated and have the potential to grow (Barrick et al., 2002).
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 40
There were some results that differed from what Raymark et al. (1997)
hypothesised. A reason for these differences is that Raymark et al. (1997) used the NEO
PI-R (which has six facets to describe each of the five traits) to see which of the six
facets correlated with each of the PPRF dimensions. Therefore some of the Raymark et
al. (1997) significant findings were based on one or two of the facets correlating with a
PPRF dimension. My study measured personality differently, using a shorter measure.
Therefore using the NEO PI-R may have allowed me to find more of the same results as
Raymark et al. (1997).
Openness and interest in negotiation which Raymark et al. (1997) hypothesised
to be significantly correlated was found to be non-significant. The reason for this may
have been that openness and interest in negotiation might not be related in the first
place. For example an individual high in openness is willing to consider different
approaches (Barrick & Mount, 1991) and so may not want to negotiate. They might be
happy to try a new approach to solving a problem or completing a task and so not see
the need to try and convince others to come to an agreement. Instead they may think that
everyone has good ideas that could work as individuals high in openness were also
found to be adventurous (Costa & McCrae, 1988). Therefore an open individual may
prefer to work in a job where negotiations are not always needed as employees are
willing to try new ideas.
Extraversion and ambition which Raymark et al. (1997) hypothesised to be
significantly correlated was found to be non-significant. An individual high in
extraversion was found to be sociable and adventurous (Barrick et al., as cited in
Digman, 1990). An individual who is ambitious is described as focused on their job and
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 41
wants to achieve (Raymark et al., 1997). The correlation between extraversion and
ambition may have been non-significant as an extraverted individual might prefer a job
where they can be sociable. Therefore an extraverted individual might be seen as less
concerned with achieving when compared to an individual high in ambition who is
focused on the their job and not on socialising.
Conscientiousness and general trustworthiness which Raymark et al. (1997)
hypothesised to be significantly correlated was found to be non-significant. This could
be because general trustworthiness is considered a distinctive trait from
conscientiousness (Moberg, 1997) and therefore may not be related to begin with.
Therefore it may have been feasible to find a non-significant correlation between
general trustworthiness and conscientiousness.
Other correlations which differed from what Raymark et al. (1997) hypothesised
included agreeableness and friendly disposition, conscientiousness and thoroughness
and attentiveness to details, and agreeableness and conscientiousness and cooperative or
collaborative work tendency. It may have been expected that agreeableness and friendly
disposition could have been significantly positively correlated as an individual high in
agreeableness is more likely to have social jobs at work (Touze, 2005) and having a
friendly disposition involves being social in the workplace (Raymark et al., 1997). It
may have also been expected that conscientiousness and thoroughness and attentiveness
to details was significantly positively correlated as an individual high in
conscientiousness is thorough (Costa & McCrae, 1988) which is part of the description
of thoroughness and attentiveness to details. Agreeableness and conscientiousness could
have both been expected to be significantly positively correlated with cooperative or
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 42
collaborative work tendency as a cooperative or collaborative work tendency is
described as an employee preferring to work with one or more employees to complete
an assigned project (Raymark et al., 1997). This fits with the description of an agreeable
individual as Mount et al. (1998) found that agreeable individuals preferred team
oriented jobs. This also fits with the description of a conscientiousness individual as
they may prefer to work as a team in order to receive recognition for doing well
(Furnham et al., 2005). Therefore these correlations may have been non-significant as
there was a restricted range of responses for participants to choose from. The
participants were forced to choose a response even if they did not agree with any of the
options. This could have led to responses that might not have been a true reflection of
the participant’s views.
Achievement Motivation and Personality
Results from my study give support for achievement motivation being
significantly positively correlated with extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness.
This supports previous research by De Guzman et al. (as cited in Komarraju et al., 2009)
who found that extraversion and conscientiousness were positively correlated with
achievement motivation and Dweck and Leggett (1988) who found openness to
positively correlate with achievement motivation. Therefore this may indicate that
individuals who are extraverted, conscientious, and open are more likely to be high in
achievement motivation.
As hypothesised by De Guzman et al. (as cited in Komarraju et al., 2009)
extraversion and achievement motivation was significantly positively correlated. An
extraverted individual attracted to enriched jobs (Furnham et al., 2005). An individual
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 43
high in achievement motivation usually finds their current responsibilities inadequate so
consider new responsibilities to fix this (Kuhl, 1978). Therefore an extraverted
individual may prefer a job that is stimulating and allows them to take on more
responsibility if they feel their current responsibilities are insufficient.
As hypothesised by De Guzman et al. (as cited in Komarraju et al., 2009)
conscientiousness and achievement motivation was significantly positively correlated.
As discussed previously conscientiousness was significantly positively correlated with
ambition. Ambition is a characteristic of achievement motivation (Tutar et al., 2011) and
therefore conscientiousness could be expected to be correlated with achievement
motivation if conscientiousness was found to be correlated with ambition. Therefore an
individual who is conscientious might prefer a job where they can have regular and
continuous work, work ambitiously (Tutar et al., 2011), and attain high performance
goals (Hart & Albarracin, 2009) as these are characteristics of achievement motivation.
As hypothesised by Dweck and Leggett (1988) openness and achievement
motivation was significantly positively correlated. The reason could be that an
individual who is open is creative and prefers work environments that offer stimulation
(Dweck & Leggett, 1988). These are also characteristics of an individual high in
achievement motivation (Epstein & Harackiewicz, as cited in Tutar et al., 2011).
Therefore an individual high in openness may prefer a job where they can be creative
which will keep them stimulated, a characteristic of an individual high in achievement
motivation (Tutar et al., 2011).
As found by Bergner et al. (2010) agreeableness was non-significantly correlated
with achievement motivation. The reason for this could be that agreeableness is the least
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 44
relevant of the five personality traits (Bergner et al., 2010) and so may not be important
in determining if an individual will be high in achievement motivation. Emotional
stability was also non-significantly correlated with achievement motivation. The reason
for this could be that emotionally stable individuals are less likely to be concerned with
achieving compared to individuals who are low in emotional stability (Eggens et al.,
2010). Since individuals who are low in emotional stability are easily overwhelmed they
are more likely to work harder in their job to try and fix this and therefore compared to
emotionally stable individuals might be more concerned about achieving (Eggens et al.,
2010).
In the stepwise multiple regression it was found that extraversion,
conscientiousness, and openness were the determinants of achievement motivation.
From examining the beta weights it is evident that extraversion has the largest followed
by openness, and then conscientiousness. Extraversion contributes the most in
explaining the variance as it has the highest beta weight. Therefore extraversion might
be the best personality trait to predict if an individual is high in achievement motivation.
Achievement Motivation and Career Choice
Constraints do not allow for a full consideration of all correlations between
achievement motivation and career choice. However the most strongly correlated will be
discussed. The significant positive relationship between achievement motivation and
general leadership supports the argument by McClelland (as cited in Collins et al., 2004)
that individuals high in achievement motivation were more attracted to management
positions within a business setting than to other types of positions. Therefore individuals
high in achievement motivation might prefer leadership roles in an organisation
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 45
compared to individuals low in achievement motivation as they have more of a need to
be competitive and strive for perfection and opportunities (Kaplan & Maehr, 1999).
As hypothesised by Tutar et al. (2011) achievement motivation and ambition was
significantly positively correlated. This might be because individuals high in
achievement motivation are more likely to have strong instincts of achieving individual
success (Epstein & Harackiewicz, as cited in Tutar et al., 2011), believe they can
succeed even when completing a difficult task (Salami, 2004), and work ambitiously
(Tutar et al., 2011), which all demonstrate characteristics of being ambitious (Raymark
et al., 1997). Therefore an individual high in achievement motivation may prefer a job
or career where they can be ambitious, be challenged and set performance goals in order
to improve on previous performances (Raymark et al., 1997).
Achievement motivation was significantly positively correlated to adherence to a
work ethic which supports Epstein and Harackiewicz (as cited in Tutar et al., 2011) who
found that individuals high in achievement motivation had strong instincts of achieving
organisational success. This fits with the Raymark et al. (1997) definition of adherence
to a work ethic which included a definition of an individual wanting to put the
organisations goals high on their priority list. Therefore an individual who is high in
achievement motivation and adheres to a work ethic may prefer a job where they are
able to achieve individual success and also help the organisation achieve success
(Epstein & Harackiewicz, as cited in Tutar et al., 2011).
Personality, Achievement Motivation, and Career Choice
A mediation was run between extraversion, achievement motivation, and general
leadership and between conscientiousness, achievement motivation, and ambition. It
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 46
was evident that a full mediation occurred as the correlation between the independent
variable and the dependent variable was reduced to a non significant level when the
mediator was controlled for (Kenny, 2011).
It is evident that 50% of the effect of extraversion on general leadership was
mediated through achievement motivation and 50% was direct. This indicates that
extraversion was linked to achievement motivation and then achievement motivation
determined general leadership. For the mediation between conscientiousness,
achievement motivation, and ambition it was evident that 30% of the effect of
conscientiousness on ambition was mediated through achievement motivation and 70%
was direct. This indicates that conscientiousness was linked to achievement motivation
and then achievement motivation determined ambition. Therefore this indicates that
personality, on at least two occasions was related to career choice but indirectly through
achievement motivation.
The mediation indicated that being extraverted leads to one being high in
achievement motivation and subsequently being high in achievement motivation leads to
one being a leader. For example an extraverted individual is assertive (Barrick et al., as
cited in Digman, 1990) and prefers enriched jobs (Furnham et al., 2005) which indicates
they might be high in achievement motivation as they are self-confident and find their
current responsibilities inadequate and so consider new responsibilities to fix this (Kuhl,
1978). This self-confidence and wanting new responsibilities may draw an individual to
apply for a leadership role in a job. Therefore achievement motivation and general
leadership are linked.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 47
In the second mediation I found that being conscientious leads to one being high
in achievement motivation and subsequently being high in achievement motivation leads
one to being ambitious. For example a conscientiousness individual is determined,
hardworking, and strives to achievement (Costa & McCrae, 1988) which indicates they
might be more likely to be high in achievement motivation as they want to achieve
(Kaplan & Maehr, 1999). Striving to achieve could then indicate that an individual is
ambitious as Raymark et al. (1997) described ambition as wanting to achieve. Therefore
achievement motivation and ambition are linked.
These results may help an organisation determine what type of worker an
employee might be and what job best suits them based on their personality and whether
they are high or low in achievement motivation. An organisation may then be able to
better predict an employee’s performance as they are more likely to have placed them in
a suitable position. However this could bring up the issue of efficacy as if an
organisation uses assessments to help predict personality and type of work that is most
suitable for an employee then an employee’s performance could be expected to improve.
This therefore could make an organisation more accountable if the employee’s
performance does not improve or is worse than expected. Another implication for these
findings is that career advisors could use assessments to determine an individual’s
personality and achievement motivation level to help indicate the type of job or career
that might be best suited to that individual.
Limitations
Although my study has reached its aims there are some unavoidable limitations.
The first is regarding the sample used as it was mainly Murdoch University psychology
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 48
students, and so was not a representative sample. Therefore the results of my study may
not be generalisable. However there has been debate around this and a counter argument
which suggests that with increasing numbers and more of a variety of individuals
attending university over the years this limitation may not be as significant as it used to
be as a representative sample can appear from using mainly university students in a
study (Hummel, Whatley, Monetti, Briihl, & Adams, 2009).
Another limitation is that my study did not use the full Big Five personality trait
measure, the NEO PI-R. If I had used the NEO PI-R to measure the five personality
traits rather than the 50-Item Set IPIP Big-Five Factor Markers I would have used more
than 10 questions to measure each of the five personality traits and therefore may have
found more of the same significant correlations that Raymark et al. (1997) found.
Another limitation is that my study did not collect descriptive data from the
participants such as age and gender. While it did not directly affect my results it might
have been useful to have this information as it could have allowed for more comparison
between the personality, achievement motivation and career choice. For example I could
have further explored the influence of age and gender on an individual’s achievement
motivation level as found by Vermeer et al. (as cited in Shekhar & Devi, 2012).
My study was based on self-reported data which can lead to biases (Visser,
Krosnick, & Lavrakas, 2000). Examples of some biases that may have occurred when
participants completed the questionnaire in my study include; selective memory,
recalling events that occurred at one time as if they occurred at another time, attributing
positive events and outcomes to one's own effort but attributing negative events and
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 49
outcomes to external forces, and exaggerating responses (Visser et al., 2000). It is
therefore important to be aware of these biases when using self-reported data.
Future Research
The mediation indicated that achievement motivation fully mediated the
relationship between extraversion and general leadership and that between
conscientiousness and ambition. Future research might consider exploring other
personality and career choice variables such as openness, which was also found to be
significantly correlated with achievement motivation and general leadership as this was
correlated with openness to see if mediation occurs. This could help organisations with
selecting and promoting individuals to the right job positions based on their personality.
Future research might also consider the type of jobs individuals have as. This
could allow for further comparison into whether individuals with similar personalities
also have similar jobs as this has been researched previously by Hogan et al. (1996).
Experience could also be explored in future research. For example an individual might
say they would like a leadership role but may not have experienced what it would be
like and so once in a leadership role may realise they do not want it. Therefore if an
individual has had experience in what they believe is their preferred career choice it is
more likely that the relationship found between personality and career choice might be
more accurate compared to if the individual only thinks this might be their preferred
career choice without having experienced it.
Conclusion
My study is one of the first to re-examine the Raymark et al. (1997) study by
exploring further into the relationship between personality and career choice. I found
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 50
that the association between personality and career choice was generally supportive of
those hypothesised by Raymark et al. (1997). Achievement motivation was found to be
significantly positively correlated to extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness. My
study also found that achievement motivation mediates the relationship between
extraversion and general leadership and that between conscientiousness and ambition.
My study may help organisations with selection and promotion and also help
career advisors have a better understanding of the relationship between personality and
career choice. By knowing an individual’s personality a career advisor could
recommend a job or career that will best match the individual. Therefore my study has
tried to show that having certain personality characteristics may predispose an
individual to want to seek out a certain kind of job or career.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 51
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Appendix A
Copy of the Personality-Related Position Requirements Form
Personality-Related Position Requirements Form
Please indicate to what extent you would like a job/career that requires you
to:
Not At
All
Very
Little
Moderately Very
Much
Extremely
1. Take control in group situation NA VL M VM E
2. Make decisions when needed NA VL M VM E
3. Motivate people to accept change NA VL M VM E
4.Negotiate on behalf of the work unit for a fair share of organisational
resources
NA VL M VM E
5. Help people in work groups settle interpersonal conflicts that interfere
with group functioning
NA VL M VM E
6. Help settle work-related problems, complaints, or disputes among
employees or organisational units
NA VL M VM E
7. Work to excel rather than work to perform assigned tasks NA VL M VM E
8. Try always to do the best possible work, not settling for work that is
merely "good enough"
NA VL M VM E
9. Seek challenging tasks NA VL M VM E
10. Interact with others in social situations where the person is representing
the organisation
NA VL M VM E
11. Arrange and host work-related social activities NA VL M VM E
DE
TE
RM
INA
NT
S O
F C
AR
EE
R C
HO
ICE
60
12. Represent and promote the organisation in social contacts away from
work
NA VL M VM E
13. Listen attentively to the work-related problems of others NA VL M VM E
14. Give constructive criticisms tactfully NA VL M VM E
15. Work with dissatisfied customers or clients NA VL M VM E
16. Work in pairs or small groups where each person's work is dependent on
or influenced by the work of others
NA VL M VM E
17. Provide assistance to clients or customers throughout the work day NA VL M VM E
18. Help co-workers solve work-related problems or reach common goals NA VL M VM E
19. Refuse to share of release confidential information NA VL M VM E
20. Make commitments and follow through on them NA VL M VM E
21. Keep one's word about doing things, even when it is inconvenient or
unpleasant to do so
NA VL M VM E
22. See things that need to be done and do them without waiting for instructions
NA VL M VM E
23. Work until a task is done rather than stopping at quitting time NA VL M VM E
24. Meet specified deadlines NA VL M VM E
25.Examine all aspects of written reports to be sure that nothing has been
omitted
NA VL M VM E
26. Inspect his or her own work (or the work of co-workers or subordinates)
carefully and in detail
NA VL M VM E
DE
TE
RM
INA
NT
S O
F C
AR
EE
R C
HO
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27. Remain attentive to details over extended periods of time NA VL M VM E
28.Adapt easily to changes in work procedures NA VL M VM E
29. Keep cool when confronted with conflicts NA VL M VM E
30. Accept unplanned changes to work schedules or priorities NA VL M VM E
31. Present unconventional ways to do things that decrease costs or improve
work effectiveness
NA VL M VM E
32. Help find solutions for the work problems of other employees or clients NA VL M VM E
33. Develop innovative approaches to old everyday problems NA VL M VM E
34. Solve complex problems one step at a time NA VL M VM E
35. Analyse past mistakes when faced with similar problems NA VL M VM E
36. Critically evaluate information presented to support a proposed decision
or course of action
NA VL M VM E
DE
TE
RM
INA
NT
S O
F C
AR
EE
R C
HO
ICE
62
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 63 63
Appendix B
Information Letter Given to Participants Regarding Research Study
Information Letter
Career Choice and Personality
Previous studies have explored the ‘personality’ of jobs but few have explored whether
personality is associated with the choice of career. We invite you to participate in a
research study exploring the relationships between career choice and personality. This
study is part of my Honours Degree in Psychology, supervised by Dr Graeme Ditchburn
at Murdoch University.
What the Study will Involve
If you decide to participate in this study you will need to be currently employed. You
will be asked to complete an anonymous online questionnaire which will take
approximately 25 minutes to complete. The link to complete the online questionnaire is
http://scored.murdoch.edu.au/survey/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=961Mn73
Voluntary Participation and Withdrawal from the Study
Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary and you may withdraw at any time
without discrimination or prejudice. All information is treated as confidential and no
names or other details that might identify you will be collected for this study.
Once you have submitted your questionnaire online your data cannot be withdrawn due
to the lack of any identifiable information.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 64
Benefits of the Study
It is possible that there may be no direct benefit to you from participation in this study.
While there is no guarantee that you will personally benefit, the knowledge gained from
your participation may help others in the future with regards to their career choices.
Possible Risks
There are no specific risks anticipated with participation in this study.
If you have any questions about this study please feel free to contact either myself,
Robyn Glaser at [email protected] or my supervisor, Dr Graeme
Ditchburn, on (08) 9360 2775. My supervisor and I are happy to discuss with you any
concerns you may have about this study.
Once we have analysed the information from this study a summary of the findings will
be put on the School of Psychology research results page. This will be done by
November, 2012:
http://www.psychology.murdoch.edu.au/researchresults/research_results.html
Thank you for your assistance with this research study.
Sincerely
Robyn Glaser
62
This study has been approved by the Murdoch University Human Research Ethics
Committee (Approval 2012/072). If you have any reservation or complaint about the
ethical conduct of this research, and wish to talk with an independent person, you may
contact Murdoch University’s Research Ethics Office (Tel. 08 9360 6677 or e-mail
[email protected]). Any issues you raise will be treated in confidence and
investigated fully, and you will be informed of the outcome.
Appendix C
Copy of the 50-Item Set International Personality Item Pool Big-Five Factor Markers
Describe yourself as you generally are now, not as you wish to be in the future. Describe yourself as honestly as you see yourself, in
relation to other people you know of the same sex as you are, and roughly your same age. So that you describe yourself in an honest
manner, your responses will be kept in absolute confidence.
50-Item Set IPIP Big-Five Factor Markers
Very
Inaccurate
Moderately
Inaccurate
Neither
Accurate Nor
Inaccurate
Moderately
Accurate
Very
Accurate
1. Am the life of the party VI MI N MA VA
2. Feel little concern for others VI MI N MA VA
3. Am always prepared VI MI N MA VA
4. Get stressed out easily VI MI N MA VA
5. Have a rich vocabulary VI MI N MA VA
6. Don't talk a lot VI MI N MA VA
7. Am interested in people VI MI N MA VA
74
DE
TE
RM
INA
NT
S O
F C
AR
EE
R C
HO
ICE
65
8. Leave my belongings around VI MI N MA VA
9. Am relaxed most of the time VI MI N MA VA
10. Have difficulty understanding abstract ideas VI MI N MA VA
11. Feel comfortable around people VI MI N MA VA
12. Insult people VI MI N MA VA
13. Pay attention to details VI MI N MA VA
14. Worry about things VI MI N MA VA
15. Have a vivid imagination VI MI N MA VA
16. Keep in the background VI MI N MA VA
17. Sympathise with other's feelings VI MI N MA VA
18. Make a mess of things VI MI N MA VA
19. Seldom feel blue VI MI N MA VA
20. Am not interested in abstract ideas VI MI N MA VA
21. Start conversations VI MI N MA VA
22. Am not interested in other people's problems VI MI N MA VA
DE
TE
RM
INA
NT
S O
F C
AR
EE
R C
HO
ICE
66
23. Get chores done right away VI MI N MA VA
24. Am easily disturbed VI MI N MA VA
25. Have excellent ideas VI MI N MA VA
26. Have little to say VI MI N MA VA
27. Have a soft heart VI MI N MA VA
28. Often forget to put things back in their proper place VI MI N MA VA
29. Get upset easily VI MI N MA VA
30. Do not have a good imagination VI MI N MA VA
31. Talk to a lot of different people at parties VI MI N MA VA
32. Am not really interested in others VI MI N MA VA
33. Like order VI MI N MA VA
34. Change my mood a lot VI MI N MA VA
35. Am quick to understand things VI MI N MA VA
36. Don't like to draw attention to myself VI MI N MA VA
37. Take time out for others VI MI N MA VA
DE
TE
RM
INA
NT
S O
F C
AR
EE
R C
HO
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67
38. Shirk my duties VI MI N MA VA
39. Have frequent mood swings VI MI N MA VA
40. Use difficult words VI MI N MA VA
41. Don't mind being the center of attention VI MI N MA VA
42. Feel others' emotions VI MI N MA VA
43. Follow a schedule VI MI N MA VA
44. Get irritated easily VI MI N MA VA
45. Spend time reflecting on things VI MI N MA VA
46. Am quiet around strangers VI MI N MA VA
47. Make people feel at ease VI MI N MA VA
48. Am exacting in my work VI MI N MA VA
49. Often feel blue VI MI N MA VA
50. Am full of ideas VI MI N MA VA
DE
TE
RM
INA
NT
S O
F C
AR
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Appendix D
Copy of the Cassidy and Lynn Achievement Motivation Scale
Achievement Motivation Scale
Strongly
Agree
Moderately
Agree
Moderately
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
1. I can easily sit for a long time doing nothing SA MA MD SD
2. I must admit I often do as little work as I can get away with SA MA MD SD
3. I am basically a lazy person SA MA MD SD
4. I like to work hard SA MA MD SD
5. If there is an opportunity to earn money, I am usually there SA MA MD SD
6. I would be willing to work for a salary that was below average if the
job was pleasant
SA MA MD SD
7. I frequently think about what I might do to earn a great deal of money SA MA MD SD
8. It is important to me to make lots of money SA MA MD SD
9. I think I would enjoy having authority over other people SA MA MD SD
10. If given the chance I would make a good leader of people SA MA MD SD
DE
TE
RM
INA
NT
S O
F C
AR
EE
R C
HO
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69
11. I think I am usually a leader in my group SA MA MD SD
12. I enjoy planning things and deciding what other people should do SA MA MD SD
13. I hate to see bad workmanship SA MA MD SD
14. Part of the satisfaction in doing something comes from seeing how
good the finished product looks
SA MA MD SD
15. I get a sense of satisfaction out of being able to say I have done a
very good job on a project
SA MA MD SD
16. There is satisfaction in a job well done SA MA MD SD
17. It annoys me when other people perform better than I do SA MA MD SD
18. If I get a good result, it doesn’t matter if others do better SA MA MD SD
19. To be a real success I feel I have to do better than everyone I come
up against
SA MA MD SD
20. It is important to me to perform better than others on a task SA MA MD SD
21. I would like an important job where people look up to me SA MA MD SD
22. I like to be admired for my achievements SA MA MD SD
23. I like to have people come to me for advice SA MA MD SD
24. I find satisfaction in having influence over others because of my
position in the community
SA MA MD SD
25. I would rather do something at which I feel confident and relaxed
than something which is challenging and difficult
SA MA MD SD
72
DE
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R C
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70
26. I would rather learn easy fun games than difficult thought games SA MA MD SD
27. I prefer to work in situations that require a high level of skill SA MA MD SD
28. I more often attempt tasks that I am not sure I can do than tasks I know I can do
SA MA MD SD
71
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ET
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OF
CA
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OIC
E
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 72 72
Appendix E
Bivariate Correlations Between Achievement Motivation and Personality
1 2 3 4 5 6
1.Extraversion - .15 -.03 .20* .21* .33**
2.Agreeableness - .17* .25** .01 -.03
3.Conscientiousness - .06 .15 .20*
4.Openness - .006 .28**
5.Emotional stability - -.11
6.Achievement motivation -
* p < .05. ** p < .01.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 73
Appendix F
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Copy of Instructions to Authors
Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed
below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned
without review.
Submission
Submit manuscripts to the appropriate section editor.
Attitudes and Social Cognition:
Submit manuscripts electronically to the Attitudes and Social Cognition section
Eliot R. Smith
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Indiana University
1101 E. Tenth St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-7007
General correspondence may be directed to the Editor's Office.
Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes:
Submit manuscripts electronically to the Interpersonal Relations and Group
Processes section
Jeffry A. Simpson, PhD
Department of Psychology
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 74
University of Minnesota
75 East River Road N394
Elliott Hall
Minneapolis, MN 55455
General correspondence may be directed to the Editor's Office.
Personality Processes and Individual Differences:
Submit manuscripts electronically to the Personality Processes and Individual
Differences section
Laura A. King, PhD
Department of Psychological Sciences
University of Missouri
McAlester Hall
Columbia, MO 65211
General correspondence may be directed to the Editor's Office.
Section editors reserve the right to redirect papers as appropriate. When papers are
judged as better suited for another section, editors ordinarily will return papers to
authors and suggest resubmission to the more appropriate section. Rejection by one
section editor is considered rejection by all; therefore a manuscript rejected by one
section editor should not be submitted to another.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 75
In addition to addresses and phone numbers, please supply electronic mail addresses and
fax numbers, if available, for potential use by the editorial office and later by the
production office.
Keep a copy of the manuscript to guard against loss.
Masked Review Policy
The Attitudes and Social Cognition section and the Interpersonal Relations and Group
Processes section have adopted a policy of masked review for all submissions. The
cover letter should include all authors' names and institutional affiliations. The first page
of text should omit this information but should include the title of the manuscript and
the date it is submitted. Every effort should be made to see that the manuscript itself
contains no clues to the authors' identity.
Masked reviews will be done on all submissions to the Personality Processes and
Individual Differences section unless unmasked review is requested by the author. This
request should be included in the submission letter.
Manuscript Preparation
Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th
edition). Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free
language (see Chapter 3 of the Publication Manual).
Review APA's Checklist for Manuscript Submission before submitting your article.
If your manuscript was mask reviewed, please ensure that the final version for
production includes a byline and full author note for typesetting.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 76
Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on
preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual.
Below are additional instructions regarding the preparation of display equations and
tables.
Display Equations
We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor
3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the
equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with
the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low resolution
graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter,
which may introduce errors.
To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:
Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.
If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or
2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert
this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation
from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is
correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your
Word file as a MathType Equation.
Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be
produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 77
Tables
Use Word's Insert Table function when you create tables. Using spaces or tabs in your
table will create problems when the table is typeset and may result in errors.
Submitting Supplemental Materials
APA can now place supplementary materials online, available via the published article
in the PsycARTICLES® database. Please see Supplementing Your Article With Online
Material for more details.
Abstract and Keywords
All manuscripts must include an abstract containing a maximum of 250 words typed on
a separate page. After the abstract, please supply up to five keywords or brief phrases.
References
List references in alphabetical order. Each listed reference should be cited in text, and
each text citation should be listed in the References section.
Examples of basic reference formats:
Journal Article:
Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the
survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225–229. doi:
10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225
Authored Book:
Mitchell, T. R., & Larson, J. R., Jr. (1987). People in organizations: An introduction to
organizational behavior (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 78
Chapter in an Edited Book:
Bjork, R. A. (1989). Retrieval inhibition as an adaptive mechanism in human memory.
In H. L. Roediger III & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.), Varieties of memory & consciousness (pp.
309–330). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Figures
Graphics files are welcome if supplied as Tiff, EPS, or PowerPoint files. The minimum
line weight for line art is 0.5 point for optimal printing.
When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.
Original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion
provided the author agrees to pay
$255 for one figure
$425 for two figures
$575 for three figures
$675 for four figures
$55 for each additional figure
Permissions
Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide to the editor on final acceptance all
necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work,
including, for example, test materials (or portions thereof) and photographs of people.
Download Permissions Alert Form (PDF, 47KB)
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 79
Publication Policies
APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent
consideration by two or more publications.
See also APA Journals® Internet Posting Guidelines.
APA requires authors to reveal any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and
reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by
pharmaceutical companies for drug research).
Download Disclosure of Interests Form (PDF, 38KB)
Authors of accepted manuscripts are required to transfer the copyright to APA.
Download Publication Rights (Copyright Transfer) Form (PDF, 83KB)
Ethical Principles
It is a violation of APA Ethical Principles to publish "as original data, data that have
been previously published" (Standard 8.13).
In addition, APA Ethical Principles specify that "after research results are published,
psychologists do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other
competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis
and who intend to use such data only for that purpose, provided that the confidentiality
of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning proprietary data
preclude their release" (Standard 8.14).
APA expects authors to adhere to these standards. Specifically, APA expects authors to
have their data available throughout the editorial review process and for at least 5 years
after the date of publication.
DETERMINANTS OF CAREER CHOICE 80
Authors are required to state in writing that they have complied with APA ethical
standards in the treatment of their sample, human or animal, or to describe the details of
treatment.
Download Certification of Compliance With APA Ethical Principles Form (PDF, 26KB)
The APA Ethics Office provides the full Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct electronically on their website in HTML, PDF, and Word format. You may
also request a copy by emailing or calling the APA Ethics Office (202-336-5930). You
may also read "Ethical Principles," December 1992, American Psychologist, Vol. 47,
pp. 1597–1611.
Other Information
Appeals Process for Manuscript Submissions
Preparing Auxiliary Files for Production
Document Deposit Procedures for APA Journals