Convergence of Personality Frameworks Within Vocational Psychology

Although the topic of personality has important connections to vocational behavior, the coverage of this construct has not been consistent. Pioneers such as Gordon Allport and Henry Murray established methods of studying personality from diverse perspectives that emphasized traits (Allport, 1937) while including holistic and dynamic ideas from depth psychology that incorporate interpretation of motives through idiographic methods (Murray, 1938). Raymond Cattell (1943) later advanced personality measurement and theory through factor analytic techniques and trait taxonomies. These approaches led to important advances in understanding how characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors may be applied to vocational settings, especially for personnel selection and placement in military, educational, and industrial-organizational contexts (Danziger, 1990). Driven by broader forces within psychology during the mid-twentieth century, especially the rise of behaviorism and Mischel’s (1968) Personality and Assessment, which challenged the very concept of a personality trait, the field of personality psychology made limited progress due to a polarization between various research camps (Hogan and Roberts, 2001). This trend changed in part due to the ongoing advances in research examining traits and the wide acceptance of the Big Five traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) since the 1980s (Goldberg, 1993). These broad factors have been discovered through factor analyses and have been influential in vocational psychology theory and assessment. Vocational psychologists have built a substantial literature applying the Five Factor Model (FFM) to career choice, selection, and satisfaction (Barrick and Mount, 1995; Walsh and Eggerth, 2005) as well as demonstrating connections with vocational interests (Larson, Rottinghaus, and Borgen, 2002; Mount, Barrick, Scullen, and Rounds, 2005). Yet personality researchers from differing perspectives acknowledge that the concept of personality is much more extensive than traits alone, including biological factors, needs, motives, objective biography, the role of culture, and how transactions between these factors coalesce into a coherent, though somewhat malleable, personality system (McAdams, 1995, 2008; McCrae and Costa, 1996, 2008). Contemporary views on personality also incorporate a merging of the person and environment to involve the influence of daily events that affect psychological states, and ultimately inform personality development (Roberts, 2009). Thefield of personality psychology has gradually moved towards an integrated understanding of the person (McAdams and Olson, 2010). These integrative frameworks provide a more sophisticated and nuanced view of personality that moves beyond the narrow scope of trait theories and expands insights for vocational psychology research and career counseling practice. In this chapter we summarize theory and research on integrative approaches to understanding personality, and argue that the field of vocational psychology can follow recent integrative models conceptualizing personality from diverse perspectives that enable a more intricate and comprehensive understanding of how people view themselves. In particular, we propose a framework that incorporates ideas from McAdams and Pals’ (2006; McAdams, 1995, 2008) New Big Five (NBF) framework and McCrae and Costa’s (2008) Five Factor Theory (FFT) of Personality to consider how personality relates to vocational behavior. These integrative views acknowledge the roles of stability and change in personality by encompassing diverse factors that contribute to how people define themselves. Particularly, we adapt terms from the NBF framework as it presents a balanced synthesis of the various personality domains. Research and practice addressing personality in vocational psychology typically focuses on traits alone, but we suggest expansion by incorporating related components within a personality system that link with ongoing programs of research in the field. Consistent with trends in personality psychology, the concept of personality has not been emphasized throughout earlier versions of the Handbook of Vocational Psychology. Indeed, throughout the years many leaders in the field would not acknowledge personality as relevant, whereas others, like Holland (1997), viewed interests as tantamount to personality (Borgen, 1999). In the third edition, Walsh and Eggerth (2005) examined personality research in relation to vocational behavior, primarily examining the use of the Five Factor Model (FFM; Digman, 1990) in predicting consequential outcomes such as job performance, job satisfaction, and subjective well-being. Although critical highlights from trait research on vocationally relevant outcomes are reiterated herein, we supplement this work by addressing additional insights from the personality literature. Drawing on several prominent integrative personality models, we take a different approach by considering additional aspects of personality that contribute to career choice and development (e.g., motives, goals, life stories). In the first section, we provide a basic overview of the domain of personality and how this applies to vocational research. Next, we present an interdisciplinary framework outlining what we believe are essential elements to the personality system. Consistent with most vocational psychology research, the trait perspective is central to this conceptualization and we briefly highlight affiliated personality assessments that are used in research and practice. However, following recent trends in personality psychology (Barenbaum and Winter, 2008; Roberts, 2009) we incorporate concepts from both trait models and social cognitive approaches into a more holistic view of personality that can guide vocational psychology research and practice. Indeed, personality is more broad and dynamic than the Big Five traits alone (McAdams, 2008). Throughout this chapter we emphasize empirical research in vocational psychology that addresses personality within the context of this framework. A section is dedicated to key personality studies within vocational psychology since 2005. We conclude with suggestions for future research and practice endeavors.