Conclusions
We here presented studies from the personality and development fields that provide evidence for reciprocal relations
between personality and work across different career stages. First, graduation from high school was identified as one
of the primary transitional experiences in an individual’s prevocational life calling for personality changes in the
direction of greater maturity. In the same line, college experiences are predicted by and predict personality traits,
and different life paths (educational vs vocational tracks) during this demographically dense period of emerging
adulthood seem to play a significant role therein. When eventually entering the labor market, occupational choices
are made that generally serve to reinforce and deepen those personal characteristics that got people selected into
these work environments in the first place, a mechanism referred to as the corresponsive principle. Similarly, certain
traits, such as emotional stability, predict the establishment of career success, a process that in turn contributes to
normative personality development (e.g., increases in emotional stability).
Findings such as these are consistent with the perspective we have previously adopted: Different stages of
vocational development present dynamic and specific challenges to individuals relevant for personality development,
and successful work role investment generally elicits trait changes in the direction of greater functional maturity.
However, as we will discuss later, the relatively small amount of research that is available on this topic at the same
time calls for a number of refinements of this theoretical perspective to make it a promising avenue for future research
and theory building in IWO settings
Conclusions
We here presented studies from the personality and development fields that provide evidence for reciprocal relations
between personality and work across different career stages. First, graduation from high school was identified as one
of the primary transitional experiences in an individual’s prevocational life calling for personality changes in the
direction of greater maturity. In the same line, college experiences are predicted by and predict personality traits,
and different life paths (educational vs vocational tracks) during this demographically dense period of emerging
adulthood seem to play a significant role therein. When eventually entering the labor market, occupational choices
are made that generally serve to reinforce and deepen those personal characteristics that got people selected into
these work environments in the first place, a mechanism referred to as the corresponsive principle. Similarly, certain
traits, such as emotional stability, predict the establishment of career success, a process that in turn contributes to
normative personality development (e.g., increases in emotional stability).
Findings such as these are consistent with the perspective we have previously adopted: Different stages of
vocational development present dynamic and specific challenges to individuals relevant for personality development,
and successful work role investment generally elicits trait changes in the direction of greater functional maturity.
However, as we will discuss later, the relatively small amount of research that is available on this topic at the same
time calls for a number of refinements of this theoretical perspective to make it a promising avenue for future research
and theory building in IWO settings
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