THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS, GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY, AND CAREER SUCCESS ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN

TLDR

Career success comprises intrinsic success (job satisfaction) and extrinsic success (income and occupational status). The study investigated how the Big Five personality traits and general mental ability relate to career success. Data came from the Intergenerational Studies, a set of three longitudinal studies tracking participants from early childhood to retirement. Conscientiousness positively predicted both intrinsic and extrinsic career success, neuroticism negatively predicted extrinsic success, general mental ability positively predicted extrinsic success, and both childhood and adulthood Big Five measures contributed unique variance beyond general mental ability, with adulthood measures showing stronger relationships.

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship of traits from the 5‐factor model of personality (often termed the “Big Five”) and general mental ability with career success. Career success was argued to be comprised of intrinsic success (job satisfaction) and extrinsic success (income and occupational status) dimensions. Data were obtained from the Intergenerational Studies, a set of 3 studies that followed participants from early childhood to retirement. The most general findings were that conscientiousness positively predicted intrinsic and extrinsic career success, neuroticism negatively predicted extrinsic success, and general mental ability positively predicted extrinsic career success. Personality was related to career success controlling for general mental ability and, though adulthood measures of the Big Five traits were more strongly related to career success than were childhood measures, both contributed unique variance in explaining career success.