HIGHER-ORDER DIMENSIONS OF THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND THE BIG SIX VOCATIONAL INTEREST TYPES

The purpose of this study was to identify higher-order dimensions that explain the relationships among the Big 6 interest types and the Big 5 personality traits. Meta-analyses were conducted to identify an 11 × 11 true score correlation matrix of interest and personality attributes. Cluster analysis and nonmetric multidimensional scaling were used to identify 3 dimensions that explained relations among the 11 attributes: (a) Interests versus Personality Traits; (b) Striving for Accomplishment Versus Striving for Personal Growth, and (c) Interacting with People Versus Interacting with Things. Overall, results clarified the relationships among interests and personality traits by showing that 3 rather than 2 dimensions best explain the relationships among interests and personality traits. Personality traits and vocational interests are two major, noncognitive individual difference domains in the field of psychology. Both sets of dispositional attributes are important because they influence numerous outcomes associated with work and life success. One common thread that links personality traits and vocational interests is that they influence behavior through motivational processes. That is, they influence choices individuals make about which tasks and activities to engage in, how much effort to exert on those tasks, and how long to persist with those tasks. Although psychologists have conducted hundreds of studies that investigate one or both topics, the precise nature of the linkages between the two domains remains ambiguous and controversial.