The power of vocational interests and interest congruence in predicting career success

Su, Rong

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/34329 Copy

Description

Title

The power of vocational interests and interest congruence in predicting career success

Author(s)

Su, Rong

Issue Date

2012-09-18T21:11:39Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Rounds, James

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Rounds, James

Committee Member(s)

• Drasgow, Fritz
• Hubert, Lawrence J.
• Newman, Daniel A.
• Roberts, Brent W.

Department of Study

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Vocational Interests
• Person-Environmental Fit
• Incremental Validity
• Performance
• Career Success
• Gender Difference

Abstract

The present dissertation examined the incremental validity of vocational interests beyond cognitive ability and personality for predicting academic achievement and career success. Analysis of a national longitudinal survey, Project TALENT (Wise, McLaughlin, & Steel, 1979), showed that interests were the most influential contributor to income, even within occupational groups and after controlling for occupational prestige. Interests were also found to be powerful predictors of college grades, college persistence, degree attainment, and occupational prestige. The effects of interest congruence were examined using polynomial regression and response surface methodology (Edwards, 2002). In most cases, interest congruence was positively associated with academic achievement and career success. Interest congruence in Science was particularly important for better college grades, great likelihood of persistence, and a higher income. Lastly, a moderated mediation model for career success was developed and tested. Number of children had negative effects on income and occupational prestige, for women in particular. Interests mediated the effect of gender on career success and were found to be fundamental channels through which gender operates and influences career outcomes. Degree attainment mediated the effects of interests, ability, and personality on career success and was an essential pathway for individuals to attain prestigious occupations. Results from the present dissertation have implications for the research on person-environment fit, measurement of individual differences, personnel selection, and provide insight for the debate on the causes of differential career attainment for men and women.

Graduation Semester

2012-08

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/34329

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2012 Rong Su

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