Examining the Effects of Work on Personality Trait Change in Young Adulthood

工作在许多人的生活中扮演着重要的角色，影响着成年人的个性发展。我们知道，成年人性格最重大的变化发生在个人进入职场的时候；这些变化与奖励结构和工作环境的期望是一致的。但我们对将职场经历与人格特质改变联系起来的具体机制知之甚少。本项目将评估工作的复杂影响，包括缺乏定期或有意义的工作，对年轻人人格特质发展的影响。这项研究的结果将显示找工作和在工作场所取得成功所需要的技能，并提供有关失业和就业不足对个性发展影响的宝贵信息。这些信息将有助于决策者确定潜在的干预措施，帮助未充分就业的工人在争取全职永久职位时更具竞争力。这个项目的结果可能对学院和大学特别有帮助，因为他们努力促进从大学到劳动力的成功过渡。该项目将对中西部一所大型大学即将进入劳动力市场的近1000名即将毕业的大四学生进行多波纵向研究。参与者将从学校所有可用的专业中征集，基线数据将在他们大学最后一个学期收集。随后的调查将在研究的头两年每六个月进行一次，以获得向劳动力过渡的详细信息。每年的调查将再进行两年，以获得有关性格特征变化、工作经历以及失业或就业不足的影响的长期信息。人格特征将在每个时间点使用自我报告和举报人报告进行评估。此外，还将收集有关参与者工作经历、对工作的感知契合度和参与度以及对家庭和社区活动的投资的信息。结构方程模型将用于检验工作经历对成人人格特质发展的影响，同时控制其他生活事件。这些分析的结果将加强对21世纪工作如何与心理和社会发展相关的理论认识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Work plays a substantial role in many individual lives and influences adult personality development. We know that the most substantial changes in adult personality occur when individuals enter the workforce; these changes are consistent with the reward structure and expectations of the work environment. But we do not know much about the specific mechanisms that link experiences in the workplace with personality trait change. This project will evaluate the complex effects of work, including the absence of regular or meaningful work, on personality trait development in young adults. The results of this research will show what skills are needed to find a job and to succeed in the workplace, and provide valuable information about the effects of unemployment and underemployment on personality development. This information will help policy makers identify potential interventions that can aid underemployed workers in becoming more competitive for full-time permanent positions. Results from this project may be especially helpful to colleges and universities as they strive to promote successful transitions from college to the workforce. The project will conduct a multi-wave longitudinal study of close to 1,000 graduating seniors from a large Midwestern university who are entering the workforce. Participants will be solicited from all available majors on campus and baseline data will be collected during their final semester in college. Subsequent surveys will be administered every six months for the first two years of the study to obtain detailed information about transitions to the workforce. Annual surveys will then be administered for two additional years to obtain longer-term information about personality trait change, workplace experiences, and the effects of unemployment or underemployment. Personality traits will be assessed at each time point using both self- and informant-reports. In addition, information will also be gathered about participant work experiences, perceived fit and engagement with their jobs, and investment in family and community activities. Structural equation modeling will be used to examine the effects of work experiences on adult personality trait development while controlling for other life events. The results of these analyses will enhance theoretical understanding of how work is related to psychological and social development in the 21st century.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.