In the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, 16-year-old high school students decide whether to stay in school to pursue an academic career or participate in vocational training. A new study provides evidence that the path they choose affects their personality years later.
The team focused on two groups of 16-year-olds in Baden-Wurttemberg. The former chose to take apprenticeships or other vocational training programmes; the second continued in school and entered the labor market after completing higher education. At the start of the study, and again six years later, researchers asked participants to rate themselves on multiple measures, including personality traits and occupational interests. The team used a technique called propensity score matching to match the characteristics of the two groups of subjects.
The study found that after six years, self-reported conscientiousness increased more among those in vocational training than their peers in academia. Those in vocational education have also shown less interest in undertaking scientific, business or entrepreneurial activities.
“This means that those who have not continued their education lose interest in jobs normally promoted by attending university,” said the researcher.
The new research adds to the mounting evidence that personality is not immutable, but changes through life. The changes are often subtle, but meaningful. The evidence suggests that many of those changes are the result of one's life choices.
“This study provides the strongest evidence we have to date that the path you choose can change your personality,” said the researcher.
