The the effects of educational experiences

THE EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES ON PERSONALITY TRAIT DEVELOPMENT

BY
JOSHUA J. JACKSON

DISSERTATION
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology in the Graduate College of the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011

Urbana, Illinois
Doctoral Committee:
Professor Brent Roberts, Chair
Associate Professor R. Chris Fraley
Professor Eva Pomerantz
Professor Jim Rounds
Associate Professor Edelyn Verona

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ABSTRACT
Recent research suggests that educational experiences lead to positive outcomes for reasons other than gains in cognitive abilities. Specifically, non-cognitive skills (i.e. personality traits) may change as a result of educational experiences (Heckman et al., 2010). To date, the idea that educational experiences contribute to changes in personality traits has received very little empirical support. The current study examines the relationship between educational experiences and personality trait development in a large German sample across four waves beginning in high school and throughout college. Findings suggest that personality traits in high school predict the type of educational experiences students have in college. Secondly, a number of educational experiences are associated with changes in personality traits. For example, going to class and spending more time on one’s homework is associated with increases in conscientiousness while having fewer stressful experiences are associated with decreases in neuroticism. Similarly, changes in educational experiences are associated with changes in personality traits, suggesting a reciprocal relationship between educational experiences and personality traits. Finally, a series of auto-regressive and auto-regressive latent trajectory (ALT) models found evidence that educational experiences can lead to changes in personality traits and vice-versa. Overall, this study suggests that educational
contexts

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