Personality and Individual Differences 45 (2008) 811815

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Personality and Individual Differences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid

Role of perfectionism and Five-Factor model traits in career indecision

Jennifer Page, Monroe A. Bruch, Richard F. Haase *
University of Albany, State University of New York, Division of Counseling Psychology, ED 220, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Although perfectionism has been linked to a variety of mental health problems, the relevance of perfec-
Received 14 April 2008 tionism in other life domains is just beginning to receive attention. Given the evidence that personality
Received in revised form 13 August 2008 plays an important role in career choice and adjustment, the present study evaluated whether aspects of
Accepted 19 August 2008
perfectionism make any unique contribution to the prediction of career indecision beyond certain traits
Available online 27 September 2008
of the Five-Factor model that may also be related to career indecision. Results showed that both maladap-
tive and adaptive perfectionism accounted for unique variance in career decision-making self-efcacy
Keywords:
beyond variance predicted by neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness. In contrast,
Perfectionism
Five-Factor model of personality
only maladaptive perfectionism accounted for unique variance in certainty of career commitment beyond
Career indecision variance predicted by neuroticism and conscientiousness. Results are discussed in terms of perfectionism,
Vocational development theory the role of personality in career indecision, and implications for career counseling.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction ment, then identication of personality characteristics that play a

Although theoretical models have conceptualized perfectionism
as having various dimensions, factor analytic studies have consis-
tently found that the item content of measures is dened by just
two factors (e.g., Bieling, Israeli, & Antony, 2004). The rst factor,
maladaptive perfectionism (MP), reects doubts and concerns
about ones decisions and the perception that others hold unrea-
sonable expectations for ones performance. The second factor,
adaptive perfectionism (AP), reects adherence to a set of stan-
dards regarding ones level of achievement in various life domains.
Research has shown that MP is linked to a number of mental health
problems, while AP is related to effective coping and positive affect
(e.g., Dibartolo, Li, & Frost, 2008).
Although MP and AP are associated with indices of psychopa-
thology and adjustment, respectively, there has been little exami-
nation of the potential relevance of perfectionism for other life
domains. However, recent research in vocational and industrial/
organizational psychology has begun to reexamine the role of per-
sonality in understanding individual differences in unsuccessful
career choice (e.g., Mount & Barrick, 1995; Tokar, Fisher, & Subich,
1998). Problems in career decision-making and commitment, or
career indecision, consist of difculties in acquiring occupational
information, in identifying and evaluating alternative career op-
tions, and in selecting and committing to a single alternative. To
the extent that certain personality traits facilitate or inhibit a per-
sons engaging in successful career decision-making and commit-
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 5184425046.
E-mail address: rfhremote@aol.com (R.F. Haase).
critical role is important.
Although there has been some research on the role of neuroti-
cism in career indecision (e.g., Slaney, 1988) not until recently
has there been a comprehensive model of personality to guide
researchers on the possible role of personality in the development
of career interests and career decision-making skills. The Five-Fac-
tor Model (FFM) of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1992; Piedmont,
1998) offers an empirically validated, taxonomic model of the
structure and nature of personality traits. One advantage in using
the FFM in studying personality and career indecision is that it of-
fers a comprehensive description of personality from which
hypotheses can be generated regarding the relevance of particular
traits for career indecision.
The purpose of the present study was to assess the unique role
of particular FFM traits plus MP and AP in predicting career indeci-
sion. Although previous research in career indecision has assessed
the role of some variables reecting neuroticism (including perfec-
tionism), this research has examined neuroticism in isolation from
other FFM traits and without separating perfectionism into its two
components. For instance, Leong and Chervinko (1996) found that
measures of anxiety, self-consciousness, and perfectionism were
inversely related to career decision-making self-efcacy. However,
when aspects of neuroticism are tested outside of the full FFM, it is
difcult to determine whether neuroticism should be given greater
or lesser weight in predicting career indecision than other poten-
tially relevant traits such as extraversion and conscientiousness.
Also, if MP, for example, is a possible facet of neuroticism, then it
is essential that its potential contribution in predicting career inde-
cision be tested after rst accounting for variance due to the higher
order trait of neuroticism. Such an analysis would help determine

0191-8869/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.paid.2008.08.013
812 J. Page et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 45 (2008) 811815
whether the more specic trait of MP has relevance for problems of
career indecision beyond that explained by the general trait of
neuroticism.
Two variables were chosen to evaluate career indecision. The
rst variable was career decision-making self-efcacy (CDMSE)
which involves the possession of self-efcacy beliefs regarding
ones own decision-making competencies for such tasks as accu-
rate self-appraisal, gathering occupational information, goal
selection, and planning how to implement ones career goals
(Hackett & Betz, 1981). The second variable was certainty of ca-
reer commitment which is dened as a persons willingness to
maintain their occupational preference in the face of obstacles,
the belief that ones preference will be achieved, and forming a
cognitive and emotional attachment to ones preference (Jordaan,
1983).
The rst purpose of this study was to examine the unique rela-
tionships between certain FFM traits and the two indices of career
indecision. Theoretical denitions derived from Piedmont (1998)
were used to generate predictions of the relevance of each factor
to each career indecision variable. For neuroticism (N), it was pre-
dicted that N would be inversely related with CDMSE because the
negative emotions and feelings of vulnerability indicative of N
should be related to the belief that one is less capable of perform-
ing the tasks that are necessary for successful career decision-mak-
ing. Likewise, it was predicted that N would be inversely related
with certainty of career commitment because greater negative af-
fect and feelings of vulnerability should undermine a persons cer-
tainty about the appropriateness and the likelihood that they
would achieve their career goal.
For extraversion (E), it was predicted that E would be positively
related to CDMSE because the social poise and positive feelings re-
ected in this characteristic should increase the persons tendency
to complete the tasks necessary for successful career decision-
making. Likewise, it was predicted that E would be positively re-
lated with certainty of career commitment because an extravert
is more likely to evaluate situations in an optimistic fashion there-
by increasing a persons certainty that they would achieve their ca-
reer goal. For openness (O), no unique relationship was predicted
between O and CDMSE. Reed, Bruch, and Haase (2004) found that
O was either unrelated or inversely related with engaging in some
specic occupational exploration tasks (e.g., gathering occupa-
tional information). This nding suggests that people higher in
openness may view some job exploration tasks as uninteresting
compared to seeking a variety of experiences for their own sake.
Consequently, because of mixed evidence no relationship was ex-
pected between O and CDMSE. In contrast, an inverse relationship
was predicted between O and certainty of career commitment be-
cause there is evidence that more open people tend to have a
greater number and variety of career interests (Tokar et al,
1998). Given the greater amount and diversity of their interests,
it was expected that open people would have more difculty mak-
ing a commitment to a particular vocational preference.
For conscientiousness (C), it was predicted that C would be pos-
itively related with CDMSE because greater competence, organiza-
tion, dutifulness, and achievement striving are requisite
characteristics that insure the completion of exploration tasks
which in turn should lead to stronger self-efcacy beliefs about
ones decision-making abilities. In addition, it was predicted that
C would be related to certainty of career commitment because
the more deliberate, organized, and highly disciplined manner of
the conscientious person should enhance this persons condence
that they have selected an appropriate career alternative that is
attainable.
Agreeableness (A), the fth and nal FFM trait, pertains to inter-
personal tendencies such as altruism, trust, modesty, and sympa-
thy for others. We did not predict any relationship between A
and the two indices of career indecision because there appears to
be no theoretical or empirical basis for such linkages.
The second purpose of this study was to test whether MP and
AP possessed incremental validity beyond the FFM traits in pre-
dicting career indecision. Based on Hill, McIntire, and Bacharach
(1997), it was assumed that MP is most closely related with N
while AP is most closely related with C. It was predicted that MP
would have an inverse relationship with CDMSE because concern
over making mistakes and doubts about ones past actions should
be associated with lower self-efcacy regarding ones ability to
successfully negotiate the career decision-making process. Also, it
was predicted that MP would be inversely related with certainty
of career commitment because concerns about making mistakes
and the perception that other people hold unreasonable expecta-
tions about making the correct choice, may result in the person
remaining tentative and unattached to a particular career
preference.
It was predicted that AP would be positively related with
CDMSE because the tendency to adhere to a set of self-standards
should facilitate successful completion of various career explora-
tion tasks that in turn contribute to a greater sense of self-efcacy
when engaging in the career decision-making process. Likewise, for
certainty in career commitment, it was predicted that AP would be
related to greater certainty because possession of a set of self-stan-
dards reects the development of a persons unique identity which
should enable the individual to better recognize the appropriate-
ness of a particular career alternative for him or herself.
2. Method
2.1. Participants
The sample consisted of 212 undergraduates (119 women) who
volunteered for a study involving career decision-making and re-
ceived a $5 remuneration. Participants had a mean age of 21.2
years (SD = 3.56), and 1% were freshmen, 9% were sophomores,
34% were juniors, and 56% were seniors. Among the participants,
43% were Caucasian, 22.6% were African American, 12.3% were His-
panic, 18.4% were Asian, and 2.8% classied themselves as of mixed
racial background.
2.2. Instruments
2.2.1. Five-Factor traits
The Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991) has
44 items consisting of short phrases based on trait adjectives
known to be indicators of the FFM traits. Respondents rate the ex-
tent to which they agree or disagree with each phrase on a scale
ranging from 1 (disagree strongly) to 5 (agree strongly).
John (1990) reported coefcient alphas of .84, .88, .81, .79, and
.82, respectively for the N, E, O, A, and C scales and John et al. (1991)
reported three-month testretest reliabilities that ranged from .80
to .90. Validity evidence includes substantial convergent validity
with the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (Costa et al., 1992) and conver-
gent validity between the BFI and a peer-rating version of the BFI
(Benet-Martinez and John, 1998). In the present sample, alphas
of .79, .82, .78, .75, and .79, respectively, were found for the N, E,
O, A, and C scales.
2.2.2. Perfectionism
Maladaptive perfectionism (MP) and adaptive perfectionism
(AP) scales were formed from relevant subscales of two existing
measures of perfectionism (Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate,
1990; Hewitt & Flett, 1991). Following Dunkley, Blankstein, Halsall,
Williams, and Winkworth (2000), the MP scale consisted of the
 J. Page et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 45 (2008) 811815 813

items from Frost et al.s (1990) concern over mistakes scale and the
doubts about actions scale and the items from Hewitt and Fletts
(1991) socially prescribed perfectionism scale. The AP scale con-
sisted of the items from Frost et al.s (1990) personal standards
scale and the items from Hewitt and Fletts (1991) self-oriented
perfectionism scale. Prior to forming the MP and AP scales, raw
scores on the Frost et al. (1990) and the Hewitt and Flett (1991)
items were converted to standard scores and then summed.
Dunkley et al (2000) report coefcient alphas of .87 for concern
about mistakes, .71 for doubts about actions, .84 for socially pre-
scribed perfectionism, .77 for personnel standards, and .88 for
self-oriented perfectionism. Alphas in the present sample were
.89 for concern about mistakes, .74 for doubts about actions, .81
for socially prescribed perfectionism, .79 for personnel standards,
and .87 for self-oriented perfectionism. Dunkley et al. (2000) pro-
vide factor analytic results that support the existence of two
underlying dimensions of MP and AP. Also, they found that MP
was associated with appraising negative events as more stressful
and with greater use of maladaptive coping strategies (e.g., avoid-
ant coping), while AP was associated with greater use of adaptive
coping strategies (e.g., problem-solving coping).
2.2.4. Career decision-making self-efcacy
Betz, Klein, and Taylors (1996) 25-item career decision-making
self-efcacy scaleshort form (CDMSESF) was used to assess par-
ticipants condence in successfully negotiating tasks considered
essential to effective decision-making. Respondents rate their con-
dence in performing these tasks on a scale where 1 = no con-
dence to 5 = complete condence. The CDMSESF evaluates an
individuals self-efcacy relative to ve career choice competencies
postulated in Crites (1978) model of career maturity (e.g., gather-
ing information, goal selection, etc.).
Betz et al. (1996) report an alpha of .93 for the CDMSESF, and
Nilsson, Schmidt, and Meek (2002) found that the short form and
long form of the CDMSE were comparable in internal consistency
reliability. Coefcient alpha for the present sample was .91. For
validity, Betz et al. (1996) and Betz and Serling (1993) found that
the CDMSESF was inversely related with the Career indecision
scale (Osipow, Carney, & Barak, 1976) and with the identity sub-
scale of my vocational situation scale (Holland, Daiger, & Power,
1980).
2.2.3. Commitment to career choice
Blustein, Ellis, and Devenis (1989) 19-item Vocational Explora-
tion and Commitment (VECS) scale was used to assess progress in
career choice commitment. The VECS items encompass the pro-
gression from an uncommitted and exploratory posture, to a state
of provisional decidedness, and ultimately to a highly committed
posture. Participants respond on a scale where 1 = never true
about me to 7 = always true about me with a low score indicat-
ing a clear and condent level of commitment.
Blustein et al. (1989) report a coefcient alpha of .92 for the
VECS and four week testretest reliability of .90. Alpha in the pres-
ent sample was .91. For validity, Blustein et al. (1989) and Blustein,
Walbridge, Friedlander, and Palladino (1991) showed that the
VECS was signicantly related in the expected direction with mea-
sures of exploratory activity, career indecision, occupational cer-
tainty, and decisional stress.
2.3. Procedure
Participants were administered a questionnaire booklet anony-
mously using a small group format. The order of the measures was
counterbalanced across the sample to control for potential order
effects. Following completion of the questionnaires, participants
were debriefed about the nature of the study.
3. Results
3.1. Preliminary analyses
Separate one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)
tests for age, school year, gender, and ethnicity were calculated
to assess for any relationships between these characteristics and
variables in the study. The MANOVAs for age, school year, and eth-
nicity were not signicant. For gender there was a signicant Pil-
lais trace of .15 where F (6, 204) = 5.98, p < .0001. Subsequent
univariate tests revealed that the multivariate effect was due solely
to a signicant gender difference on neuroticism where women at-
tained a higher score than men. Consequently gender was not ad-
justed in the analyses that follow.
Bivariate correlations are presented in Table 1. The correlations
between the BFI scales and the perfectionism measures were con-
sistent with Hill et al.s (1997) ndings regarding the associations
between N, C, MP, and AP. For instance, MP was positively related
to N (i.e., r = .39, p < .01) and inversely related to C (i.e., r = .16,
p < .05), while AP was positively related with C (i.e., r = .37,
p < .01) and unrelated with N (i.e., r = .12). The correlations be-
tween the FFM traits, MP, and AP and the career variables show
a number of signicant associations that are consistent with the
theoretical predictions of the study. The magnitude of the correla-
tion between the two career indecision variables (i.e., r = .60,
p < .001) is higher than found in previous research (e.g., r = .44,
p < .001, Chung, 2002).
3.2. Major analyses
Separate hierarchical regression analyses were used to evaluate
the unique contributions of the FFM traits, MP, and AP on each ca-
reer indecision variable. Regression results are displayed in Table 2.
For CDMSESF, the FFM traits accounted for a signicant amount of
predicted variance (i.e., R2 = .274, p < .00001). Inspection of the

Table 1
Bivariate correlations among the study variables

Variables 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mean SD
1. Neuroticism .28 .04 .32 .24 .39 .12 .28 .33 22.59 6.32
2. Extraversion .22 .05 .21 .19 .09 .32 .23 27.30 6.11
3. Openness .12 .06 .02 .21 .19 .04 31.17 4.79
4. Agreeableness .28 .23 .01 .19 .17 34.43 6.15
5. Conscientiousness .16 .37 .43 .50 33.17 6.09
6. MP .49 .32 .35 90.67 22.01
7. AP .17 .02 120.93 21.30
8. CDMSESF .60 96.19 14.36
9. VECS 64.20 20.41

MP, maladaptive perfectionism; AP, adaptive perfectionism; CDMSESF, career decision-making self-efcacy short form; VECS, vocational exploration and commitment scale.
r (212) = .14, p = < .05; r (212) = .18, p = < .01.
814 J. Page et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 45 (2008) 811815

Table 2 CDMSESF, results were consistent with our predictions that there
Hierarchical regression analyses testing the unique contributions of FFM traits, MP, would be an inverse relation between N and CDMSESF while there
and AP to career indecision
would be a positive relation between both E and C and CDMSESF.
Predictor variables R2 R2 change b t p These relationships indicate that a greater degree of negative affect
Career decision-making self-efcacy and vulnerability to stress is associated with lower self-efcacy
Step 1 .274 .274 when making decisions regarding career matters. Alternatively,
Neuroticism .14 2.10 .03 the greater degree of energy, activity, and positive affect associated
Extraversion .18 2.75 .03
Openness .13 2.03 .04
with higher levels of E was related to greater self-efcacy in career
Agreeableness .03 <1 n.s. decision-making. Likewise, the self-discipline, organization, and
Conscientiousness .35 5.43 .0001 deliberate thinking style reective of C appear to be associated
Step 2 .336 .063 with a greater self-efcacy in career decision-making. Contrary to
MP .36 4.38 .001
our prediction of no relationship, O was positively related with
AP .24 2.91 .01
CDMSESF suggesting that a persons tendency to seek intellectual
Commitment to career choice
stimulation and their attentiveness to inner feelings may promote
Step 1 .301 .301
Neuroticism .21 3.15 .002 greater self-efcacy in career decision-making matters.
Extraversion .08 <1 n.s. For the VECS, the results were consistent with our prediction
Openness .00 <1 n.s. that N would be inversely related and C would be positively related
Agreeableness .03 <1 n.s. with the VECS. It appears that greater negative emotions and feel-
Conscientiousness .44 7.02 .0001
ings of stress are likely to diminish ones certainty about commit-
Step 2 .338 .037
MP .21 2.47 .01 ting to a particular career alternative while being more organized
AP .02 <1 n.s. and deliberate leads to greater certainty of ones commitment.
Contrary to prediction, E and O were not related to the VECS once
FFM, Five Factor model; MP, maladaptive perfectionism; AP, adaptive
perfectionism. the relationship with the other FFM traits was statistically con-
trolled. These results suggest that E and O may not play a direct
role in increasing a persons certainty about committing to a par-
ticular alternative. Thus, regardless of a persons standing on E
standardized beta coefcients in the upper half of Table 2 shows and O, it may be the individuals degree of emotional stability
that N, E, O, and C all made unique contributions to the variance (i.e., low N) and self-discipline (i.e., high C) that is most directly
of CDMSESF. As predicted, a greater degree of N was associated associated with the certainty of his or her career commitment.
with lower self-efcacy in decision-making, while higher levels The second goal in this study was to assess whether MP and AP,
of E, O, and C were all associated with greater efcacy in deci- as possible facets of N and C respectively, would provide incremen-
sion-making. tal validity when predicting career indecision. For the CDMSESF,
After accounting for the contributions of the FFM traits, the sec- the results showed that both MP and AP added signicant incre-
ond step in the hierarchical analysis showed that the two perfec- ments to the predicted variance beyond the FFM traits of N, E, O
tionism variables added a signicant increment in CDMSESF and C. For the VECS, the results showed that only MP added a sig-
variance (i.e., R2 change = .063, p < .001). Inspection of the stan- nicant increment to the predicted variance beyond N and C. The
dardized beta coefcients and their associated t-tests for MP and general pattern of these results supports the notion that perfec-
AP indicates that both variables make unique contributions to tionism has a specic relevance for career indecision beyond that
the predicted variance. As hypothesized, MP was associated with which is accounted for by certain FFM traits, particularly N and C.
less self-efcacy in career decision-making, while AP was associ- It appears that a fear of making mistakes and believing that
ated with greater self-efcacy in career decision-making. other people hold overly demanding expectations (i.e., MP) may re-
Results of the regression analysis for the VECS are displayed in late to both lower self-efcacy in career decision-making and lack
the lower half of Table 2. This output shows that the FFM traits ac- of certainty in committing to a career choice. Thus, beyond the
counted for a signicant amount of predicted variance (i.e., negative emotions and vulnerability to stress that are assessed
R2 = .301, p < .00001). Inspection of the standardized beta coef- by N, the self-critical tendencies that are captured by MP are also
cients showed that N and C were the only FFM traits that contrib- necessary for understanding the role that personality may play in
uted to the variance in VECS. As predicted, N was associated with career indecision. Also, possessing a set of self-standards appears
making less progress toward committing to a particular career to be related to greater career self-efcacy suggesting that having
alternative, while C was associated with greater progress in making an internalized set of goals and standards may increase the per-
a commitment. Contrary to expectation, neither O nor E made any sons sense of personal identity which is especially relevant for ca-
unique contribution to the predicted variance in VECS. reer decision-making (Hackett & Betz, 1981). Identity development
The analysis of the VECS also showed that as a set the two per- that results from a persons internalized standards may be a more
fectionism variables contributed to a signicant increment in pre- specic characteristic that is not tapped by the general trait of C.
dicted variance (i.e., R2 change = .037, p < .001). However, the Thus, in attempting to describe individual differences that are
standardized beta coefcients and their t-tests revealed that this associated with career indecision, it is not only important to know
increment was due solely to MP. As predicted, MP was associated a persons status on higher order FFM traits but also their status on
with less progress in making a career commitment. However, con- the lower order facets of MP and AP.
trary to prediction, AP made no contribution to making a career Although the results support the relevance of FFM traits and
commitment. perfectionism in predicting career indecision, there are a number
of limitations in this research that necessitate caution when draw-
4. Discussion ing conclusions. First, the study was correlational and cross-sec-
tional in nature; thus, it cannot be assumed that the personality
In general the results were consistent with our predictions traits had a causal inuence on the career indecision variables. It
about the role of FFM traits and perfectionism in relation to career is equally possible, for example, that lower self-efcacy in career
indecision. Our rst goal was to assess the relevance of certain FFM decision-making could contribute to a persons self-report of great-
traits relative to the two indices of career indecision. For the er N and less E characteristics. Although it is reasonable to assume
 J. Page et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 45 (2008) 811815
from a developmental perspective that FFM traits are a precursor
to various vocational attitudes and behaviors (e.g., Tokar et al.,
1998), prospective research designs are needed to test the pre-
sumed causal role of personality in career indecision.
A second limitation is the homogeneous make-up of the sample
in age, race, educational background, and socioeconomic status.
Most participants were White, upper-middle class, and between
the ages of 1921. Whether the pattern of relationships found be-
tween the FFM traits, MP, and AP and career indecision would gen-
eralize, for example, to non-college-bound high school students,
returning adult students or students from more ethnically diverse
backgrounds can not be assumed but requires further research.
The present ndings have several implications for professionals
who work with individuals struggling with career exploration and
decision-making. First, assessment of an incoming students status
on the FFM traits and on MP and AP would provide a means of early
identication of those who may procrastinate in selecting an edu-
cational major or career eld. These individuals could be moni-
tored for possible career counseling services if they are having
difculties. Second, the ndings might inform counselors as to
the type of intervention that would be most useful for an individ-
uals career decision-making difculties. For someone who is high
to very high in both N and MP, individual therapy along with career
counseling may be necessary to work through long standing emo-
tional instability that could inhibit career decision-making. How-
ever, for someone who is average in N and moderately high in
MP, career counseling could initially focus on identifying the self-
critical beliefs held by the student and then use specic techniques
such as cognitive-behavioral strategies to challenge these beliefs.
Although these are only hypothetical scenarios, they serve to illus-
trate how knowledge of the specic relationships between FFM
traits, perfectionism, and career indecision may enable counselors
to better serve individuals struggling with their vocational
concerns.
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