Date of Award

Summer 8-1-2017

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Melanie Leuty

Committee Chair Department

Psychology

Committee Member 2

Emily Bullock-Yowell

Committee Member 2 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 3

Bonnie Nicholson

Committee Member 3 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 4

Eric Dahlen

Committee Member 4 Department

Psychology

Abstract

In vocational research, the Five Factor Model (FFM) is one of the most popular theories of personality used when evaluating the role of personality in career development. However, thus far, few other personality theories have been used in vocational research, such as Millon’s theory. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine how Millon’s theory, operationalized using the Millon College Counseling Inventory (MCCI), may explain career development constructs, above the FFM traits, in a college student sample. Results indicated that the MCCI explained additional variance beyond FFM traits in several different career variables (i.e., profile elevation, negative career thinking, career decision self-efficacy, and emotional and personality career difficulties). The MCCI “needy” scale explained the largest amount of variance in Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) scores. Additionally, the MCCI career confusion scale was most highly correlated with Emotional and Personality Career Difficulties Scale scores and with CTI scores, which illustrates convergent validity. Overall, the findings from this study suggest that Millon’s theory is another conceptualization of personality that can explain career decision making constructs and that the MCCI may be a useful measure in college and career counseling settings in identifying problematic personality traits that are most associated with vocational concerns.

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