Looking beyond the five-factor model: college self-efficacy as a moderator of the relationship between Tellegen's big three model of personality and Holland's model of vocational interest types

Abstract

The Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality and Tellegen?s Big Three Model of personality were compared to determine their ability to predict Holland's RIASEC interest types. College self-efficacy was examined as a moderator of the relationship between Tellegen's Big Three model and the RIASEC interest types. A sample of 194 college freshmen (i.e., less than 30 credits completed) was drawn from the psychology participant pool of a mid-sized Midwestern university. Instruments included the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) to measure the FFM; the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Brief Form (MPQ-BF) to measure Tellegen's Big Three model of personality; the College Self-Efficacy Inventory (CSEI) to measure college selfefficacy; and the Self Directed Search (SDS) to measure Holland's RIASEC model of vocational interests. Findings from correlational analyses supported previous research regarding relationships among the FFM and the RIASEC interest types, and relationships among Tellegen's Big Three and the RIASEC interest types. As hypothesized and tested via regressions for each of the six interest types, Tellegen's Big Three model predicted all six vocational interests types (p < .001 for all), while the FFM only predicted two types at p < .05. College self-efficacy did not moderate the relationship between Tellegen's Big Three and the RIASEC interest types. Implications and future research are discussed.