Department of Management, Entrepreneurship and Technology, University of Nevada.
Research and Development, Educational Testing Service.
J Appl Psychol. 2014 Sep;99(5):915-47. doi: 10.1037/a0035998. Epub 2014 Mar 10.
Using an expanded person-environment fit (P-E fit) model, we conducted 2 studies to test the combined effects of 2 individual difference factors, ability-demand fit and interest-vocation fit, in predicting college student choice of and persistence in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Analysis results based on data from 207,093 students entering 51 postsecondary institutions supported the hypothesized roles that academic ability and interest fit play in determining STEM field choice and persistence. Ability was found to moderate the effects of interest fit on the behavioral outcomes, thus expanding the P-E fit framework. We also found that gender moderates the effects of these individual difference predictors, such that the effects are weaker for females than for males in predicting STEM choice. For STEM persistence, the opposite effect was found: The relationship between ability and persistence is stronger for females than it is for males. As such, this research contributes to the resurging attention in the roles that individual difference factors play in organizational and educational research and the importance of integrating ability and interest constructs to fully understand college and career choice and persistence behaviors.
采用扩展的人-环境适配（P-E 适配）模型，我们进行了两项研究，以检验能力需求适配和兴趣职业适配这两个个体差异因素在预测大学生选择和坚持科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域方面的综合影响。基于 207093 名进入 51 所高等教育机构的学生的数据进行的分析结果支持了假设，即学术能力和兴趣适配在决定 STEM 领域选择和坚持方面发挥作用。研究发现，能力在一定程度上调节了兴趣适配对行为结果的影响，从而扩展了 P-E 适配框架。我们还发现，性别调节了这些个体差异预测因素的影响，即这些因素对女性预测 STEM 选择的影响比男性弱。对于 STEM 的坚持，发现了相反的效果：能力与坚持之间的关系对女性比男性更强。因此，这项研究有助于重新关注个体差异因素在组织和教育研究中所扮演的角色，以及整合能力和兴趣结构以充分理解大学和职业选择以及坚持行为的重要性。
