Moderating Role of Gender in the Relationship between Personality Trait And Career Choice Among University Students

ABSTRACT: Career choice remains a critical decision that has an impact on the future life pattern of an individual. The study investigated the influence of gender in the connection between personality traits and career preference of University of Cape Coast undergraduate students. Descriptive research design, the crosssectional type was chosen for the study. Proportionate stratified sampling procedure with a common ratio of 0.411 was used in selecting 226 undergraduate psychology students to serve as respondents of the study. Big Five Personality Scale developed by Lounsbury, Hutchens and Loveland (2005) and Career Choice Inventory developed by Schein (1993) were adapted and used as the research instruments. Conditional Process analysis by Andrews Hayes was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that gender does not significantly moderate the relationship between personality trait and career choice. Results are discussed and implications drawn for educational policy and practice.
KEYWORDS: Personality trait, Career choice, Influence