TY - JOUR
T1 - The grit effect
T2 - Predicting retention in the military, the workplace, school and marriage
AU - Eskreis-Winkler, Lauren
AU - Shulman, Elizabeth P.
AU - Beal, Scott A.
AU - Duckworth, Angela L.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Remaining committed to goals is necessary (albeit not sufficient) to attaining them, but very little is known about domain-general individual differences that contribute to sustained goal commitment. The current investigation examines the association between grit, defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals, other individual difference variables, and retention in four different contexts: the military, workplace sales, high school, and marriage. Grit predicted retention over and beyond established context-specific predictors of retention (e.g., intelligence, physical aptitude, Big Five personality traits, job tenure) and demographic variables in each setting. Grittier soldiers were more likely to complete an Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) selection course, grittier sales employees were more likely to keep their jobs, grittier students were more likely to graduate from high school, and grittier men were more likely to stay married. The relative predictive validity of grit compared to other traditional predictors of retention is examined in each of the four studies. These findings suggest that in addition to domain-specific influences, there may be domain-general individual differences which influence commitment to diverse life goals over time.
AB - Remaining committed to goals is necessary (albeit not sufficient) to attaining them, but very little is known about domain-general individual differences that contribute to sustained goal commitment. The current investigation examines the association between grit, defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals, other individual difference variables, and retention in four different contexts: the military, workplace sales, high school, and marriage. Grit predicted retention over and beyond established context-specific predictors of retention (e.g., intelligence, physical aptitude, Big Five personality traits, job tenure) and demographic variables in each setting. Grittier soldiers were more likely to complete an Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) selection course, grittier sales employees were more likely to keep their jobs, grittier students were more likely to graduate from high school, and grittier men were more likely to stay married. The relative predictive validity of grit compared to other traditional predictors of retention is examined in each of the four studies. These findings suggest that in addition to domain-specific influences, there may be domain-general individual differences which influence commitment to diverse life goals over time.
KW - Conscientiousness
KW - Dropout
KW - Grit
KW - Personality
KW - Retention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84897664865&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84897664865&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00036
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00036
M3 - Article
C2 - 24550863
AN - SCOPUS:84897664865
SN - 1664-1078
VL - 5
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
JF - Frontiers in Psychology
IS - FEB
M1 - Article 36
ER -