Social Class and Personality: The Effects of Educational Mobility on Personality Trait Change

Abstract

Transitioning into young adulthood often brings about significant changes in personality traits. However, the reasons behind these personality changes remain unclear. This study integrates insights from research on personality development and the psychology of social class to study how the construction of one’s social class identity in young adulthood might trigger changes in personality traits (i.e., Big Five, locus of control, and risk-taking). We tested our preregistered hypotheses in the context of educational mobility, using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study (N = 4,776). Specifically, we investigated personality changes of young adults whose parents did not go to university, comparing those who are educationally mobile (i.e., go to university) with those who do not during the study period. Overall, the results indicated that upward educational mobility only leads to changes in risk-taking. Theoretical implications for the psychology of class mobility (selection vs. socialization effects) are discussed.