title: Military training and personality trait development: does the military make the man, or does the man make the military?
abstract: Military experience is an important turning point in a person's life and, consequently, is associated with important life outcomes. Using a large longitudinal sample of German males, we examined whether personality traits played a role during this period. Results indicated that personality traits prospectively predicted the decision to enter the military. People lower in agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience during high school were more likely to enter the military after graduation. In addition, military training was associated with changes in personality. Compared with a control group, military recruits had lower levels of agreeableness after training. These levels persisted 5 years after training, even after participants entered college or the labor market. This study is one of the first to identify life experiences associated with changes in personality traits. Moreover, our results suggest that military experiences may have a long-lasting influence on individual-level characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA. j.jackson@wustl.edu
authors.forename: Joshua J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thoemmes
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jonkmann
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lüdtke
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Trautwein
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality; D010553:Personality Development; D055815:Young Adult