The Hidden Role of Dominance in Career Interests: A Bifactor Analysis of Agentic and Communal Goal Orientations

Agentic and communal goal orientations are widely used to predict career interests. However, the number of dimensions that underlie measures of goal orientations remains unclear. Across two studies, using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and bifactor confirmatory factor analysis, we f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sex roles 2020-08, Vol.83 (3-4), p.193-210
Main Authors: Folberg, Abigail M., Kercher, Kyle, Ryan, Carey S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Careers
College students
Confirmatory factor analysis
Factor Analysis
Gender differences
Gender roles
Gender Studies
Goal Orientation
Medicine/Public Health
Objectives
Occupational roles
Original Article
Psychology
Sociology
Structural equation modeling
Structural Equation Models
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Summary:Agentic and communal goal orientations are widely used to predict career interests. However, the number of dimensions that underlie measures of goal orientations remains unclear. Across two studies, using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and bifactor confirmatory factor analysis, we found that communal goal orientation was unidimensional. However, agentic goal orientations comprised a single global agentic factor that represents a competence dimension plus two domain-specific factors: dominance and self-direction. Structural equation modeling indicated that gender differences in goal orientations, as well as the indirect effects of gender on career interest via goal orientations, were small. However, goal orientations exhibited sizeable direct effects on career interests, with agentic dominance goals the strongest predictor of organizational fit (Study 1 with 318 U.S. college students) and career interests (Study 2 with 789 U.S. MTurk workers). Future studies should consider the multidimensional structure of agentic goals and examine how dominance goals may help us better understand gender differences, social roles, and career preferences.
ISSN:0360-0025
1573-2762
DOI:10.1007/s11199-019-01104-1