Mapping Domains of Life Success

What is it about?

Our quantitative review demonstrates that Big Five personality traits are important predictors of life success. We adopt a multidimensional perspective on life success and develop a provisional rational taxonomy of 14 life success categories. Next, we synthesize meta-analyses reporting relations of Big Five traits to life success variables and uncover 10 life success clusters. We then integrate this empirical taxonomy into the psychological literature. Findings provide insights into the basic human challenges of coming to terms with the status quo, getting along with others, and standing out socially. In addition, quantifying personality–cluster matches may provide answers to practical questions about career counseling, personnel selection, and organizational decision making. Overall, findings advance our understanding of the diverse domains of life success.

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Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash

Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Experiencing life success is a fundamental human endeavor. Despite broad interest in the subject, no consensual taxonomy existed for domains of life success. Accordingly, we adopted a multidimensional perspective on life success and validated a provisional rational taxonomy of 14 life success categories. We then utilized this taxonomy to quantitatively review existing meta-analyses reporting relations of the Big Five personality traits to life success variables. Afterward, we synthesized the evidence and reported an empirical taxonomy of 10 life success clusters. We suggest that these clusters represent archetypal life success goals and their associated personality profiles reflect archetypal means for realizing these ends.