The impact of person-environment fit on grades, perceived gains, and satisfaction: an application of Holland’s theory

Holland’s theory of vocational choice is a powerful framework for studying academic environments and student development in college. This study tests Holland’s third proposition that students flourish in academic environments (i.e., majors) that are congruent with their personality types. In addition, we examine the extent to which student characteristics influence person-environment fit. Findings indicated that student characteristics and personality type were significantly related to person-environment fit. Moreover, person-environment fit is positively related to self-reported grades. However, person-environment was not significantly related to either perceived learning gains or satisfaction with college.