On the Value of Aiming High: The Causes and Consequences of Ambition

Abstract

Ambition is a commonly mentioned but poorly understood concept in social science research. We sought to contribute to understanding of the concept by developing and testing a model in which ambition is a middle-level trait (Cantor, 1990)-predicted by more distal characteristics but, due to its teleological nature, more proximally situated to predict career success. A 7-decade longitudinal sample of 717 high-ability individuals from the Terman life-cycle study (Terman, Sears, Cronbach, & Sears, 1989) was used in the current study. Results indicated that ambition was predicted by individual differences-conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and general mental ability-and a socioeconomic background variable: parents' occupational prestige. Ambition, in turn, was positively related to educational attainment, occupation prestige, and income. Ambition had significant total effects with all of the endogenous variables except mortality. Overall, the results support the thesis that ambition is a middle-level trait-related to but distinct from more distal individual difference variables-that has meaningful effects on career success.

Full text

On the Value of Aiming High: The Causes and Consequences of Ambition
Timothy A. Judge
University of Notre Dame John D. Kammeyer-Mueller
University of Florida
Ambition is a commonly mentioned but poorly understood concept in social science research. We sought to
contribute to understanding of the concept by developing and testing a model in which ambition is a
middle-level trait (Cantor, 1990)—predicted by more distal characteristics but, due to its teleological nature,
more proximally situated to predict career success. A 7-decade longitudinal sample of 717 high-ability
individuals from the Terman life-cycle study (Terman, Sears, Cronbach, & Sears, 1989) was used in the
current study. Results indicated that ambition was predicted by individual differences—conscientiousness,
extraversion, neuroticism, and general mental ability—and a socioeconomic background variable: parents’
occupational prestige. Ambition, in turn, was positively related to educational attainment, occupation prestige,
and income. Ambition had significant total effects with all of the endogenous variables except mortality.
Overall, the results support the thesis that ambition is a middle-level trait—related to but distinct from more
distal individual difference variables—that has meaningful effects on career success.
Keywords: ambition, personality, career success, income, longevity
Occasionally, one encounters a concept that is pervasive yet
poorly understood. Arguably, such is the case with ambition. One
finds myriad references to ambition in literature (“The lower still
I fall, only supreme in misery; such joy ambition finds”; Milton,
1667/1831, p. 81), history (“Where ambition can cover its enter-
prises, even to the person himself, under the appearance of prin-
ciple, it is the most incurable and inflexible of passions”; Hume,
1688/1858, p. 198), and theology (“Let nothing be done through
selfish ambition or conceit”; Philippians 2:3, New King James
Version). Ambition has been discussed by numerous philosophers,
with those seeing it as virtuous (Santayana, Kaufmann) apparently
outnumbered by those perceiving it as vicious (Aquinas, Locke,
Rousseau). On several occasions, President Barack Obama has
referenced ambition in his remarks, arguing that ambition to
achieve extrinsic success represents “a poverty of ambition . . . the
elevation of appearance over substance, celebrity over character,
short-term gain over lasting achievement” (Obama, 2009). As the
foregoing references suggest, ambition is often if not generally
viewed negatively, though it remains unclear whether it is a virtue
or a vice (Pettigrove, 2007).
Of course, popular discourse does not always reflect scientific
understanding, and apparent dissensus is often clarified by rigor-
ous inquiry. However, in the case of ambition, understanding of
the concept remains elusive. A search of the PsycINFO database
reveals 119 peer-reviewed articles where ambition appears in the
title or as a keyword. In most of these articles, ambition is collec-
tivized (e.g., corporate or national ambition), is directed toward
non-work ends (e.g., mating or parental ambitions, political ambi-
tion), or is not measured directly (e.g., ambition is conceptualized
broadly or is referenced but not measured). In the vocational
behavior literature, a few work studies have related ambition to
career advancement (Ashby & Schoon, 2010; Howard & Bray,
1988; Jansen & Vinkenburg, 2006; Metz, 2004). In sociology,
research, though not focused on ambition per se (we define am-
bition shortly), has found that children who had high educational
aspirations (i.e., concrete plans to attend college or obtain a certain
degree; Sewell, Haller, & Portes, 1969) and high occupational
aspirations (i.e., specific occupations individuals self-identified as
their intended career paths; Alexander, Eckland, & Griffin, 1975)
obtained higher status and better paying jobs. Though such con-
crete and specific educational and occupational aspirations may
not be identical to ambition, these studies suggest that ambition
may matter.
These research studies notwithstanding, as the foregoing review
of the psychology, vocational behavior, and sociology literatures
suggests, ambition remains an infrequently studied and fragmen-
tary concept. Needed are clearer definitions and more comprehen-
sive considerations of, first, the causes and, second, the conse-
quences of ambition. First, in studies where it has been considered,
psychologists have generally treated ambition as a trait (see Hans-
son, Hogan, Johnson, & Schroeder, 1983), whereas sociologists
have instead considered explicit educational or occupational ob-
jectives as a product of parental, social, or socioeconomic envi-
ronment (see Sewell, Hauser, Springer, & Hauser, 2003). We are
aware of no studies that consider both personality-based and
environmental sources of ambition. Nor are we aware—beyond
those notable few who view ambition as a facet of conscientious-
ness (Jackson, Paunonen, Fraboni, & Goffin, 1996) or extraversion
This article was published Online First April 30, 2012.
Timothy A. Judge, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre
Dame; John D. Kammeyer-Mueller, Warrington College of Business,
University of Florida.
The data (and tabulations) utilized in this article were made available, in
part, by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.
The data were originally collected and prepared by Lewis M. Terman,
Robert R. Sears, Lee J. Cronbach, and Pauline S. Sears. Neither the
collectors of the original data nor the consortium bears any responsibility
for the analyses or interpretations presented here.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Timothy
A. Judge, 360 Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame,
Notre Dame, IN 46556. E-mail: tjudge@nd.edu
Journal of Applied Psychology © 2012 American Psychological Association
2012, Vol. 97, No. 4, 758–775 0021-9010/12/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0028084
758
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