How peers’ informedness contributes to students’ person-environment fit

ABSTRACT

Person-Environment fit (P-E fit), defined as the congruence between a student’s attributes and their chosen study programme, is an important indicator of students’ academic success (e.g. retention). Research has shown that students’ informedness regarding the content and conditions of study before starting their studies is vital for this congruence. However, research on the factors that strengthen students’ P-E fit after starting their studies is scarce. Students’ peer networks could serve as a potential source of information, e.g. compensating for lower levels of informedness and thus, enhance students’ P-E fit. Hence, this study investigates peer networks’ moderating role, focusing on two types of P-E fit (Needs-Supplies and Demands-Abilities). Specifically, we examined how the composition of these networks (i.e. the proportion of informed peers) moderates the relationship between students’ informedness at the beginning of their studies and their P-E fit perceptions three months later. Data were collected from 135 German university students. We identified the proportion of informed peers as a moderator between students’ informedness and both P-E fit types. Practical implications for students and universities, as well as pathways for future research, are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Fit perception
• peer networks
• peer influence
• informedness
• egocentric network analysis

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Correction

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Lisa Thiele and Mona Brune for their help with data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2022.2066313)

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under Grant [01PL12043].

Notes on contributors

Stefanie Powazny

Stefanie Powazny is a PhD candidate at the Division of Industrial/Organizational and Social Psychology at the Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany. Her research interests concern students’ social networks and their effect on career-relevant outcomes.

Victoria Zorn

Victoria Zorn is a PhD candidate and research associate at the Division of Industrial/Organizational and Social Psychology at the Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany. Her research interests concern social network analysis, evaluation and transfer.

Simone Kauffeld

Simone Kauffeld is a professor at the Division of Industrial/Organizational and Social Psychology at the Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany. Her research interests concern various aspects, for instance, competencies, team and leadership, career and coaching, and organization and work design.