Unrealistic vocational choice: A research model

Multimethod factor scores were derived from measures of ACT aptitude, ACT nonacademic achievement and the Omnibus Personality Inventory. A sample of 89 subjects whose freshman major was engineering and whose junior year major consisted of a variety of nonengineering subjects represented subjects who had made an unrealistic vocational choice as freshmen. The junior year majors of these subjects were classified by Holland's theory of vocational choice and the relationship between the factor scores and Holland categories was shown by the technique of spatial configuration. These data were employed to illustrate how counseling practice could be integrated with vocational theory.     

老年人和大学生决策规则稳定性的比较研究

遵守规则是理性决策的必要条件。本研究考察了222名大学生和157名老年人进行选择活动时所遵循的规则的稳定性。研究发现,大学生的选择与老年人相比,具有显著的“不规则”倾向,然而此倾向在老年人中并不存在。在面对假设的超市折扣卡时,大学生的“非规则”选择显示出他们在一定程度上缺乏理性,而老年人的“精明”决策进一步证明其与日常生活相关联的复杂认知能力如判断和推理等在老龄期依然处于较高的水平。     

The Undecided Student—How Different Is He?

Students who were undecided about a vocational choice were compared in two studies with those who were decided. In the first study comparing decided and undecided college freshmen, only chance differences were found for men and women. The second study demonstrated no differences between decided and undecided college-bound high school students on academic aptitude and high school grades. Undecided students were found to be less vocationally oriented and more intellectually oriented. Reasons for these findings are discussed and some reinterpretations of student indecision are given.     

The Effect of Mugshot Inspections on Eyewitness Identification Accuracy1

This study assessed the effect of commitment to an earlier mugshot identification on the ability to make a subsequent lineup identification. Shortly after viewing videotape of a staged assault some subjects rated a group of 18 photos for attractiveness, whereas other subjects attempted to identify the assailant publicly or privately in the same (target-absent) set of 18 “mugshot” photos. The remaining subjects had no intervening task. Two days later, all subjects attempted to identify the assailant from a six-person target-present photo lineup which contained their mugshot choice (if made) as well as the original assailant. Lineup identifications were significantly less accurate for subjects who had viewed the intervening mugshots (33% accuracy) than those who had only rated the intervening photos for attractiveness (64% accuracy) or had seen no intervening photos (69% accuracy). When viewing lineups, experimental subjects tended to remain committed to their earlier action of choosing or not choosing anyone from the mugshots. More witnesses who had publicly stated their mugshot choice reproduced their (incorrect) choice at the lineup (78%), than did those who made a private mugshot choice (45%), though this difference was not statistically reliable. Witnesses' confidence in their lineup decision was not significantly related to overall accuracy. Contrary to predictions from self-perception theory, confidence in one's decision decreased significantly as further identifications were attempted.     

Vocational decision status and the effect of four types of occupational information on cognitive complexity

Because most vocational counseling interventions focus on giving occupational information, research investigating effects of information giving on cognitive processing styles has governed attention in the recent past. The present study was intended to determine some aspects of occupational information relevance while assessing differences in cognitive complexity between vocationally decided and undecided subjects. Two hundred eighty college student volunteers were assigned to eight groups based on their decision status (decided versus undecided) and random distribution of four types of occupational information packets. Cognitive complexity levels were measured, using the Cognitive Differentiation Grid, 48 hr after the packets were distributed. A 2 × 4 analysis of variance found no differences between decided and undecided subjects' cognitive complexity scores as a function of type of occupational information received. There was a significant main effect for information received. There was a significant main effect for information across decision status in the positively and negatively toned information groups: the positive information was associated with relatively greater cognitive simplicity scores and the negative information was associated with relatively greater cognitive complexity scores. Implications of results and further necessary research is specified.     

Use of a “balance-sheet” procedure to improve the quality of personal decision making: A field experiment with college applicants

This study tested the effectiveness of a “balance-sheet” or tallying procedure used to induce high school seniors to think carefully about considerations relevant to their choice of college. Students who were exposed to the balance-sheet procedure three months before their choice of college were compared with a control group six weeks after making their decision. In comparison with control subjects, students administered the balance-sheet procedure tended (though the findings were not always significant at the 0.05 level) (1) to select a wider array of alternatives in formulating the decision, (2) to take into account more self-related and fewer social considerations, (3) to express less regret and report less concern about their choice following the decision, and (4) were less interested in receiving supportive, dissonance-reducing information. The balance-sheet procedure appears to make salient the importance of the decision, helps clarify the merits of the choice alternatives, and stimulates a search for feasible alternatives.     

大学生考期应激的特征及原因分析

旨在研究考期应激的表现特征,并探讨其产生的原因和影响因素。以问卷方法测量了261名在校大学生。结果发现47．89％的被试有不同程度的考期应激症状,其中以睡眠症状为最典型的特征。考期应激症状很少受性别、专业、年级、是否担任班干部和个性倾向等因素的影响,且具有较明显的时间特征。诱发考期应激的主要因素有：考生“对考试目的的认知”、“对考试内容的认知”及“生恬和学习环境”等。结论为,考期应激是一种大学生中较普遍且具有多重原因的应激现象。     

Decision Making When the Acceptable Options Become Unavailable

Research examined what decision makers do when, after screening out unacceptable options in preparation for making a choice from among the acceptable survivors, they find that all of the survivors have become unavailable and that no new options are forthcoming. Subjects were presented options in the form of rooms to rent and were required to screen them to prepare a "short list" from which a choice could be made. They also rated the importance of the room′s characteristics. Then they were told that the rooms on the short list all had been rented, and that no new rooms had become available so they would have to create a new short list from among the previously rejected rooms. Then they rescreened the rejected options and rerated the importance of the characteristics of the rooms. It was found that nearly 90% of the subjects would prefer to begin again with new options rather than rescreen rejected options. It also was found that when forced to rescreen rejected options, subjects reduced their ratings of the importance of the options′ characteristics, apparently in an effort to compensate, at least in part, for having to select options that, only moments before, had been regarded as unacceptable. Efforts to discourage ratings reductions proved futile. Implications of the results for screening and choice are discussed.     

Liberal arts graduates: They would do it again

Despite the trend toward increasing specialization in our society, men who graduated 15, 10, and 5 years before this study with college majors in liberal arts report a high degree of satisfaction with their careers and their lives. If they had it to do all over again, 80 percent would major in a liberal arts subject. Three-fourths felt that liberal education had prepared them well for vocational life. Most graduates selected their career goal after graduation from college. The greatest help in career planning came from faculty members and family—not from guidance or placement counselors.     

The relationship of academic major and career choice status to anxiety among college freshmen

This study examines the relationship of career and academic major choice status to levels of state anxiety among undergraduate students. A total of 179 resident freshmen responded to a questionnaire concerning their career development status. On the basis of that information, subjects were arranged within a 2 × 2 factorial design of two dichotomous variables: career choice status (decided/undecided) and major choice status (declared/undeclared). Participants were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. An analysis of variance of state anxiety scores yielded a significant main effect for career choice status, with subjects reporting they had already decided on a career direction exhibiting lower levels of state anxiety than those who had not.     

Calling, vocational development, and well being: A longitudinal study of medical students

The present study investigated the relation of calling to the vocational development and well-being of a sample of medical students. Students were surveyed at two time points: prior to beginning the first year of medical school and prior to beginning the third year of medical school. At each time point, calling moderately correlated with positive vocational development and life meaning. At Time 2, participants had higher levels of vocational development relative to Time 1 and lower levels of calling and life satisfaction relative to Time 1. Calling at Time 1 did not significantly predict vocational development or life meaning at Time 2. However, vocational development and life meaning at Time 1 each significantly predicted calling at Time 2. Students who were able to view their lives as more meaningful and advanced in their vocational development over time also endorsed higher levels of a career calling. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

College major and career choice: A retest of Holland's theory

In an effort to examine whether the previously established relationship between vocational choice and self-ratings on Holland's personality stereotypes among college freshmen would be strengthened with a sample of male college seniors, 109 subjects, sampled on the basis of major field choice, completed a questionnaire to select career stereotypes which described them best. The relationship between self-ratings and academic major was also to be examined. Significant relationships were obtained for four stereotypes (realistic, conventional, enterprising, and artistic) on the basis of both major and vocational choice, although significant stereotypes were not identical in each. Three of these significant relationships based on vocational choice matched those obtained previously. An additional finding suggested that vocational choice was slightly more valid than major field as a basis for utilizing this technique. The more restricted class sample emphasized did not, however, produce a more substantial relationship between self-ratings and occupational choice as expected.     

Evaluating educational—vocational counseling: a model for change

This study sought to assess students' reactions toward their vocational and educational counseling at a university counseling center. Students receiving educational-vocational counseling during the 1968-69 academic year served as subjects whose responses to a 29-item questionnaire were used to determine their reactions to counseling. The majority of clients who were counseled by advanced trainees or doctorate level staff viewed their counseling experience positively. A large percentage of the clients of beginning practicum students viewed their counseling negatively. The findings suggested weaknesses in vocational counseling facilities, in counselors' skills, and in training of beginning practicum students. Implications for change are suggested and the need for assessment in counseling agencies is emphasized.     

An investigation of vocational indecision in college students: Correlates and moderators

This study investigated the relationships among fear of success, locus of control, and vocational indecision in college students and the extent to which these relationships are moderated by sex and ability. Subjects, 103 female and 98 male undergraduate students, were administered measures of fear of success, locus of control, and career indecision. In addition, American College Test (ACT) composite scores were available for 154, or 77%, of the subjects. Results indicate that vocationally undecided college students are more external in their locus of control, are more fearful of success, and have lower ACT scores than decided students. Multiple regression analyses for the prediction of vocational indecision yield mixed results, as the power of prediction of the independent variables of locus of control and fear of success were influenced by the sex and ability level of the student. Results, implications for future vocational indecision research, and implications for counseling assistance of vocationally undecided students are discussed.     

The predictive efficiency of Holland's SDS summary codes in terms of career choice: A four-year follow-up

This study was designed to investigate the predictive efficiency of the primary and secondary summary codes of Holland's Self-Directed Search for Educational and Vocational Planning (SDS) in terms of expressed career choice 4 years later. In 1974, 126 voiationally undecided high school seniors were given the SDS, followed by a revision of Trow's Vocational Choice Inventory (VCI) in which they were asked to express a career choice or a state of indecision. In 1978, this same group was mailed a posttest VCI; the responses of 84 subjects were then analyzed. The subjects' expressed career choices on both the 1974 and 1978 VCI were compared to the primary and secondary summary codes on the SDS which they had taken in 1974. Inspection of the responses indicated that 21.4% of the subjects had made career choices predicted by their primary summary codes and 51.2% had made vocational choices found among their secondary summary codes. Only 27.4% chose a career area not predicted by their 1974 SDS results. The results of this study appear to lend support to the validity of using the SDS summary codes to predict eventual career decisions.     

高职院校教师职业压力的初步研究

本研究采用自编压力问卷和SCL-90问卷对397名高职院校教师进行测验,发现高职院校男女教师在总体职业压力方面并无显著差异,中青年组教师压力最大,各项压力因子与心理健康状况存在显著相关。根据调查结果,本文探讨了高职院校教师压力的原因与对策。     

Value‐related goals and vocational choice: The effect of temporal distance

This field study examines the importance that people assign to value‐related goals in their vocational decisions. We focused on the interactive effects of temporal distance from the vocational decision and the level of abstraction of the goal. Soldiers rated the importance of value‐related goals for their vocational choice following their release from military service. They were presented with value‐driven, abstract, decontextualized goals and with value‐driven, concrete, job‐related goals. For half, vocational choice was temporally close, and for the rest, it was temporally distant. Temporal distance from the vocational decision interacted with the level of abstraction of the goals in predicting their importance: When construed in the abstract, the goals were deemed more important if the vocational decision was distant. When construed concretely, the goals were deemed more important if the vocational decision was proximate.     

Factors affecting withdrawal from an escalating conflict: Quitting before it's too late

In an experimental study of “entrapping” conflicts —situations in which a decisionmaker may continue to expend resources in part to justify previous expenditures—subjects were given an initial stake of $4.00 and had the opportunity to win an additional $2.00 jackpot. Two independent variables (Process of Resource Allocation and Prior Limit-Setting) were combined in a 2 × 3 design. Once the subjects had started to invest, half of them had to make an “active” decision to continue. Unless they actively decided to continue, their investments automatically ceased and they were no longer eligible for the jackpot (Selfterminating condition). The other half only had to make a “passive” decision to continue. Unless they actively decided to dis continue, their investments for the jackpot automatically increased (Self-sustaining condition). In addition, before investments began, some subjects were asked to inform the experimenter of the nonbinding limit they had set on the amount they planned to invest (Public condition), some were asked to set a limit which they kept to themselves (Private condition), while a third group was not asked to set a limit (Control condition). Subjects invested significantly more money in the Self-sustaining condition. Also, investments were somewhat greater in the Control than the Public condition. Although the mean investments in the Public and Private conditions did not differ, those in the Public condition deviated significantly less from their earlier set limits, suggesting greater commitment to these limits. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

累积生态风险与高职生学习倦怠：消极自我图式和网络成瘾的中介作用

采用累积生态风险问卷、消极自我图式问卷、网络成瘾问卷以及学习倦怠问卷对湖南省4所高职院校的664名高职生进行调查,考察累积生态风险与高职生学习倦怠的关系以及消极自我图式、网络成瘾的中介作用。结果发现:(1)高职生累积生态风险、消极自我图式、网络成瘾和学习倦怠均呈显著正相关;(2)高职生累积生态风险对学习倦怠的直接效应和间接效应均显著。间接效应包括了三条路径:通过消极自我图式的中介作用、通过网络成瘾的中介作用以及通过消极自我图式和网络成瘾的链式中介作用。这一结论有助于理解累积生态风险对学习倦怠的作用机制,为降低高职生的学习倦怠提供参考建议。     

Efficacy Expectations and Vocational Interests as Mediators between Sex and Choice of Math/Science College Majors: A Longitudinal Study

A longitudinal study was conducted to test the mediational role of efficacy expectations in relation to sex differences in the choice of a math/science college major. Data on 101 students were gathered prior to their entering college and then again after they had declared a major 3 years later. Path analytic results support the importance of both math self-efficacy beliefs and vocational interest in mathematics in predicting entry into math/science majors and mediating sex differences in these decisions. Also, students who described themselves as more extroverted were less likely to take additional math classes in high school. Students with stronger artistic vocational interests chose majors less related to math and science. School personnel are strongly encouraged to develop programs that challenge the crystallization of efficacy beliefs and vocational interest patterns before students enter college.