Contemporary patterns of career construction of a group of urban workers in São Paulo (Brazil)

By means of a qualitative approach, this study sought to understand the patterns of career construction in contemporary times through content analysis of the narratives generated by a set of 40 urban workers in São Paulo (Brazil), intentionally selected. Five narrative patterns of career construction were found and related to the existing concepts (organizational career, protean and boundaryless career, professional career, transitional career, and hybrid careers), which were respectively described by their core feature (nostalgia, possibility, enclosure, instrumentality, and hybrid). The main results showed that one quarter of participants sought career stability, continuity, and linearity (Nostalgia), one quarter sought flexibility and discontinuity (Possibility), about 1/7 sought a career based on the profession/occupation (Enclosure), about one-third constructed hybrid career narratives, and there was a frequent emergence of crises (Instrumentality). The main contribution of this study was confirming the hybrid nature of contemporary career constructions produced in a constant tension between stability and flexibility, as well as between permanence and change; nevertheless, based on collective standards.     

Commentary: a different lens for working with affairs: using social constructionist and attachment theory

A combined social constructivist and attachment theory approach can help in work with affairs. Using past empirical research, a case is made that vulnerability to affairs derives primarily from pressures on partnerships stemming from the dominant discourse of modern partnerships. This discourse exalts sharing and joining, subjugating the more common experience of couples that other meaningful relationships (including non‐sexual ones) augment and fill in gaps. Affairs may be seen as, perhaps misguided, attempts to address untenable goals of the dominant discourse. Concomitantly, attachment theory explains both the need to be in a variety of relationships, normally within a hierarchy (‘multiple attachments’) and also the extreme wounds attendant to the discovery of secret affairs. Using both these perspectives can be useful preceding attempts at forgiveness. It is argued that they help therapists to establish an empathic positioning toward both partners in the couple, rather than the moralistic one too frequently attendant in work with affairs.     

Social influence in newly formed groups: The roles of personal and social intentions, group norms, and social identity

Intentions to participate in a group activity in newly formed groups were followed over time. Two forms of intentions were examined: traditional behavioral intention to take part in a group-based act (personal intention), and social intentions to act as an agent of the group (social intention). In addition, the study explored other group process variables as distinctive predictors of ‘social identification’. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of social intentions, linking the findings to social identification development and maintenance over time.     

An investigation of African-American women's prestige domain interests and choice goals using Social Cognitive Career Theory

Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown & Hackett, 1994) provides a framework for understanding career development, taking into account background and contextual variables using a social cognitive perspective. Given SCCT's focus on both personal and contextual factors, it has been widely applied to understanding the career development of ethnic minorities and women. This study extends the SCCT framework by testing the SCCT career choice model with variables defined along the prestige dimension, in a sample of 198 African-American college women. Path analysis results supported SCCT propositions for the relations of prestige self-efficacy and prestige outcome expectations with prestige of vocational interests, and of prestige outcome expectations and prestige of vocational interests with prestige of choice goals. The relation of prestige self-efficacy to prestige of choice goals was fully mediated by prestige of vocational interests; the relation between prestige outcome expectations and prestige of choice goals was partially mediated by prestige of vocational interests. Contrary to SCCT, the hypothesized relation of prestige self-efficacy to prestige outcome expectations was non-significant. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the utility of SCCT in explaining the development of prestige-related career interests and choice goals among African-American women.     

The influence of social comparison on career decision-making: Vocational identity as a moderator and regret as a mediator

This study investigated the influence of social comparison on career choice certainty and its potential mechanisms: regret as a mediator and vocational identity as a moderator. Before the formal experiment, 30 pairs of vocational values representing typical conflicts in career decision-making for Chinese university students were obtained. The formal experiment adopted a single-factor (social comparison VS no comparison) between-subject design with vocational identity as an independent covariate. Ninety-eight junior and senior undergraduate students and graduate students in a university in China were invited to participate in the computer-controlled experiment, which involved vocational identity assessment, social comparison manipulation, and analogue career-choice scenario tests. Path analysis showed that: (a) Social comparison significantly and negatively predicted career choice certainty; (b) Regret partially mediated the effect of social comparison on career choice certainty; and (c) Vocational identity did not moderate the path between social comparison and regret, but significantly moderated the negative effect of regret on career choice certainty. These results indicated that in the collectivistic Chinese culture, individuals' career development trajectories may not be totally independent and are subject to influences by other people's choices, while emotion of regret and vocational identity development all play significant roles in this intricate process.     

The role of personality in adolescent career planning and exploration: A social cognitive perspective

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) recognises the importance of individual differences and contextual influences in the career decision-making process. In extending the SCCT choice model, this study tested the role of personality, social supports, and the SCCT variables of self-efficacy, outcome expectations and goals in explaining the career readiness actions of career planning and exploration. The authors surveyed 414 Australian high school students in Years 10, 11 and 12. Career exploration was associated with goals and social supports, whereas career planning was associated with self-efficacy, goals, personality and an interaction term for goals and social support that indicated that levels of planning were highest when social support and goals were highest. Implications for parents, teachers and guidance counsellors as well as recommendations for future research directions are discussed.     

Morality and behavioural regulation in groups: A social identity approach

In recent years social psychologists have displayed a growing interest in examining morality—what people consider right and wrong. The majority of work in this area has addressed this either in terms of individual-level processes (relating to moral decision making or interpersonal impression formation) or as a way to explain intergroup relations (perceived fairness of status differences, responses to group-level moral transgressions). We complement this work by examining how moral standards and moral judgements play a role in the regulation of individual behaviour within groups and social systems. In doing this we take into account processes of social identification and self-categorisation, as these help us to understand how adherence to moral standards may be functional as a way to improve group-level conceptions of self. We review a recent research programme in which we have investigated the importance of morality for group-based identities and intra-group behavioural regulation. This reveals convergent evidence of the centrality of moral judgements for people’s conceptions of the groups they belong to, and demonstrates the importance of group-specific moral norms in identifying behaviours that contribute to their identity as group members.     

Immigration and the interplay among citizenship, identity and career: The case of Ethiopian immigration to Israel

Migration is a common phenomenon of the globalization era. In this article we explore the interplay of three foundational concepts in the migration experiences of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel: citizenship, identity and career. Through our analysis we examine the multiple layers of being an immigrant citizen. Following immigration, as reflected in empirical studies with members of this community, we have observed tensions between inclusion and exclusion, equality and difference, work and family as well as gender role transformation, family restructuring, and generational differences. These issues are discussed in the context of the development of active citizenship and career. Career development is found to be a core process in the enactment of citizenship, the promotion of a sense of belonging and deeply related to identity formation. Identity as an overarching perspective, with its personal and collective meanings, plays an important role at the intersection between citizenship and career.     

Identity leadership and social identification within sport teams over a season: A social network analysis

ObjectivesThis study explored the relationships between identity leadership and social identification in sport teams over the course of a season using social network analysis.MethodsParticipants from 23 competitive sport teams (N = 388, M_age = 20.7 years) indicated the extent to which each of their teammates displayed various forms of identity leadership (i.e., identity prototypicality, identity advancement, identity entrepreneurship, identity impresarioship) and the extent to which these same teammates were seen to identify with the team (assessed by ingroup ties, cognitive centrality, ingroup affect) early and later in a season. Quadratic assignment procedure correlations and multiple quadratic assignment procedure regressions examined the relationships between the different types of networks for each team across time.ResultsAthletes who perceived team members to show greater identity leadership perceived those same teammates to identify more strongly with the team both early (rs_average > .46) and later (rs_average > 0.48) in the season. Averaged across teams, identity entrepreneurship early in the season was most strongly associated with both perceived ingroup ties (β_average = .24) and ingroup affect (β_average = 0.13) later in the season, while identity impresarioship was most strongly associated with cognitive centrality (β_average = .16). In the reversed direction, perceptions of ingroup ties early in the season were most strongly associated with all identity leadership dimensions later in the season (.28 < β_average < 0.38).ConclusionsCollectively, these findings provide evidence of a mutually reinforcing bidirectional link such that teammates who are seen as actively contributing to promote a sense of ‘us’ among team members are also more likely to be seen as identifying strongly with the team.     

Introduction: Constructivism and social constructionism in the career field

The impact of constructivism and social constructionism upon vocational psychology has often been through the use of the more generic “constructivism.” In this article constructivism is distinguished by its focus on how the individual cognitively engages in the construction of knowledge from social construction which claims that knowledge and meaning are historically and culturally constructed through social processes and action. The considerable ambiguity in the use of these terms is also discussed. Their contributions, challenges, and opportunities to the career field’s dominant discourses are examined: the dispositions discourse, the contextualizing discourse, the subjectivity and narrative discourse, and the process discourse. Broader challenges and opportunities for the field are also noted. The historical construction of knowledge, concern with language, action, and process problematize traditional understandings of career. They raise opportunities to question fundamental assumptions, focus on context, culture, the person-environment interaction, and practice.     

Career adaptability,calling and the professional competence of social work students in China: A career construction perspective

Based on career construction theory, the current research examined individual and contextual predictors for the professional competence of Chinese undergraduates majoring in social work (N = 270). Results showed that career concern and career curiosity predicted social work students' professional competence, with these relations mediated by the calling in social work. It was also found that the positive effect of calling on professional competence was stronger among students who perceived a lower level of career-oriented learning environment. The corresponding moderated mediation model was supported such that the indirect effects of career concern and career curiosity on professional competence were stronger among students who perceived a lower level of career-oriented learning environment. These findings carry implications for research on career construction theory, as well as career education and career counseling practices.     

The how and the when of the social cure: A conceptual model of group- and individual-level mechanisms linking social identity to health and well-being

In this article, we aim at theoretical specification and integration of mechanisms proposed within the Social Identity Approach to Health and Well-being. We differentiate group-level and individual-level effects of shared social identity by distinguishing three different aspects: individual identification, group identification, and individually perceived group identification. We discuss specific group-level mechanisms (i.e., mutual social support and collective self-efficacy) and individual level-mechanisms (i.e., attribution and appraisal processes regarding stressors and resources) for each of the three aspects. A core conclusion is that the positive effects of shared social identity on health and well-being crucially depend on its close relationship with social support, and that although social support is an interindividual phenomenon, it is intraindividual mechanisms—attribution and appraisal—that shape the psychological partnership between social identity and social support. Therefore, we put special emphasis on cross-level interactions between group- and individual-level mechanisms, which have been widely neglected in earlier research.     

Child vocational development: A review and reconsideration

Childhood marks the dawn of human development. To organize, integrate, and advance knowledge about vocational development during this age period from a life-span perspective, we conducted a comprehensive review of the empirical vocational development literature that addresses early-to-late childhood. The review considers career exploration, career awareness, vocational expectations and aspirations, vocational interests, and career maturity/adaptability. By conducting the review, we sought to consolidate knowledge and identify avenues for further research concerned with vocational development in childhood and across the life span. Linking knowledge of child vocational development with what is known about adolescent and adult vocational development and conducting research that embeds vocational development within the fabric of a life-span developmental framework could move the field of vocational psychology from a disjointed perspective on career as studied in isolated age groups and toward an integrated life-span conceptualization.     

Cycle commuting intention: A model based on theory of planned behaviour and social identity

Although cycling as a mode of transport can provide various important benefits to cities and their transport systems, it accounts for only a small proportion of commuter trips in southern Europe. The aim of this study was to develop a new model based on Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behaviour (TPB), but including social identity as an additional predictor variable to improve the explanatory capability of the TPB. We conducted a telephone survey of a representative sample of 595 non-cycle commuters in the Spanish city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, which has a moderate proportion of bicycle users (6.9%). Confirmatory factor analysis to test the model showed satisfactory overall measurement fit, and all sub-scales had high reliability and validity coefficients. The findings demonstrated the value of incorporating social identity into the TPB to capture motivational factors relevant to cycle commuting. The relationships between the factors in the model indicated that there is a strong link between identifying as ‘a cyclist’ and perceived self-efficacy with respect to cycling. Furthermore, the results suggest that a more specific measure of perceived self-efficacy, targeting concrete behaviours could be used to inform development of initiatives to promote urban cycling. Our data also revealed that, excluding control variables such as journey time, economic cost and distance, the psychosocial variables included in the model predicted 32% of the variance in car users’ intention to start commuting by bicycle.     

The social dynamics involved in recovery and return to sport following a sport-related concussion: A study of three athlete-teammate-coach triads

An athlete's connection to their team and team members is an important part of their sport experience. However, researchers currently know little about the nature of these social dynamics with respect to concussed athletes. Our study explored athletes' recovery and reintegration into the team environment following a sport-related concussion. We conducted semi-structured interviews with each member of three athlete-teammate-coach triads (N = 9). We analysed the data using thematic narrative analysis and present the results as three stories that focused on each athlete's experience. For Cassie, we found two major plot points in her story: the transition in her role (and shift in identity) from athlete to student assistant coach/team manager and, once recovered, back to an athlete on the team. For Jess, we found that the main plot in her story was “pressure”. Specifically, the interplay between internal (placed on herself) and external (perceived from teammates and coaches) pressures to return to sport. In the third and final story, the main plot point was the tensions that arose from Jaden's preferences for social support and the type of support that his teammates and coaches believed he needed during his recovery. Our results highlight the interplay between athlete's personal and social identities, feelings of pressure to return and readiness, and the challenges of providing the right amount and type of social support. This research contributes to our limited understanding of the social dynamics involved in athletes' return to sport following a concussion.     

Career adaptability,job search self-efficacy and outcomes: A three-wave investigation among Chinese university graduates

Based on career construction theory, the current research examined the role of career adaptability in Chinese university graduates' job search process (N = 270). Results from a three-wave survey study showed that the four dimension of career adaptability (measured at wave 1) correlated positively with university graduates' job search self-efficacy (measured at wave 2) and their employment status (measured at wave 3). Among graduates who became employed, career adaptability dimensions also predicted positively their person–environment (P–E) fit perceptions (measured at wave 3). The results further showed that with the effects of demographics (gender, age, education level and major) and family background (family economical status and parental education) controlled for, when putting the four dimensions of career adaptability together, career concern and career control served as the strongest predictors for job search self-efficacy, which further mediated the positive effects of these two dimensions on employment status. In addition, career control also had indirect effect on P–E fit through the mediation of job search self-efficacy. Additional analyses using the global indicator of career adaptability also supported this mediation model such that career adaptability significantly predicted employment status and P–E fit, with these relations mediated by job search self-efficacy. These findings carry implications for research on career construction theory, as well as career education and career counseling practices.     

Protégés’ and mentors’ reactions to participating in formal mentoring programs: A qualitative investigation

Mentors and protégés from two formal mentoring programs were interviewed about the benefits associated with program participation, problems encountered in the program, and recommendations for program improvements. The most commonly reported benefits for protégés included learning, coaching, career planning, and psychosocial support. Mentors most frequently reported learning, developing a personal relationship, personal gratification, and enhanced managerial skills. Both groups identified a range of problems including mentor-protégé mismatches, scheduling difficulties, and geographic distance. Unique problems were also identified, including mentor neglect (by protégés), unmet expectations (by protégés), structural separation from the mentor (by protégés), and feelings of personal inadequacy (by mentors). Finally, suggestions for program improvement were identified such as clearer communication of program objectives, better matching, targeted participation in the program, and better program monitoring. Findings are discussed in terms of what we currently know about informal mentoring and implications for mentoring theory. Suggestions for mentoring practice are also discussed.     

Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis

A longitudinal analysis of panel data from users of a popular online social network site, Facebook, investigated the relationship between intensity of Facebook use, measures of psychological well-being, and bridging social capital. Two surveys conducted a year apart at a large U.S. university, complemented with in-depth interviews with 18 Facebook users, provide the study data. Intensity of Facebook use in year one strongly predicted bridging social capital outcomes in year two, even after controlling for measures of self-esteem and satisfaction with life. These latter psychological variables were also strongly associated with social capital outcomes. Self-esteem served to moderate the relationship between Facebook usage intensity and bridging social capital: those with lower self-esteem gained more from their use of Facebook in terms of bridging social capital than higher self-esteem participants. We suggest that Facebook affordances help reduce barriers that lower self-esteem students might experience in forming the kinds of large, heterogeneous networks that are sources of bridging social capital.     

Public involvement in social and political participation processes: A gender perspective

One interesting perspective from which to investigate participation processes is that of gender (Angelique & Culley, 2007). The disparity between male and female participation is evident, in particular when dealing with politics. The research reported here examines any differences between men and women in three different groups: non‐participants (N = 201), social participants (N = 167) and political participants (N = 184). Two specific aspects were considered: (a) the perception of sociopolitical control, that is leadership competence and policy control, and (b) the perception of costs and benefits derived from participation. In focusing on such perceptions, if any difference could be evidenced, we aimed to investigate if this difference was determined by gender, by the type of participation or by the interaction of gender and participation. Data show that leadership competence and policy control were both influenced by the type of participation. An interaction effect of gender and type of commitment for policy control was observed and gender had a direct effect on leadership competence. These results suggest that the gender gap seems to be connected more to the context than to effective gender characteristics. Other data on the perception of costs and benefits are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.