The career aspirations and occupational interests of culturally disadvantaged children

The occupational aspirations and interests of a sample of culturally disadvantaged children aged 15½ years and a matched control group were compared. Whilst the disadvantaged boys aspired to jobs of lower social-class status than their control-group peers, the two girls' groups showed very similar aspiration levels, and the disadvantaged group as a whole was oriented towards skilled jobs. The mean occupational interest profiles of the groups did not differ significantly. A higher proportion of the disadvantaged children were reported as being unemployed shortly after leaving school. It is concluded that there was a serious mismatch between the career aspirations of some of the disadvantaged group and their prospects. Ways in which this might be reduced through better school careers guidance and education programmes are briefly considered.     

The influence of gender on occupational aspirations of kindergarten children

By updating and extending previous research on the effect of gender role socialization on occupational choices of children, this research found very sexstereotypical occupational preferences in a sample of 540 kindergarten children. The girls in the study selected occupations that averaged 87% female and the boys selected occupations averaging 84% male. The boys perceived a significantly wider range of vocational options than the girls. In a reversal condition, children were asked to pretend to be of the opposite sex. Most of the children selected occupations with sex ratios favoring their pretended sex; girls were slightly more stereotypic than boys. An unanticipated finding was the extremeness of reactions of the boys to the suggestion that they pretend to be girls. It is argued that current sex-role socialization fails to recognize the realities of the expanding participation of women in the paid labor force.     

The relationship between gender role orientation and perceived self-competency in male and female adolescents

Sex Roles - Relationships among gender, gender role orientation, grade, and perceived self-competency were examined in this study. Subjects were almost entirely Caucasian and included one hundred...     

The relationship between perceived surface-lightness and perceived illumination

Summary An attempt was made to specify the relationship between perceived surface lightness and perceived illumination under the stimulus conditions where different combinations of albedo and illuminance gave 10 approximately equal-luminance levels of a test field (TF) on three different (black-, gray- and white-appearing) backgrounds. Two types of category judgments for TF-lightness and overall illumination were made on the total of 94 TFs by 5 Ss. The results indicated that under the condition where achromatic surface colors appear, the perceptual scission which produces two different perceptual dimensions (lightness and perceived illumination) from one sort of stimulation (luminance) was clearly observed. The relation between the two judgments was consistent with the lightness-illumination invariance hypothesis: As lightness judgments (A) changed from darker to lighter, illumination judgments (I) shifted form brighter to dimmer, the sum of A and I being kept nearly invariant for a given luminance of the TF; the psychological relationship between lightness and illumination, A+I, changed as a linear function of the photometric combination of albedo and illuminance, log A+log I. It was also found that the albedo of the background was an important factor determining the extent of perceptual scission between lightness and illumination.     

The relationship between spirituality, religiousness, and career adaptability

The present study examined the relationship between spirituality, religiousness, and career adaptability using a sample of undergraduate students (N = 144). We proposed that higher levels of religiousness and spirituality would predict higher levels of career adaptability, defined in this study by career decision self-efficacy and career choice commitment. Results partially confirmed the hypothesis as intrinsic religiousness and spiritual awareness served as significant predictors of career decision self-efficacy. In addition, extrinsic religiousness-personal served as a significant predictor for tendency to foreclose on career choices. The results indicate that individuals who have a strong spiritual relationship with a higher power and are religious due to intrinsic motivation tend to be more confident in their ability to make career decisions and are open to exploring a variety of career options. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed and future research directions are proposed.     

Perceived career congruence between adolescents and their parents as a moderator between goal orientation and career aspirations

We surveyed 601 Indonesian high school students (57.6% girls, mean age = 16.4 years) and investigated whether perceived career congruence between adolescents and their parents served as moderator between goal orientation (i.e., mastery-approach, performance-approach, and performance-avoid) and career aspirations. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that perceived congruence moderated the effects of mastery-approach and performance-approach, but not performance-avoid, on career aspirations. Mastery-approach orientation was more strongly related to career aspirations when perceived congruence was higher; whereas, performance-prove orientation was more weakly related when perceived congruence was higher. These findings highlight important roles for approach orientations and perceived career congruence between adolescents and their parents in career aspirations of adolescents in collectivist contexts.     

Career success: The role of teenage career aspirations,ambition value and gender in predicting adult social status and earnings

Links between family social background, teenage career aspirations, educational performance and adult social status attainment are well documented. Using a contextual developmental framework, this article extends previous research by examining the role of gender and teenage ambition value in shaping social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. Drawing on data from an 18-year British follow up study we tested a path model linking family background factors (such as family social status and parental aspirations) and individual agency factors in adolescence (in particular, career aspirations and ambition value) to social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. The findings suggest that ambition value is linked to adult earnings. That is, young people for whom it is important to get on in their job earn more money in adulthood than their less ambitious peers. The findings also confirm that teenage career aspirations are linked to adult social status attainment, and suggest that family background factors, teenage career aspirations and ambition value interact to influence social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. Gender differences are discussed.     

Career success: The role of teenage career aspirations,ambition value and gender in predicting adult social status and earnings

Links between family social background, teenage career aspirations, educational performance and adult social status attainment are well documented. Using a contextual developmental framework, this article extends previous research by examining the role of gender and teenage ambition value in shaping social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. Drawing on data from an 18-year British follow up study we tested a path model linking family background factors (such as family social status and parental aspirations) and individual agency factors in adolescence (in particular, career aspirations and ambition value) to social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. The findings suggest that ambition value is linked to adult earnings. That is, young people for whom it is important to get on in their job earn more money in adulthood than their less ambitious peers. The findings also confirm that teenage career aspirations are linked to adult social status attainment, and suggest that family background factors, teenage career aspirations and ambition value interact to influence social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. Gender differences are discussed.     

The relationship between career adaptability, person and situation variables, and career concerns in young adults

We surveyed 245 first-year university students using measures of career concerns, career adaptability (career planning, career exploration, self-exploration, decision-making, self-regulation), goal-orientation (learning, performance-prove, performance-avoid) and social support (family, friends, significant others), and tested: (a) whether the career adaptability variables could be represented by a second-order factor of career adaptability; (b) whether career adaptability, goal-orientation and social support were associated with fewer career concerns; and (c) whether career adaptability mediated the relationship between goal-orientation and social support and career concerns. The study demonstrated that the career adaptability variables were inter-related and could be represented by a higher-order factor. Decision-making and self-exploration were negatively associated with career concerns, and decision-making mediated the relationship between goal-orientation and career concerns. Having more of a learning orientation was associated with more decision-making and fewer career concerns, whereas holding a performance-prove orientation was associated with poorer decision-making and more career concerns.     

The relationship between career growth and organizational commitment

This research examines the relationship between employees' career growth and organizational commitment. Career growth was conceptualized by four factors: career goal progress, professional ability development, promotion speed and remuneration growth, while organizational commitment was conceptualized using Meyer and Allen's (1997) three component model. Survey data, collected from 961 employees in 10 cities in the People's Republic of China, showed that the four dimensions of career growth were positively related to affective commitment, and that three of the facets were positively related to continuance and normative commitment. Only three of eighteen two-way interactions among the career growth factors affected organizational commitment, suggesting that the career growth factors influence commitment in an additive rather than a multiplicative manner.Results focus on how career growth can be used to manage organizational commitment.     

Cross-lagged relationships between career aspirations and goal orientation in early adolescents

We surveyed 217 students (145 girls; average age = 14.6 years) on two occasions, twelve months apart, on measures of career aspirations (job aspirations, job expectations, educational aspirations) and goal orientation (learning, performance-prove, performance-avoid), and tested the causal relationship between goal orientation and aspirations. We assessed five plausible cross-lagged models (a baseline model testing stability and synchronous effects only, a standard causal model with added cross-lagged paths from goal orientation at T1 to the outcome variables at T2, a reverse-causation model, a reciprocal-causation model, and a model of best fit). We found significant, synchronous associations at T1 and T2 between goal orientation and career aspiration, significant stability coefficients for all variables, and support for a standard causal model, with changes in performance-prove and performance-avoid orientations, but not learning orientation, associated with changes in career aspirations over time. We discuss the outcomes in relation to theory and the implications for practitioners.     

The relationship between computer-game preference,gender, and mental-rotation ability

This study examined how computer-game preference relates to mental-rotation test (MRT) performance and to gender differences. Subjects were 861 German secondary-school children (mean age = 14.67; range 10–20 years). Latent class analysis with the data of a computer-game preference scale revealed three types of players: “non-players”, “action-and-simulation game players” and “logic-and-skill-training game players”. Large gender differences were found with respect to class assignment. More females than males were found in the “logic-and-skill-training game player” class (82.9%) and in the class of “non-players” (81.9%). Males in contrast were overrepresented (81.7%) in the class of “action-and-simulation game players”. As expected, males on average outperformed females in mental-rotation test performance (d = 0.63). Furthermore, ANOVA results indicated mean differences in mental-rotation ability between action-and-simulation players and non-players (partial η² = .01) as well as age differences (partial η² = .04). With boys, non-players on average had lower MRT scores than action-and-simulation game players. For females, computer-game preference was unrelated to MRT performance. Results are discussed within a nature–nurture-interactionist framework of gender differences in spatial abilities.     

Career barriers and reading ability as correlates of career aspirations and expectations of parents and their children

Data were obtained from 176 Year 7 children (mean age = 12.2 years) on career status aspirations and expectations, career barriers, academic engagement, academic control beliefs, general ability and literacy; and from parents, mainly mothers, on aspirations, expectations and career barriers. Discrepancy scores between aspirations and expectations were calculated for both children and parents. Children differed from parents on career status aspirations and expectations; boys did not differ from girls, and parents did not differentiate between boys and girls. Parents’ and children’s aspirations were both associated with reading ability, although the association was weak for the children. Children’s expectations were associated with perceptions of career barriers, and a trend towards reading abilities, while parents’ expectations were associated with general ability and reading.     

The relationship between memory complaints,activity and perceived health status

Subjective memory complaints (SMC) is a possible symptom of mild cognitive impairment which may progress to dementia. The present study examines the relationship of physical activity (PA), cognitive activity (CA), social activity (SA), and perceived health status (HS) with SMC for middle age and older adults. Participants were from the MIDUS II study (Midlife in the United States) recruited in 2004–2006 (Mean age = 55.99; N = 3030). Hierarchical multiple regression was performed with SMC as the dependent variable, along with PA, CA, SA, and HS as the independent variables. The study revealed that SMC was strongly related to PA, CA, and HS, while controlling covariates. Further, HS had the strongest link with SMC among these predictors while interaction effects (PA × HS, CA × HS, and SA × HS) were insignificant. In addition, different results were achieved in younger versus older groups. Participants with more CA, PA and perception of better health had lower frequency of memory complaints.     

Educational and career aspirations of sixteen-year-olds Ken

Data obtained at the 16-year stage of the National Child Development Study provide information on the job expectations, aspirations and educational plans of some 12,000 young people in their final year of compulsory schooling. The interrelationships among these measures, and the associations with, for example, sex, social class and ability, are examined.     

The relationship between vocational interest differentiation and career undecidedness

Fifty-four female and thirty male students over 20 years old were administered the Career Decision Scale and the six occupational scales of the Vocational Preference Inventory in order to test the hypothesis that indecision is negatively related to occupational interest differentiation in an adult population. Interest differentiation did not appear to be a reliable indicator of vocational undecidedness.     

Perceived career barriers and coping among youth in Israel: Ethnic and gender differences

This study investigated gender and ethnic differences in the perception of different types of career barriers among young adults in relation to their views of themselves as individuals (Personal Career Barriers) and their views of their gender and ethnic group (Group Career Barriers). This study also explored gender and ethnic differences in the sense of efficacy in coping with career barriers. The participants were 406 university students: 156 Israeli-born Jews, 133 Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union and 117 Arab-Israelis. The results indicated that their perceptions of the different types of career barriers and their sense of coping efficacy differ according to gender and ethnic group and that there are also joint effects of gender and ethnicity. The results showed that participants rated group barriers higher than personal career barriers. However, the discrepancies were different in each of the three ethnic groups. Perceived career barriers were negatively associated with the sense of coping efficacy and positively associated with non-productive coping strategies. The implications for future research and counseling for minority groups are discussed.     

The relationship between vocational interests and the location of an ideal occupation in the individual's perceived occupational structure

The relationship between vocational interests and the location of an ideal occupation in the perceived occupational structure of career counselees was investigated. Ninety-six career counselees completed the RAMAK vocational interest inventory. Then, the occupational constructs of each subject were elicited by the career grid procedure. Finally, each subject rated 24 occupations and his/her ideal and rejected occupations on his/her own elicited constructs. The intrasubject analyses indicated that the preferences for occupational fields as measured by the interest inventory reflect the fields' proximity to an ideal occupation in the individual's perceived occupational structure. The implications for career development are discussed.     

On the reciprocal relationship between gender and occupation: Rethinking the assumptions concerning masculine career development

Social scientists who study the career development of women have tended to ignore variables which function to inhibit or facilitate change in the traditional pattern of men's vocational behavior. Although such neglect is understandable, given the pervasive promasculine bias of society and the parallel disparagement of what has traditionally been considered “women's work,” economists and sociologists have long pointed out that the vocational behavior of both sexes must change for there to be any significant alteration in the sexual division of labor. The present paper suggested the utility of viewing masculine career behavior as an extension of male sex role, and investigated counselors' reactions to an experimental analog of the vocational counseling process. As predicted, the counselors demonstrated negative reactions to a male aspiring to a nontraditional (i.e., feminine) occupation. The discussion outlined suggestions for research into factors which may relate to change in the traditional patterns of men's vocational behavior.     

The relationship between conformity to gender norms,sexual orientation,and gender identity for sexual minorities

The current study examined how dimensions of masculinity and femininity were expressed for sexual minorities. Cluster analysis was used to determine the number of latent classes for conformity to masculine and feminine norms for sexual minorities. A four-class solution was the best fit to the data. Cluster 1 (labeled Relating to others through equality and caring, n = 41) was characterized by low dominance and power over women and high involvement with kids and have nice relationships norms. Cluster 2 (labeled Relating to others through avoidance and misogyny, n = 38) was characterized by low risk-taking and have nice relationships and high power over women and disdain for homosexuality. Cluster 3 (labeled Relating to others through power, n = 34) was characterized by high winning, pursuit of status, and appearance and low modesty. Cluster 4 (labeled Relating to others through sex, n = 27) was characterized by low involvement in romantic relationships and sexual fidelity while endorsing high playboy attitudes. Results indicate that conforming to gender norms tends to follow categories of interpersonal beliefs and behaviors rather than being based in gender identity or sexual orientation. Implications of the results for future research and clinical practice are examined.