The influence of a career group experience on the vocational maturity of college students

The effects of a career group experience on the vocational maturity of theoretically grouped college freshmen and sophomores were investigated using Super's Career Development Inventory as the dependent measure. The dimensions of consistency/inconsistency and differentiation/nondifferentiation, as identified utilizing Holland's Vocational Preference Inventory, were investigated along with the dimensions of treatment/nontreatment and interaction effects. Predictions related to change in vocational maturity as a result of treatment were made for each dimension. The analysis sample was a group of 68 volunteer freshman and sophomore college students. Results indicated that students did significantly increase their vocational maturity as a result of the group experience. Furthermore, it was found, as predicted, that within experimental groups inconsistent and nondifferentiated students improved significantly more on some vocational maturity measures than consistent or differentiated students. Students who were both inconsistent and nondifferentiated showed consistently greater increases on virtually all vocational maturity measures than all other theoretical groups.     

Success and motivation among college students

The present research explores college students’ explanations of their success and failure in challenging activities and how it relates to students’ efficacy, value, and engagement. The results suggest most students hold one primary reason for success during the challenging activity, including grade/extrinsic, mastery/intrinsic, amotivation/working, social, and performance. These task reasons for success, if assumed to be goals, were more numerous than those suggested by goal theory. Task reason for success was important for engagement, intrinsic value, difficulty compared to others, and effort. As expected, engagement and intrinsic value were highest for those with mastery reasons but lowest for those in amotivation or those who succeeded because they made the grade. Unexpectedly, success was more important for motivation and experience of the activity. These results suggest that it is important to examine not only student goals, but also whether or not students reach their goals.     

The effects of a career course on undecided college students

The effects of a career course taught by 11 instructors (two sections each) for college students, who were undecided about a major field or career, were evaluated in a pre-post design using the Vocational Identity, Occupational Information, and Barrier scales of the My Vocational Situation (J. A. Holland, D. C. Daiger, & P. G. Power, Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1980). Large main effects were observed for the Identity and Occupational Information scales, but not for the Barriers scale. No interactions by instructor or student characteristics were found by using a simple ANOVA procedure or by using a split plot factorial design. The implications for new research and career instructors were discussed.     

免费师范生的教师职业认同与学习动机及学业成就的关系研究

研究以714名免费师范生为被试,采用问卷测量法,考察了其教师职业认同状况、内部和外部学习动机特点,以及教师职业认同、学习动机和学业成就之间的关系。结果发现:(1)在教师职业认同上,免费师范生对教师职业的内在价值认同显著高于外在价值认同,外在价值认同显著高于意志行为认同,职业认同的总体情况略高于中等水平,还有一定的提升空间;(2)内部学习动机比较积极,且显著高于外部学习动机;(3)教师职业认同和学习动机、学习动机和学业成就之间均存在显著的正相关,且教师职业认同对学业成就有稳定的预测力;(4)外部学习动机在教师职业认同和学业成就之间起了部分中介的作用。     

Targeting low career confidence using the career planning confidence scale

The authors describe the development and validation of a test of career planning confidence that makes possible the targeting of specific problem issues in employment counseling. The scale, developed using a rational process and the authors' experience with clients, was tested for criterion‐related validity against 2 other measures. The scale produced a 6‐factor structure that replicates common career planning models: Readiness to Make a Career Decision, Self‐Assessment, Generating Options, Information Seeking, Deciding, and Implementing a Decision. Validity and reliability of the scale are discussed, along with suggestions for employment counseling practice.     

Cognitive complexity and career maturity among college students

The role of cognitive complexity in the career maturity of college students was investigated. Simple and multiple correlational analyses were performed upon data from 99 college students who were administered the Attitude Scale and Competence Test of the Career Maturity Inventory, the Bieri Repertory Test, and the Bodden Cognitive Differentiation Grid. Results generally supported the prediction that career maturity would be found to be positively associated with cognitive complexity.     

Burnout risk among first-year teacher students: The roles of personality and motivation

The present study identified individual variables by which first-year teacher students' risk for burnout can be detected at an early stage. We analyzed a sample of teacher students (n = 559) and a control group of psychology students (n = 150) by using multinomial logistic regression analyses. We estimated the impact of personality (Five-Factor model) and motivation for choosing teacher education on work-related coping behavior and experiences (WCEP types: healthy-ambitious, unambitious, excessively-ambitious, and risk for burnout). Neuroticism and the extrinsic motivation of choosing teacher education (the assumed low difficulty of studies) were risk factors for unhealthy, stress-related coping behavior and experiences. In contrast, high levels of extraversion and conscientiousness as well as intrinsic motivation for choosing teacher education (subject-specific interest) were related to healthy-ambitious behavior. Relations of personality and stress-related WCEP types were partially moderated according to field of study (teaching versus psychology). Our results are of particular importance for improving counseling programs that advise prospective teacher students regarding their individual fit to the requirements and challenges of the teaching profession and for correcting false expectations about study demands.     

Attachment relationships and physical activity motivation of college students

This study was designed to assess the link of attachment relationships with physical activity motivation. Potential mediators of this link were examined in a cross-sectional study targeting college student physical activity motivation and behaviour. Participants completed self-reports of attachment relationships (with mother, father and best friend), self-determined motivation for physical activity, physical activity behaviour and the hypothesised mediator variables of perceived competence, autonomy and relatedness. The results provide support for the mediating role of these variables in the association of father attachment with self-determined motivation. Meaningful variance in self-determined motivation for physical activity and physical activity behaviour was explained. Overall, attachment relationships appear to be relevant, albeit modestly, to physical activity motivation of college students. The findings support continued efforts to integrate attachment and motivational perspectives in the study of college student health behaviour.     

Attachment relationships and physical activity motivation of college students

This study was designed to assess the link of attachment relationships with physical activity motivation. Potential mediators of this link were examined in a cross-sectional study targeting college student physical activity motivation and behaviour. Participants completed self-reports of attachment relationships (with mother, father and best friend), self-determined motivation for physical activity, physical activity behaviour and the hypothesised mediator variables of perceived competence, autonomy and relatedness. The results provide support for the mediating role of these variables in the association of father attachment with self-determined motivation. Meaningful variance in self-determined motivation for physical activity and physical activity behaviour was explained. Overall, attachment relationships appear to be relevant, albeit modestly, to physical activity motivation of college students. The findings support continued efforts to integrate attachment and motivational perspectives in the study of college student health behaviour.     

Decision making style and career indecision in college students

In an attempt to better understand the process of career indecision in college students, 203 college students enrolled in introductory psychology were given the Career Decision Scale, a measure of career undecidedness, and the Johnson Decision Making Inventory, a measure of typologies regarding decision making styles. The results indicate that one of the four Johnson types is associated with a significantly higher degree of career indecision. Spontaneous external decision making types scored highest on the Career Decision Scale, followed by spontaneous internals, whose scores were not significantly different from systematic externals, followed by systematic internals. The results must be cautiously interpreted because of the relatively small sample size, but do suggest that investigations of decision making typologies may prove to be productive in furthering understanding of the forces associated with career indecision in college students.     

Promoting career information seeking behaviors in college students

This study was concerned with the effects of group reinforcement counseling on the frequency of career information-seeking behaviors for 94 theoretically grouped college freshmen and sophomore males. Holland's Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) was used to identify consistent-inconsistent vocational patterns and Crites' Vocational Inventory (VDI) was used to identify vocational maturity-immaturity. Predictions about behavioral change were made for each theoretical conception. Three counseling sessions each 1.5 hr long were utilized. Pre-, post-, and post-post measures of cognitive and active information seeking behaviors outside of the treatment sessions were taken. Group reinforcement counseling and vocational consistency were significantly related to behavioral change over the 6 weeks of this investigation. Unanticipated results regarding the tested dimensions and behavior change are reported and discussed.     

Job choice and career relevance for today's college students

Previous research on college student employment has focused on differences among students based on year of college attendance but included relatively few participants over the age of 25. The current study investigated the relationship between job choice, job/career relevance, and job satisfaction for students under age 20 (n = 143), students ages 20–24 (n = 253), and students over age 25 (n = 141). Results revealed significant differences among age groups in reasons for job choice and reaffirmed the positive correlation that past research had found between job satisfaction and career relevance. Findings emphasized the importance of choosing employment for career‐oriented reasons rather than for reasons of convenience.     

The Sexual Desire Inventory as a measure of sexual motivation in college students

The human sexual response consists of at least two phases of behavior, the motivational phase and the consummatory phase, which are difficult to isolate. Sexual motivation questionnaires commonly contain items that assume sexual intercourse or partners' experience and are often difficult to use with sexually inexperienced persons. The Sexual Desire Inventory by Spector, Carey, and Steinberg does not appear to be confounded with consummatory behavior. Our goal was to check whether it can be used to measure sexual motivation. 40 men and 63 women completed the Sexual Experience Scale of sexual motivation by Frenken and Vennix and the Sexual Desire Inventory. Scores on the two inventories were highly correlated with this measure of sexual motivation and may be used with sexually inexperienced individuals.     

The relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement for first generation Latino college students

Hispanic students are pursuing higher education more than in previous years and they often represent their family as the first member to attend college (Strage in Coll Stud J 33:198–205, 1999). Past educational research has studied the influence of intrinsic motivation on academic achievement in various ethnically diverse elementary, middle school and high school student populations (Areepattamannil in Soc Psychol Educ 15:367–386, 2012; Crumpton and Gregory in J Educ Psychol 104:42–53, 2011; Lepper et al. in J Educ Psychol 92:184–196, 2005). Despite the fact that many studies using college student samples have also shown the positive role of intrinsic motivation with achievement outcomes (Harackiewicz et al. in Educ Psychol 33:1–21, 1998; Simons et al. in Br J Educ Psychol 74:343–360, 2004; Vallerand and Bissonnette in J Pers 60:599–620, 1992), few studies focus on Latino samples. We expect that intrinsic motivation may play an important role in the academic achievement of Latino students, particularly first generation college students. The current review will examine self-determination theory, including intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, as well as relevant research pertaining to the connection between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement. The relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement for first generation Latino college students will be examined along with ways to increase intrinsic motivation and academic achievement in turn. Implications for future research will be discussed.     

Peer influence on bulimic symptoms in college students

This longitudinal study examined the influence of peer selection and socialization on bulimic symptoms in college students. Ninety-eight participants completed measures of bulimic symptoms, self-esteem, perfectionism, and impulsivity in the spring and fall of 2003. Peer influence was assessed by examining similarity among selected peers, unselected peers, and nonpeers over time. Among selected peers, bulimic symptoms demonstrated patterns of socialization, self-esteem and perfectionism demonstrated patterns of selection, and these personality traits longitudinally predicted changes in bulimic symptoms. Unselected peers demonstrated no similarity for bulimia, self-esteem, or perfectionism, but they did evidence socialization for impulsivity. The findings support an etiological model that integrates social and individual risk factors in creating environments that influence disordered eating among college students.     

Causal attributions of high and low achievement motivation college students for performance on examinations

College students high and low in test anxiety attributed their performance on each of four examinations in a course to ability, test difficulty, preparation, and luck. Individuals high and low in test anxiety typically evidence systematic predispositions to account for their achievement-related behavior in different terms. The present research substantially replicated these earlier (laboratory and Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Scale) findings in an actual achievement setting. In addition, however, the present findings differed from the earlier evidence in some important respects. Specifically, (a) high test-anxiety students' attributions for failure were far less self-deprecating than in the laboratory evidence, and (b) high test-anxiety students' attributions (for both success and failure) became more personally flattering, or comforting, as the semester progressed. Results were discussed in terms of the laboratory — field distinction and of the influence of a temporal, or time of measurement, factor, hitherto ignored in the causal attribution literature.This research was facilitated by a grant from the Research Council of the Graduate School, University of Missouri-Columbia, and the National Institute of Mental Health (1 R08 31910), both to the first author.     

The influence of social anxiety on the body checking behaviors of female college students

Social anxiety and eating pathology frequently co-occur. However, there is limited research examining the relationship between anxiety and body checking, aside from one study in which social physique anxiety partially mediated the relationship between body checking cognitions and body checking behavior (Haase, Mountford, & Waller, 2007). In an independent sample of 567 college women, we tested the fit of Haase and colleagues’ foundational model but did not find evidence of mediation. Thus we tested the fit of an expanded path model that included eating pathology and clinical impairment. In the best-fitting path model (CFI = .991; RMSEA = .083) eating pathology and social physique anxiety positively predicted body checking, and body checking positively predicted clinical impairment. Therefore, women who endorse social physique anxiety may be more likely to engage in body checking behaviors and experience impaired psychosocial functioning.     

Relationships of achievement motivation and sex-role identity to college women's career orientation

Two career orientation factors, Career Centeredness and Career Commitment, were predicted to relate differentially to women's achievement motivation and sex-role identity. Career Centeredness is an orientation which places a career above other life activities (e.g., recreation, family life, etc.) as a source of satisfaction whereas Career Commitment concerns the intention of steadily pursuing a career throughout life. The expectation that Career Centeredness would be more characteristic of masculine women and correlate higher with achievement motivation than would Career Commitment was generally supported. Results are discussed in terms of societal support for these two career orientations and of role conflict experienced by women with different sex-role identities.