The relationship among positive emotional dispositions,career adaptability,and satisfaction in Italian high school students

Using a sample of 242 Italian high school students, we examined the direct relation of hope and optimism on four dimensions of career adaptability (i.e. curiosity, confidence, control, and concern) as well as the mediating effect of these four adaptability dimensions on the relations of hope and optimism on the subcomponents of satisfaction. The results of the study demonstrated that both hope and optimism significantly predicted various dimensions of career adaptability. Additionally, the degree to which hope related to students' subcomponents of satisfaction was mediated by two of the four dimensions of career adaptability (i.e. curiosity and confidence). The dimensions of adaptability did not mediate the relations of optimism on satisfaction. These findings have implications for both research and practice.     

Seemingly Anomalous WISC-IV Full Scale IQ Scores in the American and Canadian Standardization Samples

The American and Canadian standardization samples for the fourth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were used to ascertain the prevalence of “seemingly anomalous” Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores for all possible sums of scaled scores combinations of the Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Reasoning Index, Working Memory Index, and Processing Speed Index. About 1% of FSIQ scores in both samples were anomalous (that is, fell outside the range of the four indices). Interestingly, the prevalence of anomalous scores was higher at the extremes of the FSIQ distribution. Moreover, anomalous FSIQ scores occurring above or below the mean of the FSIQ distribution (that is, 100) were larger or smaller, respectively, than any of the four indices. Furthermore, if the range of the four indices did contain the FSIQ (the non-anomalous case), when the FSIQ was below or above 100 it tended to be located distally in the half-segment of the range furthest below or above 100, respectively. A non-technical intuitive analogy from Olympic sports and a statistical explanation for the findings are provided. Important implications for practitioners are also presented. Portions of this paper were presented March 17, 2006 at the 20th annual Joseph R. Royce Research Conference, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.     

Continuity in adolescent career preparation and its effects on adjustment

Career preparation represents a major developmental task of adolescence, which has not received sufficient attention in empirical research on career development. Thus, this study was designed to examine the structure, continuity, and change in adolescent career preparation and its relationships with adjustment. The data were collected from a diverse sample of 389 adolescents on four occasions beginning in Grade 11 in high school and ending 6 months after high school graduation. Using Structural Equations modeling, a four-wave, developmental model of adolescent career preparation indicated by career decidedness, planning, and confidence was shown to fit the empirical data very well. Career preparation was characterized by continuity and a consistent pattern of positive concurrent and prospective associations with various indicators of adjustment. The results of the study provide empirical support for the theoretical propositions about the adaptive role of adolescent career preparation, particularly in terms of its contribution to psychological well-being and social integration.     

Work values system development during adolescence

Work values stability, change, and development can be appreciably reduced to a living system model [Ford, D. H. (1994). Humans as self-constructing living systems: A developmental perspective on behavior and personality (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates]. This theoretical model includes discrepancy-reducing and cohesion-amplifying mechanisms that interact to govern the change in standard- and goal-oriented work values over time [Boldero, J., & Francis, J. (2002). Goals, standards, and the self: reference values serving different functions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6(3), 232-241]. Employing longitudinal data from a sample of adolescents (n = 1010) spanning the 9th through the 12th grades, the results demonstrate that the value system develops in a theoretically predictable fashion during the adolescent period. Discrepancy reduction and cohesion mechanisms interact to either maintain or increase the integrity of and harmony between standard-oriented values associated with high school part-time work experiences and goal-oriented work values related to anticipated career-oriented work during adulthood. Exploratory analyses suggest that adolescents’ educational expectations influence the relative salience of standard- and goal-oriented work values and the discrepancy reduction process linking the two over time.     

Career transitions in times of social change. His and her story

Drawing on data collected from two longitudinal Cohort Studies following the lives of over 20,000 individuals born in the United Kingdom 12 years apart in 1958 and 1970, respectively, this paper examines antecedents and outcomes of educational and occupational aspirations of young men and women, covering the transition from dependent childhood into independent adulthood. Two analytical models, a Social Reproduction Model and a Developmental-Contextual Model are tested to assess the processes by which family background and the wider socio-historical context influence work and family related careers. The findings demonstrate the persistent role of gender, social origin and individual agency processes as well as the influence of a changing socio-historical context on career development. Results are interpreted with regard to biographical agency processes linking individual lives with social contexts across the life course.     

The anatomy of credibility: A conceptual framework of valued career helper attributes

Research on the qualities and characteristics that individuals value in those from whom they seek “career help” is very limited. Existing studies provide little insight into the meaning behind the labels individuals use to identify valued qualities and characteristics. We address this neglected area using qualitative interviews based on life story method whereby individuals identified informal and professional career helpers and the qualities and characteristics they valued in these helpers. Meanings are explored, qualities and characteristics conceptualized and a new conceptual framework showing the relationship between concepts is developed. Findings give rise to a discussion about the value and meaning of knowledge, impartiality, power and influence from the perspective of individuals in receipt of career help, and in so doing we challenge some commonly accepted discourse about these concepts in the academic and professional careers literature.     

Evidence of validity for the Skill Scale scores of the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the evidence of validity of the Skill Scale scores on the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (CISS). In a sample of 221 college students, analyses between the CISS Skill Scale scores and the CISS Interest Scale, the Strong Interest Inventory, and selfreported MAEQ abilities scores were conducted. Results provided evidence of convergent and discriminate validity of the Skill Scale scores. Furthermore, Skill Scale scores were found to be predictive of declared college major above chance levels. Conclusions from the results support the use of the CISS Skill Scales in counseling settings. Further investigation of the content being measured by the Skill Scales and their use in career interventions is recommended.     

Emotional and personality-related aspects of persistent career decision-making difficulties

This study focused on examining the persistent aspects of career decision-making difficulties, using the Emotional and Personality-related Career decision-making Difficulties scale (EPCD; [Saka, N., Gati, I., & Kelly, K.R. (in press). Emotional and personality-related aspects of career decision-making difficulties. Journal of Career Assessment]). The contribution of four personality measures—general indecisiveness, self-esteem, trait anxiety, and identity status—to the prediction of persistent career decision-making difficulties was tested on 747 students, using a longitudinal design. Results indicated that individuals with high EPCD scores at the beginning of the academic school year had less confidence in their choice and were less close to making a decision about the major into which they wanted to be admitted at the end of the year. The moderate correlations between the EPCD score and the four personality measures supported the validity of the EPCD. Implications for counseling and future research are discussed.     

物质主义价值观量表在大学生群体中的修订

以449名大学本科生为被试,对物质主义价值观量表（MVS）进行中文版的修订,考察其信效度指标。探索性因素分析发现,修订后的量表具有与原量表基本相同的三个维度;验证性因素分析结果显示,MVS的三因素结构拟合较好;MVS的内部一致性信度为0．792,重测信度为0．830;MVS的效标关联效度良好。表明修订后的MVS具有较好的心理测量学属性,可作为测量我国大学生物质主义价值观的工具。     

Effects of Personality on Individual Earnings: Leadership Role Occupancy as a Mediator

Purpose  The purpose of this study was to investigate the direct and indirect effects of personality characteristics on individual earnings and to examine a person’s leadership role occupancy as the potential mediator in the personality–earnings relationship. Design/Methodology/Approach  Longitudinal survey data were collected from a sample of 209 individuals. Earnings were measured 6 years after the personality variables. Findings  Two personality traits, i.e., Social Potency and Achievement, predict individual earnings longitudinally. The effects of personality were partially mediated by the person’s occupancy of leadership roles in the workplace. For those occupying similar leadership positions, people higher in social potency still have greater earnings. Implications  These findings lend support for personality assessment in personnel selection and have important implications for leadership development and individual career success. Originality/Value  Previous research suggests that personality influences individual earnings beyond the effects of traditional human capital variables. This study is among the first to distinguish personality’s direct and indirect (through leadership role occupancy) effects on individual earnings. The findings provide direct support for the incentive-enhancing property of personality as well as indirect support for the trait activation theory on the personality–earnings relationship.