The influence of chance and contingency factors on the vocational choice process of nonprofessional workers

The present study investigated the perceived influence of chance and contingency factors on the career choices of nonprofessional workers. The sample was composed of 447 female workers and 470 male workers. As part of a larger study the workers listed the factors that had influenced their choice of their first job, their present job, and their most satisfying job. They were also asked to consider their entire work history and note events, people, or personal inclinations which influenced their vocational decisions. The workers then rated each of 27 chance or contingency factors concerning the extent of influence (great, some, none) on their career choices. The results are examined and discussed relative to the perceived importance of chance and contingency factors on the career choices of nonprofessional workers. The implications of the results for vocational theory and career counseling are considered.     

Driven by distraction: An integrative review of social facilitation theory and research

Social facilitation refers to the enhancement of an organism's dominant responses by the simple physical presence of species-mates, independent of any informational or interactional influences the others may exert. This phenomenon represents the consequences of the most elementary transition from a nonsocial to a social environment, and is one of the first research areas in experimental social psychology. The present analysis examines the status of three different explanations for socially facilitated behavior. Substantial weaknesses exist in the propositions that the presence of others elicits a reflexive alertness or preparedness response (Mere Presence) and that the presence of others increases drive through classically conditioned anticipations of positive and negative outcomes (Learned Drive). A third proposition argues for increased drive due to response conflict involving incompatible tendencies to attend to others and to ongoing task requirements (Distraction/Conflict). The basic assumptions of the Distraction/Conflict hypothesis are found to have considerable empirical support, and a wide variety of apparently anamolous results are integrated into the attentional conflict framework. Finally, a synthesis of the three approaches is proposed wherein slightly modified versions of the Mere Presence and Learned Drive theories serve to specify two common antecedents for the arousal of attentional conflict (the Attentional Processes model). Connections between the Attentional Processes model and past and future research are explored.     

When increasing liking for a communicator decreases opinion change: An attribution analysis of attractiveness

Fifty-six female subjects were asked to discuss, through passing notes, a personal injury case with a partner. Liking for the partner was manipulated by informing subjects either that their partner was very cold and penurious (low attractiveness), or was very warm and generous (high attractiveness). During the discussions, the partners' notes were replaced by notes that argued for either a very low or a very high amount of compensation. Though the general rule is that influence should mirror liking, attribution theory (Kelley, 1967) leads to the expectation that in this setting the persuasiveness of the liked versus the disliked partner should depend on the amount of compensation advocated, with low compensation arguments being more persuasive when believed to be given by the liked partner, but high compensation arguments more influential when believed to be given by the disliked partner. The results supported attribution theory. Implications for the way attractiveness has been conceptualized in the social psychology literature are discussed.     

Pigeons' performance under differential reinforcement of low rate schedules depends upon the operant

Pigeons were reinforced with grain for pecking a key or depressing a foot treadle according to differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) schedules. Birds which depressed a treadle performed efficiently on DRL schedules as high as DRL 35-sec; while birds reinforced for keypecking showed low efficiency under DRL 14-sec. While treadle pressing and keypecking differ along a number of dimensions (including force requirement of the operant and differences in temporal distributions of responses), the present results are consistent with an interpretation based on differences in the degree to which these two responses are elicited by periodic presentations of food.     

A sensory basis for the lateral difference in the newborn infant's response to somesthetic stimulation

To determine whether lateral differences in the newborn infant's response to somesthetic stimulation are a consequence of lateral differences in sensitivity or whether they are the result of lateral differences in motor tendencies, cardiac response to stimulation of the left and right perioral region was examined. Cardiac acceleration occurred significantly more frequently to stimulation of the right than to stimulation of the left. Ipsilateral head turning also occurred more reliably to stimulation of the infant's right side than to stimulation of his left side. Evidence of reliable lateral differences in cardiac acceleration responses even under conditions in which the effects of lateral differences in head turning were removed suggested that the laterally differentiated cardiac responsiveness was not merely a function of increased motor activity consequent upon stimulation of the infant's right side but reflected a difference in sensitivity at the infant's two sides as well.     

"Mirror-image" errors without mirror-image stimuli

Recent work has indicated that discrimination between upright and inverted stimuli is difficult when stimuli are one above the other, and discrimination between stimuli turned left and right is difficult when stimuli are side by side. That is, errors are frequent under conditions in which mirror-image confusions can be made. Young children were given a task requiring the matching of orientation of (a) identical realistic figures that could form mirror images of each other or (b) nonidentical realistic figures that could not form mirror images. The same pattern of errors appeared for the identical and nonidentical figures, indicating that the errors are not mirror-image confusions. It is argued that the errors are due to a strategy of matching analogous parts of the two figures.     

Difference measurement and simple scalability with restricted solvability

Let A, B be two sets, with B ? A × A, and ≤ a binary relation on B. The problem analyzed here is that of the existence of a mapping u: A → R, satisfying:

$\text{(a,b) ? (}\text{a}\text{?}\text{,}\text{b}\text{?}\text{)}\text{iff}\text{∨∧ μ(b) ? μ(a) ? μ(}\text{b}\text{?}\text{) ? μ(}\text{a}\text{?}\text{)}$

whenever (a, b), (a′, b′) ∈ B. In earlier discussions of this problem, it is usually assumed that B is connected on A. Here, we only assume that B satisfies a certain convexity property. The resulting system provides an appropriate axiomatization of Fechner's scaling procedures. The independence of axioms is discussed. A more general representation is also analyzed:

$\text{(a,b) ? (}\text{a}\text{?}\text{,}\text{b}\text{?}\text{)}\text{iff}\text{∨∧ F[μ(b), μ(a)] ? F[μ}\text{b}\text{?}\text{]}$

, where F is strictly increasing in the first argument, and strictly decreasing in the second. Sufficient conditions are presented, and a proof of the representation theorem is given.     

A factorial investigation of career salience

A series of career salience items were factor analyzed and related to several indices of occupational choice behavior. Three factors emerged from the factor analysis: (1) the relative priority of a career; (2) general attitudes toward work; and (3) career advancement and planning. Factor 2 was significantly related to the choice of a congruent occupation for males and to the choice of an “ideal” occupation for males and females. Factor 2 was also most highly related to self-esteem for both sexes.     

Job-seeking behavior: A segment of vocational development

This paper reports two companion studies which establish that there is a significant relationship between an individual's personality characteristics and his pattern of job-seeking behavior. Individuals who are tough-minded, independent and nonneurotic had specified job goals and self-actualized behavior. They were highly successful in obtaining jobs. Individuals who were sensitive, dependent and neurotic had vague goals and passive behavior. They failed to get jobs. Individuals who exhibited a mixture of the cited characteristics and behavior were also exploring career options. They had a modicum of success in obtaining jobs. Job-seeking behavior as a process of vocational development is discussed.