| Abstract: | In an attempt to discover how young people perceive the processes by which their occupational preferences are formed, semi-structured interviews were carried out with sixteen 15-year-old school-children. Taken together with the results of other work carried out by the author, the results provided some empirical support for the three ways in which Super sees matching of self and occupational concepts as occurring: identification, experience in a role, and awareness of oneself and of occupations. The interviews also revealed the powerful role which the young people perceived significant others as playing in their career development. Six ways in which the influence of significant others was transmitted are identified. |
