Abstract: | The development of general attitudes toward work was investigated in career transitions of people at various career stages, belonging to various socioeconomic paths. It was assumed that general attitudes toward work, consisting of the affective meaning of work and of its centrality to the subject, are developed in an anticipatory manner on the basis of expectations, integrating occupational information with aspirations. Samples of junior and senior high school students, undergraduate university students, vocational trainees for skilled work, and persons trained for higher executive positions participated in the research. The results confirmed the role of expectations in attitude formation. Similar expectations as to status and advancement lead to similar attitudes regardless of differences in age or cultural background. |