Career indecision: Three factors from decision theory

Three factors of indecision are derived from decision theory: being insufficiently informed about the alternatives, valuation problems, and uncertainty about the outcomes. The three factors are studied in high school students’ career decision process of choosing further studies. Using factor analysis, we found empirical evidence for a differentiation between the three theoretical sources of career indecision: an information factor, a valuation factor, and an outcomes factor, but only the valuation factor and the outcomes factor seem to associate empirically with career indecision. The importance of both factors for career indecision was further supported by their intermediate role between general indecisiveness and career indecision.