Career compromises: Framings and their implications.

The authors investigated the effects of 3 framings of career compromise (I. Gati, 1993): in terms of alternatives, aspect importance, and within-aspect preferences. Three groups of Israeli young adults (ns?=?95, 108, and 154) and 71 school counselors were presented with hypothetical stories about individuals whose career decision involved a compromise. The results of 4 studies, using both between-subjects and within-subject designs, and both rating scales and forced choices, supported the hypothesis: The alternatives framing was associated with a greater extent of compromise and greater difficulty in making a career decision than were the 2 aspect framings. No differences were found between aspect importance and the within-aspect preference framings. The implications for research and counseling are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using career-related aspects to assess person–environment fit.

The relations between person and environment (P-E) fit, defined on the basis of career-related aspects and occupational satisfaction, was examined. The characteristics of 12 occupations along 36 career-related aspects were elicited from 12 career counselors. Thirty professionals in each of the 12 occupations reported their preferences in the same set of aspects, and their occupational satisfaction. Two measures of P-E fit were defined as the mean absolute gap between the professional's preferences and the respective characteristics of their occupation (a) in all 36 aspects and (b) in the core aspects of each occupation only. The median within-occupation correlation between P-E fit and occupational satisfaction was .27 when all aspects were considered, and .85 when only the core aspects were taken into account. The implications for counseling research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselors' judgments of the quality of the prescreening stage of the career decision-making process.

The first stage of the career decision-making process is prescreening, which aims at locating promising alternatives deserving further exploration. J. L. Holland's (1997) concepts of differentiation, consistency, and coherence were adapted to cases in which an individual's career-related preferences, which serve as guidelines for locating such promising alternatives, are expressed in many work aspects (e.g., length of training, income, work environment) and not merely in terms of vocational interests. The assumption was that, as for interests, the optimal starting point is crystallized preferences. Judgments of 29 career counseling psychologists and 48 counseling graduate students who were presented with information about the career-related preferences of 18 hypothetical clients supported the hypotheses that crystallized preferences are differentiated, that they are consistent, and that they are coherent. The judgments of these experts on 9 lists of occupations supported the hypothesis that the desirable outcome of the prescreening stage is a concise and homogeneous list of promising alternatives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processes involved in career preferences and compromises.

Investigated the processes that underlie career-related preferences and the readiness to make compromises. In Study 1, 3,265 monitored dialogs with a computer-assisted career guidance system were analyzed. In Study 2, the occupational preferences of 60 young adults elicited by detailed questionnaires were analyzed. Within-S analyses in both studies supported the following hypotheses: (1) The perceived importance of an aspect is positively correlated with the degree of extremity of preference; (2) the perceived importance of an aspect is negatively correlated with the readiness to compromise in it; (3) the perceived importance of an aspect is positively correlated with the variance in the individual's preferences; and (4) the readiness to compromise depends on the preferences within an aspect. These findings are discussed in light of the roles of preferences and compromises in career decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in job outcome preferences: Trends among newly hired college graduates.

Examined several causes for discrepant findings in the literature related to sex differences in job outcome preferences. 648 college graduates newly hired into entry-level business jobs over a 9-yr period rated job characteristics comprising 3 job outcome dimensions: (a) long-term career objectives, (b) working environment and interpersonal relationships, and (c) intrinsic job aspects. The possibility that the area of professional training could account for sex differences in job outcome preferences was explored, controlling for age, education, organizational level, and occupational category. Although professional training area did have a significant effect on job outcome preferences, sex differences persisted, with females giving significantly less emphasis to career objectives and significantly more emphasis to work environment and interpersonal job aspects than males. Analyses of trends showed a convergence of female preferences toward those of males on the 2 dimensions in which sex differences were found. Efforts to predict turnover from job outcome preferences suggested that females with a relatively high career orientation were less likely than males or other females to leave the organization. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explaining sex differences in managerial career satisfier preferences: The role of gender self-schema.

Using survey data from 400 managers, the authors examined whether gender self-schema would explain sex differences in preferences for status-based and socioemotional career satisfiers. Female gender self-schema, represented by femininity and family role salience, completely mediated the relationship between managers' sex and preferences for socioemotional career satisfiers. However, male gender self-schema, represented by masculinity and career role salience, did not mediate the relationship between managers' sex and preferences for status-based career satisfiers. As expected, male managers regarded status-based career satisfiers as more important and socioemotional career satisfiers as less important than female managers did. The proposed conceptualization of male and female gender self-schemas, which was supported by the data, enhances understanding of adult self-schema and work-related attitudes and behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of interests and self-efficiency expectations: An expanded examination of the spherical model of interests.

A questionnaire packet assessing occupational preferences, activity preferences, and career self-efficacy expectations was administered to 2 samples of college students. The structural invariance of each data set (activity, self-efficacy, and occupation items) was examined for the 1st sample via principal-components analysis and they correlated. The structure was found to be highly similar across data types. The items were then aggregated into 18 scales representing the spherical model of interests proposed by T. J. G. Tracey and J. Rounds (1996b). The 18 scales were found to fit the spherical model for both the original and validation samples. No gender differences in the structure of the scales were found, but there were gender mean differences found in the scale scores similar to results of past research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward career counseling: The role of public and self-stigma.

Although many students struggle with career-related issues in college, comparatively few engage the career services offered by their academic institutions for help with their difficulties. In addition, there is little research on the factors influencing students’ decisions to engage in counseling for career-related issues, making it difficult to develop programs to enhance students’ use of career counseling services. The present study examines the relationships between the stigma associated with help seeking and attitudes toward engaging in career counseling. Participants were 509 college students who completed measures of stigma and attitudes toward career counseling. Structural equation modeling results indicated that public and personal stigmas were linked to self-stigma, which in turn was linked to attitudes toward seeking career counseling. Sixty percent of the variance in self-stigma and 42% of the variance in attitudes was accounted for in the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work preferences, life values, and personal views of top math/science graduate students and the profoundly gifted: Developmental changes and gender differences during emerging adulthood and parenthood.

Work preferences, life values, and personal views of top math/science graduate students (275 men, 255 women) were assessed at ages 25 and 35 years. In Study 1, analyses of work preferences revealed developmental changes and gender differences in priorities: Some gender differences increased over time and increased more among parents than among childless participants, seemingly because the mothers’ priorities changed. In Study 2, gender differences in the graduate students’ life values and personal views at age 35 were compared with those of profoundly gifted participants (top 1 in 10,000, identified by age 13 and tracked for 20 years: 265 men, 84 women). Again, gender differences were larger among parents. Across both cohorts, men appeared to assume a more agentic, career-focused perspective than women did, placing more importance on creating high-impact products, receiving compensation, taking risks, and gaining recognition as the best in their fields. Women appeared to favor a more communal, holistic perspective, emphasizing community, family, friendships, and less time devoted to career. Gender differences in life priorities, which intensify during parenthood, anticipated differential male-female representation in high-level and time-intensive careers, even among talented men and women with similar profiles of abilities, vocational interests, and educational experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work attitudes and decisions as a function of manager age and employee age.

Research has shown the importance of employee age relative to coworker age in determining attitudes, performance, and career-related opportunities. The authors used chronological and subjective measures of employee and manager age to determine whether employee age relative to the manager has an impact on these same outcome variables. One hundred eighty-five managers and 290 employees completed surveys. The strongest and most consistent age effects were observed for interactions between employee and manager chronological age. Both the magnitude and pattern of the employee-manager age interactions varied by self- and manager-rated outcome measures of work attitudes, performance and promotability assessments, and developmental experiences. Results are discussed in light of the relational demography and career timetable literatures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors associated with decisions about return to work in mothers of infants.

To better understand career-related choices made by mothers of infants, 82 mothers were interviewed in the maternity ward and 3 times in the next 12 mo. Mothers who were consistent in their plans not to work, from the maternity ward through the next 12 mo, were compared with mothers who in the maternity ward said they were not going to work but later changed their minds. The groups were similar in their anxiety about separation from their infants; they differed significantly with respect to accepting and adapting to infant discontent, beliefs about their babies' attachment, and the importance of a job or career in their lives. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy as a mediator of investigative and realistic general occupational themes on the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory.

Studied the role of self-efficacy in mediating gender differences on Investigative and Realistic General Occupational Themes of the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory. Ss were 77 male and 71 female entering university freshmen. Canonical correlations identified a science/technical factor relating high Investigative and Realistic theme standard scores to high Investigative and Realistic theme efficacy ratings. Path analyses suggested a correlational structure wherein mathematics self-efficacy and high school mathematics preparation mediated gender differences on these themes. Implications for counselor interpretation of Investigative and Realistic General Occupational Themes were presented. The importance of integrating self-efficacy career development research and traditional self-concept vocational theory was emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mate selection preferences: Gender differences examined in a national sample.

Social psychologists have devoted considerable theoretical and empirical attention to studying gender differences in traits desired in a mate. Most of the studies on mate preferences, however, have been conducted with small, nonrepresentative samples. In this study, we analyzed data collected from single adults in a national probability sample, the National Survey of Families and Households. Respondents were asked to consider 12 possible assets or liabilities in a marriage partner and to indicate their willingness to marry someone possessing each of these traits. These data extended previous research by comparing men's and women's mate preferences in a heterogeneous sample of the national population and by comparing gender differences in different sociodemographic groups. The gender differences found in this study were consistent with those secured in previous research (e.g., youth and physical attractiveness were found to be more important for men than for women; earning potential was found to be less important for men than for women) and were quite consistent across age groups and races. However, the various sociodemographic groups differed slightly in the magnitude of gender differences for some of the mate preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explaining gender differences in self-pay expectations: Social comparison standards and perceptions of fair pay.

Examined gender differences in self-pay expectations and the factors that mediate these differences. On the basis of B. Major and E. Konar's (1984) model, 5 mediators were considered: career paths, objective job inputs, perceived job inputs, job facet importance, and social comparison standards. The mediating role of a 6th factor, fair pay standards, was also examined. College seniors planning to enter a variety of occupational fields completed the Career Expectations Survey, which assessed their self-pay expectations and the 6 mediating factors. Findings indicate that, regardless of occupational field, women had lower career-peak self-pay expectations than men. The best mediator of the gender gap in self-pay expectations was fair pay standards. Implications for future research on the construct of fair pay standards and its importance in understanding the gender wage gap are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client preferences and anticipations in career counseling: A preliminary investigation.

Client expectations have been studied infrequently in career counseling. This study provides preliminary data about precounseling expectations, which were conceptualized as preferences and anticipations. 92 university students (22 men and 70 women) who sought career counseling completed an open-ended questionnaire. Results suggested the following conclusions: (1) Clients have fairly clear ideas about what they want (preferences) from career counseling and about what the experience should be like; (2) clients are somewhat less certain about what the career counseling experience will actually be like (anticipations) and less optimistic about it; (3) a number of mismatches exist between clients' preferences and anticipations; (4) clients do not have well-developed expectations about their dislikes in career counseling; and (5) few differences are evident between clients who have had previous counseling and those who have not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment, separation, and women's vocational development: A longitudinal analysis.

This study tested a proposed model investigating the relations among attachment to and separation from parents, career self-efficacy, and career aspiration over a 5-year period with a sample of 207 young women. Results suggested that being attached to parents may lead to the development of confidence in pursuing career-related tasks, which in turn influences career aspiration. Separation from parents did not have direct effects on career self-efficacy. Results also indicated that women's career plans changed over a 5-year period with young women selecting more traditional and less prestigious careers than those to which they aspired in their senior year of high school. In addition, these women chose careers that underutilized their abilities. Finally, this sample of young women intended to have both careers and families, and the majority of these women ranked family as more important than career. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Calling and vocation in career counseling: Recommendations for promoting meaningful work.

Clients presenting with career-related concerns often desire a greater sense of meaning in their work. Therefore, incorporating the constructs of calling and vocation into the career counseling process may have utility. An overview of conceptual and empirical work on these constructs is provided. Drawing from recent integrated definitions of calling and vocation, the authors present suggestions for incorporating these constructs in practice. Counselors are encouraged to explore the extent to which clients feel a transcendent summons to a particular career, the extent to which clients’ careers bring meaning to their lives, and the extent to which clients’ careers serve society. For clients who wish to view their career as a calling or vocation, the authors provide strategies to help bring meaning and social purpose to their work lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reasons for choosing a correction officer career.

Correction officers represent a growing segment of the U. S. workforce, with more job openings today than there are applicants. However, there is scant scholarship on this subgroup of law enforcement personnel. In this study, 256 correction officer candidates completed a brief measure regarding their reasons for choosing a correctional career. We sought to (a) identify the reasons for choosing a correction career and determine whether these reasons differed from those identified in studies of police recruits, (b) determine whether race or gender played a role in career choice for correction officer candidates, and (c) evaluate the factor structure and psychometric validity of a scale that was previously used with police samples. Our results indicated that correction and police officer candidates diverge in terms of their reasons for seeking careers in law enforcement. Correction officer candidates placed greater importance on financial motivators, whereas police recruits indicated service as a primary factor in career choice. The scale demonstrated good initial estimates of psychometric validity, and the factor structure in the current sample differed from those found in studies with police recruits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task values and ability beliefs as predictors of high school literacy choices: A developmental analysis.

This study examines how competence beliefs and task values predict high school achievement choices related to literacy. Students' task beliefs (self-concept of ability, intrinsic value, and importance) about reading in the 4th grade and English in the 10th grade were tracked over time. Task beliefs, school performance, and gender were used to predict students' (a) time per week spent reading for pleasure in 10th grade, (b) number of language arts courses per year of high school, and (c) reading relatedness of 12th-grade career aspirations. Results indicated that ability beliefs positively predicted all 3 outcomes, importance predicted career aspirations and course choices, and intrinsic value predicted leisure time reading and high school courses. Gender differences were also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Career compromise: An alternative account to Gottfredson's theory.

We tested two competing theories of career compromise with a fuzzy graphic rating scale. Two studies were undertaken with 73 career-dissatisfied adults and 90 high school students who were chosen to represent approximately equal numbers of high and low social class men and women. Both studies failed to support predictions from L. S. Gottfredson's (see record 1982-03363-001) theory that sex type was more important than prestige and prestige more important than interests in career-related decisions. Instead, the data supported the alternative account that postulated that interests were more important because of their compound nature, which incorporates sex type and prestige. The discussion contrasts the more optimistic view of attempts to encourage entry into nontraditional careers implied by the alternative account with the pessimistic view implicit in Gottfredson's theory. Practical suggestions for theoretically driven career programs are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)