Gender differences in career decision making: The content and structure of preferences.

To identify possible sources of the observed differences in the career choices of women and men, three facets of career preferences were examined: the relative importance attributed to career-related aspects, the within-aspect preferences (i.e., desirable characteristics of occupations), and the structure of aspects derived from these within-aspect preferences. The career-related preferences of 2,000 young adults who were in the process of making their career decisions were analyzed. These career-related preferences were elicited during their dialogues with a computer-assisted career guidance system. The analyses revealed (a) only small gender differences in the relative importance of the aspects, (b) considerable gender differences in the within-aspect preferences, and (c) certain gender differences in the structure of aspects. The findings and their possible theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (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)     

Making career decisions: A sequential elimination approach.

Presents a model for career decision making based on the elimination of occupational alternatives, which is an adaptation for career decisions of A. Tversky's (see record 1973-00249-001) elimination-by-aspects theory of choice. Each occupational alternative is viewed as a set of aspects, and at each stage an aspect is selected according to its importance; alternatives lacking the selected aspect are eliminated. This process continues until only a few alternatives, or a single alternative, remain. The expected utility approach is reviewed as a representative compensatory model for career decisions. The advantages and the disadvantages of the sequential elimination and the expected utility approaches are examined. The possible combination of the 2 approaches is explored, and the implications for career counseling, computerized career decision-making systems, and research issues are discussed. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adherence to RIASEC structure as a key career decision construct.

The present study examined the relation between individual cognitive structure and several key career decision variables. Specifically, in a sample of college students enrolled in a career development class, the usage of the RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) circumplex (adherence) was examined as it varied across individuals and with career certainty, career decision-making self-efficacy, and interest-occupation congruence. Individual adherence to the RIASEC circumplex as a cognitive structure was related to better career decision outcomes. Changes in adherence as a function of taking a career class were found to be associated with changes in career certainty, career decision-making self-efficacy, and interest-occupation congruence. The results support the importance of thinking about careers in a manner similar to the RIASEC circumplex and the potential value of direct instruction of this model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit versus explicit importance of career values in making a career decision.

353 high school seniors rated 10 individually selected occupational alternatives on 10 individually selected career values. Values were ranked according to explicit importance in making a decision and according to agreement with overall preference ordering of occupations. It was found that explicit importance agreed weakly with implicit importance in ranking occupations. Results agree with those of P. Slovic (1969) and Slovic et al (1972) who used different methods, content (stocks), and sample (stockbrokers). Results contribute to a growing literature on humans' limited capacity to process information, and consequently, limitations in using rational decision models without assistance. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing a replicable career decision-making counseling procedure.

One approach to improving counseling is to identify particular client goals and to develop treatments with specified objectives, counseling components, and outcome measures that meet those goals. Following this approach, 18 volunteer counselors, with and without formal training, applied a specified career counseling treatment to 30 undergraduates. Analysis of pre- and posttreatment outcome measures indicated that clients significantly increased their knowledge of career decision making and planning and their satisfaction with their career choices, but not their ability to solve career problems. Of the 18 counselors, 15 achieved 60% or greater adherence to the specified treatment components with at least one client. Client feedback indicated that the counseling was particularly helpful for improving self-awareness and decision making but that additional components may need to be added to improve information seeking and goal specification. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Climbing the corporate ladder: Do female and male executives follow the same route?

This study compares the careers of matched samples of 69 female executives and 69 male executives by examining perceived barriers and facilitators of advancement, self-reported developmental experiences, and career histories. Consistent with tokenism theory, women reported greater barriers, such as lack of culture fit and being excluded from informal networks, and greater importance of having a good track record and developing relationships to facilitate advancement than did men. Career success, measured by organizational level and compensation, was positively related to breadth of experience and developmental assignments for both genders, but successful women were less likely than successful men to report that mentoring facilitated their advancement. Developmental experiences and career histories were similar for female and male executives, but men had more overseas assignments and women had more assignments with nonauthority relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of gender, construct type, occupational information, and career relevance on vocational differentiation.

A study was designed to replicate and extend previous research on 1 aspect of vocational structure, vocational differentiation (VOD). Results of a 2 (gender)?×?2 (occupational information)?×?2 (construct type)?×?3 (career relevance) between-Ss study revealed 2 sets of noteworthy findings. First, results replicated previous findings concerning the impact of each of these factors on levels of VOD. Higher levels of VOD were found in men than were found in women and were related to the use of personal constructs when Ss judged highly irrelevant career alternatives. Second, these effects were qualified by interaction between construct type (personal and provided) and career relevance (high, mixed, and low). Personally elicited constructs were used with greater differentiation than were standard provided ones only when participants evaluated highly relevant career alternatives. This effect challenges long-standing assumptions regarding differences between personal and provided vocational constructs, and the implications of this are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring a three-dimensional construct of career indecision among college students: A revision of the Vocational Decision Scale: The Career Decision Profile.

This article describes a revision of the Vocational Decision Scale called the Career Decision Profile (CDP). The CDP was administered to 221 undergraduates. The results support the reliability and validity of the Decidedness and Comfort scales and the four scales of the Reasons dimension: Self-Clarity, Knowledge About Occupations and Training, Decisiveness, and Career Choice Importance. Analyses indicated that: career decided students need career planning assistance; trait anxiety is more strongly associated with how students feel about their career decision status than how decided they are; the vocational decision status model provides a clearer picture of career indecision than current unitary approaches; and the CDP shows promise for differentiating among groups of students for treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of ethnic identity and gender role attitudes to the development of career choice goals among black and Latina girls.

This study is a preliminary exploration of how individual differences in gender role attitudes and ethnic identity might be related to career decision self-efficacy and the gender traditionality of career choice goals in a sample of 102 9th-grade Black and Latina girls. Extending social-cognitive career theory, the authors examined 2 path models in which career decision self-efficacy mediated the effects of gender role attitudes and ethnic identity on the traditionality of the participants' career choice goals. Models depicting full and partial mediation were considered. The results of the path analyses provided confirmation for an extension of the social- cognitive career theory model, indicating that for this sample, career decision self-efficacy fully mediated the influence of egalitarian gender role attitudes and ethnic identity on gender traditionality in career choice goals. These findings offer support for consideration of the role of gender role attitudes and ethnic identity in career self-exploration and vocational guidance with Black and Latina girls. Limitations, implications for counseling, and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When managers decide not to decide autocratically: An investigation of leader–member exchange and decision influence.

Examined the antecedents of decision influence in 58 male-dominated managerial dyads. Data were collected from a large US manufacturing organization, and leader-member exchange (LMX) and decision influence were measured from both subordinate and superior points of view. Results indicate that important antecedents of decision influence are the quality of LMX and the subordinate's performance level. It was found that superiors show a noncompensatory model regarding decision influence: The subordinate must possess high performance and exchange skills. In contrast, subordinates show a compensatory model in which higher performance can compensate for lower LMXs. This research replicates and extends the results of M. Wakabayashi and G. Graen's (see record 1985-10982-001) study on the interaction pattern of LMX and subordinate performance on career outcomes for Japanese work organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A choice dilemma approach for examining the relative importance of sex type and prestige preferences in the process of career choice compromise.

This study examined L. S. Gottfredson's (see record 1982-03363-001) postulation that individuals are more likely to sacrifice prestige than sex type preference when career compromise is needed. College students (151 women and 95 men) responded to a forced-choice questionnaire called the Occupational Choice Dilemma Inventory. Occupations were paired together to represent 3 choice dilemma situations or systematic variations in prestige and sex type levels between the 2 occupations. For each pair of occupations, the respondent had to either sacrifice a certain degree of prestige or sex type. Overall, prestige was more often used as the preferred factor than sex type, but career compromise behavior was jointly affected by gender and the degree of contrast in prestige and sex type levels that characterized the 3 choice dilemma situations. Implications for Gottfredson's framework and career counseling were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between career indecision subtypes and ego identity development.

Four cluster groups of career-undecided college students (N?=?423) were formed from Career Factors Inventory scores. Career decision groups were compared across Erikson's first 5 stages of ego identity development as measured by the Ego Development Scale (R. Ochse & C. Plug, 1986). It was predicted that career decision groups would differ in level of ego identity resolution, with groups that experienced the most indecision reporting the least successful resolution. Using profile analysis, overall profile parallelism, level, and shape were examined, and comparisons of career decision groups within the substages were made. Results indicated that the 4 career decision groups differed in their degree of successful identity resolution in the predicted direction. Results are related to career interventions and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of a counseling intervention program for teaching career decision-making skills.

Developed a career decision-making model and program to provide a counseling intervention and teaching materials to aid students in improving their career maturity and decision-making skills. The model and program were piloted and evaluated to determine program effectiveness. 334 academic and nonacademic student groups were part of a quasi-experimental–control design to measure career maturity and decision making. Data indicate that students in the program significantly increased their Career Maturity Inventory scores, career maturity was significantly related to decision making, and more nonacademic program than academic groups increased their decision-making scores. Students reported they found the program useful in evaluating future career choices. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping as a moderator of the relation between anxiety and career decision making.

Examined relations among trait anxiety, coping types, career decision making, and state anxiety related to career decision making with 248 undergraduates. Trait and state anxiety were measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; career decidedness or indecision was measured by the Vocational Decision Scale. Coping types (support-seeking behavior [Type I], self-efficacy behavior [Type II], reactive behavior [Type III], and symptom-altering and/or avoidant behavior [Type IV]) were determined by an adaptation of a coping scale developed by M. Van Sell et al (1980). Results indicate that trait anxiety and low sense of personal efficacy (i.e., not using Type II coping) were the primary predictors of career undecidedness. Three discriminant function analyses revealed that Ss who experienced high trait anxiety and did not use Type II coping were likely to experience high state anxiety and were not likely to make a career decision. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Low dietary iron availability is a major cause of anemia: a nutrition survey in the Lindi District of Tanzania

Two years after upgrading its nursing programme to university level, Israel experienced a massive wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union. Previous studies have shown that Russian immigrants in general, and in nursing in particular, have several unique characteristics that need to be taken into consideration in planning curricula and absorption programmes. The aim of the present work was to update these data, focusing on the reasons new immigrants choose nursing as a career, their image of the profession and their satisfaction with it. The study population consisted of 302 students attending five major academic schools of nursing in Israel. Students were divided into two groups: new immigrants (less than 4 years in Israel) and long-time Israelis (more than 4 years in Israel). All completed a 30-item questionnaire of proven validity and reliability. Findings were analysed by length of time in Israel and year of study. Using a series of statistical tests, we found that compared with the long-time Israelis, the new immigrants came from a higher socio-economic/professional stratum (in their mother country), had a less 'technical' perception of nursing, and were attracted to the profession primarily for extrinsic reasons ('close to medicine', economics). Both groups showed highest satisfaction in the clinical domain; however, the difference was significant only in the long-time Israeli group, even though the new immigrants had rated this domain highest in importance. The new immigrants showed least satisfaction in the academic domain. These results could be explained by several factors: the financial and housing problems that accompany immigration; the higher proportion of married students in the new immigrant group; and especially language difficulties, which are multiplied in Israel, where mastery in both Hebrew and English is necessary. Of particular interest was the fact that many of the immigrant students had already begun or completed medical school in their old country but were forced to compromise their dreams on immigration. This affected both their image of nursing and their reasons for choosing it as a career. We believe these findings will help nurse educators identify areas in which they can help ease the absorption process for maximal benefit to both the students and the profession.     

Coming of age in Middletown: Careers in the making.

Reviews aspects of a longitudinal study of career development begun in Middletown, New York, in 1951 that involved 100 males who were first studied as 14–25 yr olds and followed up at ages 21, 25, and 36 yrs. Establishment in a career was found to reflect 5 factors: attained status, job satisfaction, occupational advancement, career progress, and career satisfaction. In predicting career establishment, 9th-grade measures of self-concept and variables such as parental socioeconomic status and school grades outperformed measures of vocational maturity, but these 2 classes of variables had similar predictive power when measures were collected in the 12th grade. As expected, 12th-grade predictors outperformed 9th-grade predictors. The best predicted outcome from both 9th and 12th grades was attained status at age 25 yrs, reflecting the importance of family background and school achievement. The construct and predictive validity of the measures employed, occupational stability of the Ss between 25 and 36 yrs of age, and implications for the use of career maturity instruments are discussed. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why, when, and how to take into account the uncertainty involved in career decisions.

Career decisions under uncertainty, when the career decision maker has to rank a number of options, rather than choose the best one, were analyzed theoretically. The analysis revealed that the way such decisions are framed affects the ranking of the options and hence the quality of the decision. Specifically, in certain cases the ranking of career options according to their expected utility does not lead to an optimal decision. In the correct framing the choice is between rankings, in which each ranking is defined as a particular rank order of the options. In this framing the ranking that maximizes the expected utility is chosen. The analysis shows that the rank order of options in the optimal ranking always coincides with the rank order of the options by their utility. The implications for career counselors who help counselees deal with the uncertainties involved in most career decisions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)