Development of interests and competency beliefs in Italian adolescents: An exploration of circumplex structure and bidirectional relationships.

In a cross-national replication and extension of prior research with American students, Italian middle and high school students completed measures of interests and competency beliefs relative to a variety of school- and nonschool-related activities. Both interests and competency beliefs tended to show greater adherence to circumplex Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (known as RIASEC) structure with increasing age, but this tendency was more pronounced in female than in male students. Interests and competency beliefs were moderately stable over a 1-year interval, with relatively small percentages of participants exhibiting clinically large changes on either variable. Good support was found for a bidirectional model of interest-competency belief relationships in both male and female students. Implications for further efforts to understand how interests and competency beliefs develop over time and across cultures are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediger's dimensional representation of Holland's RIASEC circumplex.

Conducted a structural meta-analysis to evaluate D. J. Prediger's (1982) 3-factor (1 general factor and 2 bipolar factors of data–ideas and things–people) representation of J. L. Holland's (1985) RIASEC circumplex (including 6 personality types: realistic [R], investigative [I], artistic [A], social [S], enterprising [E], and conventional [C]). Confirmatory factor analysis and multidimensional scaling were applied to 77 US RIASEC correlation matrices published between 1965 and 1989. Prediger's 3-factor model received support when predictions from his factor model conformed to the predictions from the circumplex. The presence and size of the general factor were confirmed, but the differential biasing effect of the general factor on the RIASEC structure was not supported. Although the uniqueness of the bipolar dimensions was not supported, these dimensions were found to be generalizable across S variables and several RIASEC inventories. It appears that the circumplex structure itself is the crucial distinguishing feature. (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)     

The effects of high school career education on social–cognitive variables.

The authors investigated the influence of a 9-week career education class on career decision-making self-efficacy, vocational skills self-efficacy, perceived educational barriers, outcome expectations, educational plans, and career expectations among a sample of 166 high school sophomores. Using a nonrandomized, within-subjects crossover design, the authors collected pretest, posttest, and follow-up data with a health education class as the control condition. Post- and follow-up testing suggest that the class resulted in increased career decision-making self-efficacy, vocational skills self-efficacy, and short-term gains in outcome expectations but did not influence perceived educational barriers. Participants enrolled in the career education class in the first quarter were more likely to change career plans than were those in the control condition. Implications for practice and future research are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation of acculturation, problem-solving appraisal, and career decision-making self-efficacy to Mexican American high school students' educational goals.

This study examined the contributions of acculturation, problem-solving appraisal, and career decision-making self-efficacy on 105 Mexican American high school students' educational goals. A standard regression analysis indicated that Anglo-oriented acculturation and problem-solving appraisal accounted for significant variance in educational goals. Mexican-oriented acculturation and career decision-making self-efficacy did not contribute significant variance to students' educational goals. The regression model accounted for 19.5% of the variance in educational goals. Results of the structure coefficients for the predictor variables indicated that Anglo-oriented acculturation and career decision-making self-efficacy were the 2 most important predictors, followed by problem-solving appraisal and Mexican-oriented acculturation, respectively. Implications of the findings are discussed, and recommendations for interventions are provided for enhancing the educational and career development among Mexican American adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theoretical and methodological issues with testing the SCCT and RIASEC models: Comment on Lent, Sheu, and Brown (2010) and Lubinski (2010).

The current article replies to comments made by Lent, Sheu, and Brown (2010) and Lubinski (2010) regarding the study “Interpreting the Interest–Efficacy Association From a RIASEC Perspective” (Armstrong & Vogel, 2009). The comments made by Lent et al. and Lubinski highlight a number of important theoretical and methodological issues, including the process of defining and differentiating between constructs, the assumptions underlying Holland’s (1959, 1997) RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional types) model and interrelations among constructs specified in social cognitive career theory (SCCT), the importance of incremental validity for evaluating constructs, and methodological considerations when quantifying interest–efficacy correlations and for comparing models using multivariate statistical methods. On the basis of these comments and previous research on the SCCT and Holland models, we highlight the importance of considering multiple theoretical perspectives in vocational research and practice. Alternative structural models are outlined for examining the role of interests, self-efficacy, learning experiences, outcome expectations, personality, and cognitive abilities in the career choice and development process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congruence and vocational identity: Outcomes of career counseling with persuasive power.

A study with 84 female and 52 male community-college students with specific occupational choices tested whether congruence between occupational choice and inventoried interests and vocational identity are related to typical career counseling outcomes. Ss completed the Self-Directed Search congruence scale, a vocational identity scale, several scales from the Career Development Inventory, and the IPAT. Ss were categorized as congruent or not congruent and high or low in vocational identity. ANOVA tested whether the Ss differed on estimated career management skill, general and specific career information, decision making, and anxiety. Analyses were not significant for males but showed that females higher in identity estimated higher career maturity. Females high in congruence reported less anxiety, and females high in both congruence and identity had higher career decision-making skills and tended to have more general information. Findings suggest that congruence not accompanied by a sense of vocational identity is a transitional state, whereas high identity without congruence reflects an incomplete evaluation of self in relation to career. Implications for using congruence and vocational identity as outcome measures of counseling are discussed. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

“Interpreting the interest-efficacy association from a RIASEC perspective”: Correction.

Reports an error in "Interpreting the interest–efficacy association from a RIASEC perspective" by Patrick Ian Armstrong and David L. Vogel (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2009[Jul], Vol 56[3], 392-407). In the article, an incorrect value was reported for the correlation between Artistic and Social occupational interests in Table 1 (p. 400), incorrect values were reported for some of the fit indices presented in Table 2 (p. 402), and incorrect values were reported for the fit indices presented in Table 5 (p. 404). The correct value for the correlation between Artistic and Social occupational interests is r = .44. Attached are the fit indices that are correct for the Structural Equation Models presented in Table 2 and Table 5. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-10122-005.) Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) defines self-efficacy as the critical variable that influences the development of career-related beliefs and attitudes, including interest. In comparison, the authors propose that J. L. Holland’s (1997) theory of Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC) types can be interpreted as supporting an alternative model in which both interest and self-efficacy are components of an individual’s vocational identity. Meta-analytic research indicates that RIASEC-based measures of interest and self-efficacy are positively correlated, but these results are also interpreted as supporting the distinctness of the two constructs. The present study evaluates links between interest and self-efficacy with occupation- and activity-based measures of interest and self-efficacy. Multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and structural equation modeling results suggest that observed correlations between interest and self-efficacy measures can be attributed to shared Holland-type characteristics of the measures. These results support a Holland-based integrated model of individual differences, with both interest and self-efficacy indicators of RIASEC types, thereby raising questions about the ordering of self-efficacy and interest measures in the SCCT model but also highlighting the importance of assessing both constructs in applied settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpreting the interest–efficacy association from a RIASEC perspective.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 57(1) of Journal of Counseling Psychology (see record 2010-00483-005). In the article, an incorrect value was reported for the correlation between Artistic and Social occupational interests in Table 1 (p. 400), incorrect values were reported for some of the fit indices presented in Table 2 (p. 402), and incorrect values were reported for the fit indices presented in Table 5 (p. 404). The correct value for the correlation between Artistic and Social occupational interests is r = .44. Attatched are the following fit indices that are correct for the Structural Equation Models presented in Table 2 and Table 5.] Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) defines self-efficacy as the critical variable that influences the development of career-related beliefs and attitudes, including interest. In comparison, the authors propose that J. L. Holland’s (1997) theory of Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC) types can be interpreted as supporting an alternative model in which both interest and self-efficacy are components of an individual’s vocational identity. Meta-analytic research indicates that RIASEC-based measures of interest and self-efficacy are positively correlated, but these results are also interpreted as supporting the distinctness of the two constructs. The present study evaluates links between interest and self-efficacy with occupation- and activity-based measures of interest and self-efficacy. Multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and structural equation modeling results suggest that observed correlations between interest and self-efficacy measures can be attributed to shared Holland-type characteristics of the measures. These results support a Holland-based integrated model of individual differences, with both interest and self-efficacy indicators of RIASEC types, thereby raising questions about the ordering of self-efficacy and interest measures in the SCCT model but also highlighting the importance of assessing both constructs in applied settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of three theoretically derived variables in predicting career and academic behavior: Self-efficacy, interest congruence, and consequence thinking.

This study explored the differential contribution of three alternative theoretically based variables, self-efficacy, interest congruence, and consequence thinking, in explaining career-relevant behavior in students considering science and engineering fields. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy was the most useful of the three in predicting grades and persistence in technical/scientific majors, both self-efficacy and congruence contributed to the prediction of range of perceived career options, and congruence alone offered significant incremental variance in explaining career indecision. The three theoretical variables were also interrelated. Implications for practice and the further evaluation of career theories are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of computer-assisted instruction in using formal decision-making strategies to choose a college major.

Compared the effects of using formal decision-making strategies on the quality of students' decisions about choice of a college major. The interaction of students' decision-making characteristics, stage, and style on treatment outcomes was also examined. University freshmen (n?=?113) were randomly assigned to 3 groups: the Elimination by Aspects Strategy (EBA), the Subjective Expected Utility Strategy (SEU), and the control group. The results showed that the "rational" decision style students who used the EBA scored significantly higher on choice certainty. They also scored lower on choice anxiety and career indecision than rational style students in the control group. The "explorers" who used the EBA sought more information than their counterparts in the control group. Rational style students who used SEU scored significantly higher on cognitive complexity than their counterparts in the control group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Circumplex structure and personality disorder correlates of the Interpersonal Problems Model (IIP-C): Construct validity and clinical implications.

This study assessed the construct validity of the circumplex model of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-C) in Norwegian clinical and nonclinical samples. Structure was examined by evaluating the fit of the circumplex model to data obtained by the IIP-C. Observer-rated personality disorder criteria (DSM-IV, Axis II) were used as external correlates. The reliability of the IIP-C scales was acceptable and in the same range as in the original version. A multisample analysis strategy did not support an invariant circumplex model across the 2 groups. However, the estimated structures reflected mostly the same circular pattern of a quasi-circumplex model in the 2 groups. Departures from the ideal model were of negligible practical significance. The validity results examining personality disorder correlates of the IIP-C generally conformed to predictions, providing direct evidence for agreement between self-report and expert judgments of interpersonal problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instruction in career decision making and decision-making styles.

Investigated the differential effectiveness of 2 distinct career decision-making interventions and decision-making styles on certainty of vocational choice and changes in vocational maturity. 120 undergraduates were randomly assigned to (a) intuitive intervention, (b) rational intervention, (c) attention-placebo, or (d) no-treatment control groups. Ss were classified as having either a rational, intuitive, or dependent decision-making style, and styles distributed themselves evenly across the 4 groups. They were administered a battery of tests including the Career Maturity Inventory, Vocational Survey Questionnaire, and Assessment of Career Decision Making. Results indicate that decision-making style contributed to vocational maturity and certainty of vocational choice, and both interventions resulted in increases on both dependent measures. Rational decision makers did best with the rational intervention, whereas intuitive decision makers did best with the intuitive interventions. Thus, both styles can be considered as effective. Dependent decision makers had an ineffective style, demonstrating decreases on both dependent measures in all groups. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women's career development: Can theoretically derived variables predict persistence in engineering majors?

Factors related to persistence in engineering, particularly for women, were examined in 278 upper level undergraduate women and men who, as entering students, enrolled in the college of engineering at a large midwestern university. An overall model of persistence was created by integrating constructs derived from a number of theories relevant to women's career behavior, including self-efficacy theory, expectancy-valence theory, interest congruence theory, and influences on women's career development. Hierarchical logistic regression revealed that ability, self-efficacy, support-barriers, and interest congruence each added significantly to the model predicting persistence, which correctly identified 92.69% of persisters and 62.3% of nonpersisters. Gender and expectancy-valence variables were not significant predictors, nor were any of the 2-way interactions with gender. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Circumplex structure of Holland's RIASEC Interests across gender and time.

The authors examined circumplex models of interest structure across time (Grades 8, 10, and 12), gender, and analytic method in a secondary analysis of vocational interest type (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) data generated from the American College Testing database (national sample of 69,987 students). Random samples of 1,000 participants were drawn representing males and females over the 3 time periods. The authors used structural equation modeling (SEM), the randomization test of hypothesized order relations, constrained multidimensional scaling, and circular unidimensional scaling. Results indicated differences in conclusions according to the method used. SEM analyses were not supportive of the circumplex structure, whereas the other methods were. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The self-efficacy—interest relationship and RIASEC type: Which is figure and which is ground? Comment on Armstrong and Vogel (2009).

Armstrong and Vogel (2009) proposed that the differences between self-efficacy and interests are a matter of measurement artifact rather than substance. In tests of this hypothesis, they conceived of self-efficacy and interest as observed indicators of larger RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) types and as response method factors. We revisit the authors’ theoretical assumptions, measurement procedures, analyses, and interpretation of findings. When viewing this study in the context of the larger literature, we find ample support for the construal of self-efficacy and interests as distinct but related constructs. In addition, we examine the authors’ reanalysis of earlier longitudinal findings, reaching different conclusions than they did about the nature of the temporal relations among the social cognitive variables. Ultimately, whether one wishes to highlight or minimize the differences between interest and self-efficacy may largely depend on whether one’s purpose is explanation (e.g., how do people make career-relevant choices?) or classification (e.g., which RIASEC type does a person most resemble?). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Career decision-making and career search activities: Relative effects of career search self-efficacy and human agency.

The nature of the relationship between 3 human agency indices (assertiveness, instrumentality, and interpersonal facility), career search self-efficacy, and 3 career indices (vocational identity, career decision needs, and career activities performed) is examined. Data from 426 college men and women were analyzed using hierarchical regression to assess whether career search self-efficacy was able to mediate the relationship between human agency and each career index. For all 3 career indices, the mediator hypothesis was supported. No support was found for human agency mediating the relationship between career search self-efficacy and the career indices, nor for human agency moderating the relationship between career search self-efficacy and career indices. Implications for conducting counseling intervention programs focusing on development of career search self-efficacy expectations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of contextual supports and barriers in the choice of math/science educational options: A test of social cognitive hypotheses.

Social cognitive career theory proposes that contextual supports and barriers play key roles in the career choice process, yet little research has examined hypotheses involving these variables. Participants (111 college students) completed measures of math/science-related course self-efficacy, coping efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, goals, and perceived contextual supports and barriers. Findings indicate that self-efficacy and outcome expectations were jointly predictive of interests and choice intentions. Support and barrier percepts produced only weak direct relations to choice, though barrier percepts were found to moderate interest-choice relations. A model portraying barriers and supports as linked to choice indirectly (via their impact on self-efficacy) produced better fit to the data than did a model specifying barriers and supports as directly linked to choice. Implications for future research and counseling are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Structure of Goal Contents Across 15 Cultures.

The authors investigated the structure of goal contents in a group of 1,854 undergraduates from 15 cultures around the world. Results suggested that the 11 types of goals the authors assessed were consistently organized in a circumplex fashion across the 15 cultures. The circumplex was well described by positing 2 primary dimensions underlying the goals: intrinsic (e.g., self-acceptance, affiliation) versus extrinsic (e.g., financial success, image) and self-transcendent (e.g., spirituality) versus physical (e.g., hedonism). The circumplex model of goal contents was also quite similar in both wealthier and poorer nations, although there were some slight cross-cultural variations. The relevance of these results for several theories of motivation and personality are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individuals and environments: Linking ability and skill ratings with interests.

Holland’s (1997) theory of corresponding person and work environment structures was evaluated by comparing the integration of individual and occupational ratings of interests, abilities, and skills. Occupational ratings were obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor, 2007). College students (494 women, 526 men) provided self-ratings of their interests, abilities, and skills. Property vector fitting was used to embed ability and skill ratings into the Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC) interest structure, and bootstrapping was used to generate confidence intervals for the angles of the vectors and the magnitude of their fit to the Holland model. Across the individual and occupational ratings, 18 of 45 (40%) ability vectors and 41 of 48 (85%) skill vectors were fit into the RIASEC model. No significant gender differences were found in the integration of self-rated abilities and skills into the RIASEC circumplex; however, some differences were found between individual and environmental ratings. Obtained results highlight the potential utility and limitations of using Holland’s model for representing both individual and occupational data in a common structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)