Vocational self-concept crystallization and vocational indecision.

A. Korman (1966, 1967, 1970) and D. E. Super (1963) have developed theoretical models to explain the processes underlying the relationship between self-esteem and vocational decisional status. These models differ in their predictions regarding the vocational self-concept crystallization of high and low self-esteem persons. The relationship between vocational self-concept crystallization and global self-esteem (as measured by the Total Positive Scale of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale) was investigated using 102 undergraduates as Ss. A significant difference was found for both sexes in the degree of crystallization across self-esteem levels, thereby supporting Super's model over Korman's. Support was found, however, for the basic assumption of Korman's model that high self-esteem individuals perceive themselves as competent, need-satisfying decision makers to a greater degree than low self-esteem individuals. The absence of any sex effects is discussed in relation to career development theories in general. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of self-concept in vocational theory.

R. G. Pryor (see record 1985-14577-001) argues that more attention should be devoted to the study of the structural properties of the self and less to the study of the self-concept, because the self-concept lacks explanatory power and reliance on it obfuscates attempts to derive a genuinely causal explanation of human behavior. The major problem with the self-concept, Pryor argues, is that it is relational and therefore is not genuinely causal. However, the present author argues that the relational aspects of the self-concept are in fact useful in explaining the paths individuals take to fulfill their more basic needs and goals. Although the self-concept has promise for explaining vocational behavior, it nevertheless has not been well-conceptualized or well-measured in vocational psychology. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological separation, attachment security, vocational self-concept crystallization, and career indecision: A structural equation analysis.

Structural equation modeling was used to test theoretically based models in which psychological separation and attachment security variables were related to career indecision and those relations were mediated through vocational self-concept crystallization. In contrast to previous studies, which have found either weak or no support for a relation between separation or attachment security variables and career indecision, results based on a sample of 350 college students indicated that some components of separation and attachment security did relate to career indecision in a theoretically supportable direction. Results also revealed that regardless of whether global or component career indecision measures were used, separation and attachment security effects on indecision were at least partially mediated through vocational self-concept crystallization. The strongest mediated relations were observed for the effects of attachment anxiety and maternal separation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' knowledge of students' knowledge in mathematics problem solving: Correlational and case analyses.

This study examined the relationship of teachers' knowledge of students' knowledge to teachers' mathematics instruction and to students' mathematics problem solving. First-grade teachers (N?=?20) participated in a 4-week workshop in which they were given access to research-based knowledge on children's mathematics learning. Teachers were observed for 16 days throughout the school year. In May, teachers completed interviews and questionnaires about their knowledge and beliefs; their students completed achievement tests. Correlational analyses showed significant positive relationships between teachers' knowledge of students' knowledge and students' mathematics problem-solving achievement. Teachers with more knowledge of their students questioned students about problem-solving processes and listened to their responses. Teachers with less knowledge of their students explained problem-solving processes to students or observed students' solutions. Case analyses of knowledge and behavior of the most effective teacher and the least effective teacher supported these conclusions and showed important differences in how these teachers thought about and used students' knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A canonical analysis of career choice crystallization and vocational maturity.

Whereas career development theory has proposed that the crystallization of career choices occurs as individuals resolve relevant career development tasks, the supporting empirical evidence has been inconclusive. To develop a clearer understanding of the nature of the career decision-making process, this study assessed the degree to which career choice crystallization is associated with vocationally mature attitudes, behavior, and knowledge. Measures of vocational maturity and career choice crystallization (which was defined by measures of career decidedness and commitment to career choice) were administered to 158 community college students (mean age?=?21.35). A canonical analysis was employed to identify the relationships between age, gender, career choice crystallization, and vocational maturity. The analysis yielded one significant canonical root, which indicated that most of the shared variance between these two sets of variables was contributed by the relationship between the career planning component of vocational maturity and the two career choice crystallization scales. These findings were related to theory, research, and practice in career development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The divided self: Concurrent and longitudinal effects of psychological adjustment and social roles on self-concept differentiation.

The relation between self-concept differentiation (SCD), the tendency to see oneself as having different personality characteristics in different social roles, and psychological adjustment was examined in a sample of college students and a sample of middle-aged women. In both studies, Ss with high levels of SCD showed poor emotional adjustment (e.g., depression) and tended to reject social norms and conventions (e.g., low socialization). Longitudinal analyses demonstrated that these same characteristics measured at age 21 predicted SCD measured more than 30 yrs later in middle age. These findings provide strong evidence that SCD is a sign of fragmentation of the self rather than specialization of role identities. The social context was also an important determinant of SCD; both dissatisfaction with role performance and frequent role changes in relationships and jobs predicted SCD measured 9 yrs later. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Life tasks, self-concept ideals, and cognitive strategies in a life transition.

This paper reports on data from a longitudinal study in which normative life tasks and individuals' personal versions of those tasks are investigated in the context of students making the transition from home and high school to college life. Analyses focus both on common patterns of life-task appraisal in interpersonal and achievement domains and on differences in the self-concepts and cognitive strategies that individual students bring to bear as they confront these normative pressures (Cantor & Kihlstrom, 1987). In particular, we investigate the impact of students' actual-ideal self-discrepancies (Higgins, Klein, & Strauman, 1985) on subjective stress and satisfaction in achievement and interpersonal life-task domains and suggest that self-concept discrepancy negatively affects adjustment in the achievement domain and positively affects social outcomes. Students using a defensive-pessimism strategy motivated themselves by confronting their anxieties in advance of stressful tasks, whereas those using an optimistic strategy assumed the best until proved otherwise—protecting self-esteem after the fact in the event of disappointment (Norem & Cantor, 1986a, 1986b). This analysis, thus, begins at the level of normative "readings" of life tasks in a shared transition period and gradually moves toward consideration of how individuals navigate those tasks in personally meaningful ways. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problems of occupational therapy and vocational rehabilitation in psychiatry

The authors discuss the rehabilitative measures of occupational therapy, slight work and protected work with reference to their practical performance and optimum application. Critical remarks on the partly ineffective practical application of rehabilitative measures are followed by hints on laws, which show their objectives and possibilities.     

The stability of the self-concept in adolescence.

"A study of the stability of the self-concept over two years in adolescence resulted in the following conclusions:… Relative stability… was demonstrated… between Q sorts… . Subjects whose self-concept was negative at the first setting were significantly less stable in self-concept than subjects whose self-concept was positive… . Subjects who persisted in a negative self-concept over the two year period gave evidence of significantly more maladjustment." 16 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Profiling the differences in students' knowledge, interest, and strategic processing.

The purpose for this research was threefold: to determine whether distinct and informative student profiles would emerge from knowledge, interest, and strategy measures specific to educational psychology; to compare these profiles with prior studies; and to explore changes in student profiles across an academic semester. As a result of cluster-analytic procedures, 3 distinct groups of participants emerged at pretest, and 4 emerged at posttest. One of the profiles that remained fairly consistent from pretest to posttest was the Learning-Oriented cluster. Students fitting this profile began the semester with the highest means in interest and strategic processing and with a moderate level of domain knowledge. By the end of the semester, this cluster obtained the highest means also on the domain knowledge test. Yet, the largest cluster at posttest seemed unable or unwilling to learn from demanding exposition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal imprecision as an index of knowledge in transition.

Children can be verbally imprecise when they are learning, but this phenomenon is not well documented. Verbal imprecision, anecdotally referred to as "hemming and hawing," may be indexed by restatements, comments on one's lack of knowledge, deletions of sentence constituents, and pauses. The authors examined whether they could quantify indexes of verbal imprecision and use them to predict changes in problem-solving performance. Four types of verbal imprecision were found to predict improved performance. Results were used to make inferences about processes of knowledge change. In particular, evidence suggests that adopting a new approach and rejecting an old one may be independent, and ordered, processes. Although others have drawn similar conclusions, using verbal imprecision as the data source is a relatively unique and readily accessible method for lending support to this model of knowledge change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent dispositions for antisocial behavior in context: The roles of neighborhood dangerousness and parental knowledge.

This study examined an ecological perspective on the development of antisocial behavior during adolescence, examining direct, additive, and interactive effects of child and both parenting and community factors in relation to youth problem behavior. To address this goal, the authors examined early adolescent dispositional qualities as predictors of boys’ antisocial behavior within the context of parents’ knowledge of adolescent activities and neighborhood dangerousness. Antisocial behavior was examined using a multimethod latent construct that included self-reported delinquency, symptoms of conduct disorder, and court petitions in a sample of 289 boys from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds who were followed longitudinally from early childhood through adolescence. Results demonstrated direct and additive findings for child prosociality, daring, and negative emotionality, which were qualified by interactions between daring and neighborhood dangerousness, and between prosociality and parental knowledge. The findings have implications for preventive intervention approaches that address the interplay of dispositional and contextual factors to prevent delinquent behavior in adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of attitudes toward women's roles and occupational behavior to women's self-esteem.

Investigated the relation of stereotypic role behavior and women's self-esteem in a group of 456 female college alumnae (aged early 20's to mid 50's) by administering a questionnaire to assess attitudes toward women's roles, labor force attachment, type of present and preferred occupation, and self-esteem. Results show no support for the prediction that women's roles mediate occupational behavior and have a differential effect on self-esteem. Occupational congruence was found to have a positive relation to self-esteem. Attitudes toward women's roles were found to be associated with amount of labor force attachment and were a factor distinguishing homemakers, job holders, and careerists. It is suggested that counselors should help clarify clients' own occupational aspirations and encourage them to explore ways to actualize their aspirations. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of computer-based versus counselor-based occupational information systems with disadvantaged vocational students.

Based on the rationale that occupational information is an educational essential, 72 Ss, who were occupational work experience 10th-12th graders, were randomly assigned to individual guidance from either a computerized occupational information system or a counselor-based information system or assigned to a control group. Ss were posttested on the Assessment of Career Development to determine which group learned the most information. Results demonstrate a hierarchical learning effect: The computer group learned more than the counseled group, which learned more than the control group. Only the treatment effects were significantly different between the groups, since there was no interaction of IQ and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationships of self-efficacy for the Holland themes to gender, occupational group membership, and vocational interests.

The studies presented in this article resulted in the findings that gender differences in self-efficacy for the Holland themes are consistent with previous findings regarding gender differences in Holland interest patterns, although the gender differences are less pronounced in employed adults than in college students. Within occupational group, the self-efficacy profiles of women and men were very similar and closely corresponded to the Holland interest code of the occupation. Confidence for and interest in a theme were moderately correlated, and recommendations for the counseling use of joint combinations of interests and self-efficacy are made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High school students' occupational interest as a function of projected sex ratios in male-dominated occupations.

To demonstrate that the sexual composition of a field influences a woman's career interests and preferences, a study was designed to determine the effects of projected shifts in the sexual composition of 2 occupations presently dominated by males. 144 male and female high school students were led to believe that the proportion of women in one of those occupations would be 10% (token), 30% (minority), or 50% (equal) in 15 yrs. Results indicate that, as predicted, projections of more-balanced sex ratios encouraged greater occupational interest among women; however, a totally balanced sex ratio was shown to reduce the degree of occupational interest expressed by men. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of occupational therapy education on students' perceived attitudes toward persons with disabilities

OBJECTIVES: The effect of occupational therapy education on students' perceived attitudes toward persons with disabilities was studied. METHOD: The perceived attitudes of 144 occupational therapy students toward persons with disabilities were measured before (retrospective pretest) and after (posttest) the students attended formal professional education at the University of Alberta. RESULTS: Posttest scores were significantly higher than the retrospective pretest scores, indicating that students' attitudes became more positive after they commenced formal professional education. The posttest scores of students at various levels of education, however, did not show any significant difference. CONCLUSION: On the basis of these observations, a positive but nonlinear relationship between occupational therapy education and attitudes toward persons with disabilities was postulated.     

Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept.

This article examines the association between evaluative and knowledge components of the self. Four studies tested the hypothesis that the self-concepts of low-self-esteem (LSE) people are characterized by less clarity or certainty than those of high-self-esteem (HSE) people. LSE Ss exhibited less extremity and self-reported confidence when rating themselves on bipolar trait adjectives (Study 1), less temporal stability in their trait ratings over a 2-month interval (Study 2), less congruence between their self-concepts and their subsequent perceptions of situation-specific behavior and memory for prior behavior (Study 3), and less internal consistency, lower self-rated confidence, and longer reaction times when making me/not me responses to pairs of opposite traits (Study 4). Alternative accounts of the results and the implications of self-concept clarity for understanding the pervasive impact of self-esteem on behavior are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)