Research on a workshop to reduce the effects of sexism and sex role socialization on women's career planning.

Assessed the effects of a 4-wk workshop designed to enhance the awareness of 60 college women about sex role and career factors and to expand their sex role attitudes and self-concepts. During the workshop, portions of a 28-min videotape were presented to Ss and discussed each wk in small groups. The videotape presentation is a direct application of a model depicting factors affecting both sex role socialization and career decision-making processes. Treatment effects were assessed by means of 5 career and sex-role instruments in a pretest/posttest control-group design. Results indicate that treatment Ss spent more time thinking about their career planning, described themselves as being more "masculine," and reported investigative, social, and enterprising careers as being more appropriate career choices than control Ss. The workshop appears to have expanded Ss' "masculine" sex role self-concepts and changed their attitudes about the appropriateness of 2 stereotypic masculine career areas (investigative and enterprising). (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex role deviance in disturbed male adolescents on the perception of psychopathology.

Investigated the effect of sex-role deviance on the perception of psychopathology and correlated the size of this effect with measures of sex-role ideology and gender stereotyping. The study employed a person perception rating task in which Ss (99 school teachers; mean age 24.4) evaluated written case histories of sex-role deviant and sex-role congruent male adolescents with emotional and behavioral problems. Male adolescents were judged to be more disturbed if their hobbies, career aspirations, and interests were deviant for their sex than if they were sex-role congruent. The relationship between evaluative bias (i.e., the extent to which greater disturbance was perceived in sex-role deviant than congruent stimulus persons) and measures of gender stereotyping and sex-role ideology was also established. Gender stereotyping correlated significantly with bias, while sex-role ideology was not significantly correlated. Similar bias effects were found for male and female Ss. (French summary) (12 ref) (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)     

Multiple outcome evaluation of a life-career development course.

Examined the multiple effects of a life-career development course on 74 university students. The treatment was based on a comprehensive counseling model of "change agent career decision making." A modification of D. T. Campbell and J. C. Stanley's (1963) institutional cycle design and MANOVA was used for evaluating Ss' performance on 8 career inventories. The Ss were significantly more rational and less intuitive and dependent in their decision-making styles, more certain of their major and career choices, and more crystallized in their vocational self-concept. They also collected more career information and had fewer vocational identity problems as a result of the course. Inconsistent results were found with regard to the external locus of control and overcoming career barriers measures. The treatment did not seem to have an immediate impact on internal locus of control. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A causal model of the career orientation and career choice of adolescent women.

Expanded on R. E. Fassinger's (see record 1990-21225-001) model of career choice in college women by testing 2 causal models of career choice and orientation with high school women. Ss were 409 adolescent women enrolled in their last year of high school in an all-female private liberal arts high school in a large Midwestern city. Structural equation modeling analyses suggested that the career orientation and career choice of adolescent women were predicted by ability, agentic characteristics, gender role attitudes, and relationship with mother. Young women who possessed liberal gender role attitudes, were instrumental and efficacious with regard to math and careers, and exhibited moderate degrees of attachment and independence from their mothers tended to value their career pursuits. Adolescent women who selected nontraditional and prestigious careers showed high ability and strong agentic characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential outcome from automated assertion training as a function of locus of control.

72 low-assertive (Conflict Resolution Inventory) college students, classified as either internal or external in locus of control (Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale), participated in an analog therapy outcome study that assessed whether Ss' locus of control orientations would differentially affect their reactions to an automated assertiveness training procedure. Results indicate that as a group, treatment Ss improved more on all self-report and behavioral measures than either placebo or no-treatment control Ss. As predicted, however, externals in the treatment condition showed significantly greater generalization of the treatment effects to untrained social-skills assessment items than did their internal counterparts. Internals in the treatment condition actually failed to improve on these items relative to the performance of internals in the placebo and no-treatment control conditions. Data also support the predictions that internals in the treatment condition would perceive treatment as taking too much control away from them and would feel more uncomfortable in treatment sessions than externals. Data are interpreted as generally confirming the importance of accounting for the role of patient variables in therapy outcome research. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological correlates of fertility plans in unmarried women.

Examined the childbearing plans of 198 female unmarried undergraduates in relation to their scores on the Personality Research Form and to their educational or career goals. Ss planning to remain childless were more likely to plan to delay marriage than their counterparts planning to have children. Ss planning to remain childless as well as those planning to delay having children perceived a career as more important than Ss for whom educational and career considerations were less salient. Voluntarily childless Ss possessed more stereotypically masculine traits and fewer feminine ones than women planning to have children, showing lower scores on nurturance and abasement and higher scores on such factors as dominance and autonomy. There was no evidence that career considerations had substituted for children as a primary source of satisfaction in voluntarily childless Ss. (French abstract) (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The stimulus value, treatment effects, and sex differences when completing the Self-Directed Search and Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory.

Assessed men's and women's immediate reactions to completing the Self-Directed Search (SDS) and the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) and the impact of this testing on their subsequent behaviors 1 mo later. A random sample of 96 college freshmen completed either the SDS, SCII, or both instruments. Results indicate that (a) the SDS had significantly more perceived stimulus value than the SCII alone or the SCII and SDS combined, immediately after testing; (b) the SCII was perceived to have greater clarity of directions than the SDS; (c) there were no significant differences between groups on responses to testing or certainty about career planning; and (d) no sex differences between men and women on their immediate reactions to testing were found. A 1-mo follow-up of the Ss indicated that there were no significant sex or treatment differences between groups in satisfaction with career planning, clarity and certainty of ideas about career planning, and time spent thinking about career planning process. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control in Mexicans and Chicanos: The case of the missing fatalist.

Studied the extent to which a stereotype of Mexican or Chicano students as fatalistic is supported by their locus of control scores. Data came from Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale scores of male college students in 4 nations: US (86), Mexico (57), Ireland (47), and West Germany (54). Data show the Mexican Ss to be significantly more internally oriented than Ss from each of the other nations. Locus of control scores (determined with a scale developed by H. Levenson, 1974) for 151 Anglo and 95 Chicano senior high school students were also compared. Scores for Chicanos were nearly identical to those obtained from Anglo students. Only Chicano male high school students not planning to enter college showed any tendency toward a more external locus of control. It is concluded that to the extent a perceived external locus of control would be indicative of a fatalistic outlook, such perception is lacking in most data in Mexican and Chicano respondents. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The life and career plans of young adult college women: A follow-up study.

Conducted a follow-up study of 391 women 6 yrs after they entered college. 41% of Ss were no longer pursuing the bachelor's degree, 63% were married, and 46% planned to combine work and family life. A total of 71% were employed; 45% were employed in their chosen careers, which were predominantly in social/medical services and clerical fields. Attitudes toward women's roles were liberal, and Ss were aware of sex discrimination. Since high school, Ss had considered an average of 9 occupations. Traditional choices (e.g., housewife, nurse, social worker, and teacher) continued to be popular, but more nontraditional choices (e.g., physicist and college professor) were becoming included. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Career involvement of women in dual-career families: The influence of sex role identity.

Studied the influence of sex-role identity on the career involvement of 70 25–45 yr old professional women who were members of dual-career families that included young children. As predicted, Ss categorized as masculine on the Personality Research Form, ANDRO scales, were employed a significantly greater proportion of time after having children than Ss categorized as feminine. In addition, the more equalitarian the marriage, the more likely S was to continue her career participation after having children. Regardless of employment status and the equalitarianism of the marriage, Ss reported that they spent significantly more time alone with their children than their husbands did. Implications for various counseling situations are noted. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role self-concept and career decision making.

The influence of sex-role-related aspects of students' self-concept on their progress in making a decision about choice of college, choice of a major, and choice of an occupation, as well as their use of both the rational and intuitive decision-making styles, was investigated. For 289 male and 283 female college students, their sex-role self-concept as measured by the Bem Sex-Role Inventory was related to their progress on all 3 decisions. Test scores were compared with those of 300 other Ss from 3 colleges, and no significant variance was found. The patterns of results were different for men and women. Sex-role self-concept was related to the use of both decision-making styles for women, whereas it was a factor only on the rational style scale for men. The implications of these findings for differential counseling based on sex-role self-concept rather than on gender are discussed. Counselors are cautioned against overlooking the potential influences of factors not related to sex roles on students' career decisions. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of structured and unstructured leader roles on internal and external group participants

This study assessed the impact of structured and unstructured leader roles on measures of outcome for Ss who differed on the pretest dimension "locus of control." On the basis of their pretest locus of control scores, Ss were assigned to a structured or an unstructured marathon group. The treatment in the two 16-hour -arathons consisted of a defined series of exercises; the only difference between the two groups was the degree of leader control over member participation. As predicted, internal Ss in the unstructured group rated the leader and the group more psoitively than did external Ss, while the reverse responsivity occured in the structured group. Significant Locus of Control X Treatment interactions indicated that internal and external Ss reflected differential shifts in general anxiety, general depression, and locus of control as a function of treatment. The relationship between changes in self-actualization and locus of control and changes in conflict-handling styles and negative affects differed as a function of locus of control and treatment condition. The overall results coupled with prior findings tentatively support the appropriateness of an unstructured leader role for internal scores and a structured leader role for external scorers.     

Internal-external locus of control: Parental antecedents.

Collected retrospective reports of parental behavior and a measure of internal-external locus of control from 192 male and 235 female undergraduates. Data were analyzed in a 2 * 2 analysis of variance design (sex * parent behavior). Relatively stronger internal control orientations held for ss who described their mothers as more nurturant, having more predictable standards for their children's behavior, and using more achievement pressure. Fathers were described as more nurturant, and as using more physical punishment (males only). Ss who reported that their mothers were (a) more protective, (b) more inclined to use deprivation of privileges, and (c) more inclined to use affective punishment (males only) were found to have stronger external control orientations. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Female college students' scores on the men's and women's Strong Vocational Interest Blanks.

Administered the men's and women's forms of the SVIB and a career orientation questionnaire to a sample of 90 undergraduate women. Significant differences were found between mean scores on Occupational scales common to both forms and on mean number of B+ and A ratings on the men's and women's forms. Occupational scale scores and number of B+ and A interest ratings were examined in relationship to career vs. homemaker orientation. Ss differentiated on the basis of career orientation obtained significantly different mean numbers of B+ and A interest ratings on the women's SVIB. Implications for vocational counseling are discussed, and use of both forms of the SVIB is recommended in vocational counseling with college women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peers' granting of control to women with different sex role identities: Implications for depression.

Investigated the degree of control given to 4 (videotaped) women with different sex-role identities to study the extent to which peers (24 male and 24 female undergraduates) were willing to grant control to women with different sex-role identities. Ss indicated how much control they would give each of the role-identified women if working individually with each woman on various 2-person tasks. Results indicate that women with different sex-role identities were granted different amounts of control by their peers as a function of the type of 2-person task under consideration. Women rated high on masculinity were granted greater control on enjoyable and creative tasks, whereas women rated low in masculinity were given more control on methodological and less enjoyable tasks. Women judged high in femininity were given control on tasks requiring interpersonal skills. Findings are discussed within the context of learned helplessness theory as a possible aid in understanding why more women than men become depressed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smoking modification procedures for internal and external locus of control clients.

Examined relationships between locus of control and effectiveness of 2 treatment procedures in a smoking clinic in order to develop treatments of choice for internal and external locus of control clients. Ss were 42 adult volunteers who completed Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale. The treatment factors studied were an aversive satiation procedure, and the agent (client or therapist) who decided the rate at which smoking was reduced. Analyses of posttreatment smoking rates showed no main effects for the treatment or Ss factors other than time of follow-up. However, an interaction between the satiation treatment, locus of control, and time of follow-up factors was significant. Internal clients who had received satiation procedures were found to sustain improvement better than internal clients not receiving satiation. External Ss tended to do better under no satiation conditions. Insofar as the no-satiation condition relied on a situational analysis of environmental influences on smoking while the satiation Ss received the aversive technique, results suggest guidelines for matching internally and externally focused treatment to the respective internal and external orientations of clients. (French summary) (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of task and experimenter feedback on the self-reinforcement behavior of internals and externals.

Tested 24 internal and 24 external locus of control Ss on 3 verbal recognition memory tasks. Ss administered self-reinforcement for correct responses on the 1st and 3rd tasks, which had the same difficulty level. The 2nd task was either more or less difficult than the other 2 and was accompanied by E reinforcement. All Ss thus received external evaluation that had variable relevance to their self-evaluation. There were no differences in self-reinforcement base rate (reinforcement rate on the 1st task), but there were several significant and contrasting changes on the 3rd task. Internals attended to both task differences and external evaluation. Externals responded only to evaluation, apparently not attending to task factors. Results are discussed in terms of locus of control and in terms of self-reinforcement behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)