When people choose a particular occupation, they presumably make an implicit judgment that they will perform well on a job at some point in the future, typically after extensive education and/or on-the-job experience. Research on learning and skill acquisition has pointed to a power law of practice, where large gains in performance come early in…

A social cognitive model of well-being [Lent, R. W. (2004). Toward a unifying theoretical and practical perspective on well-being and psychosocial adjustment. "Journal of Counseling Psychology," 51, 482-509.] was adapted to the context of academic adjustment and tested using a longitudinal design. Participants were 252 students at a…

To examine how self-esteem measured during university studies would impact on the characteristics of the work career 10 years later, 297 university students completed the Rosenberg's self-esteem inventory four times while at university and various career-related questionnaires 10 years later. Latent Growth Curve Modeling showed that a high overall…

Multivariate analysis of the relationship between career exploration and its predictors for 156 women and 162 men indicated that combining all predictors accounted for less than one-third of variance. Other analyses showed that the broad construct of ego identity exploration cannot be substituted for career exploration. (SK)

Identifies factors influencing women's (N=202) intention to work during the first three years following childbirth using a model which proposes that intentions are a function of work experience, vicarious experience with a working mother, subjective normative pressure, and attitudes. Results indicated that attitudes had the strongest influence on…

Surveyed undergraduate engineering students (N=284) regarding their long-term career aspirations. Revealed factors that differentiated engineering aspirants from managerial ones: reasons for going to engineering school, beliefs about engineering as an occupation, career anchors, intended use of career strategies, curriculum choices, and early…

This study investigated the application of the social-cognitive career theory (SCCT) (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) to the math interest and choice intentions of non-traditional African-American college student population. The associations between the social-cognitive constructs were examined to identify their relation to math interest and choice…

Explored the relationship between the degree to which choices and interests agree and later persistence in an expressed choice, using longitudinal data for college students (N=7,706) and employed persons (N=1,372). Results indicated that persistence in an expressed choice increases systematically as congruence between choice and interests…

Recruiters (N=24) interviewed 91 students to explore factors recruiters use to assess applicants' interviewing skills and suitability for hire. Results indicated that recruiters relied on impressionistic rather than concrete information (e.g., academic achievement and work experience) in making employment recommendations. (NRB)

College students who made choices of major and occupation were classified according to Holland categories. Findings support the validity of the Holland typology, but also suggest that separate personality descriptions within each category should be provided for each sex. (Author)

Women at a liberal arts college were nontraditional in terms of their educational and career goals, and traditional in terms of plans for marriage and motherhood. Age, grade, religious upbringing, college major, enrollment in Women's Studies courses, and mothers' educational attainment were all significant predictors of life goals. (Author)

Increase in predictability of vocational plans of college women (N=152) was sought by using variables from Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS). The most recent daydream and summary of daydream codes were the best single predictors of academic major. The most recent daydream was the best single predictor of vocational plans. (Author)

Explored the influence of hemispheric specialization on cognitive processes in a sample of 119 Israeli economics students and 65 creative arts students who took a test battery designed to assess hemispheric dominance. Significant differences between the groups were found, suggesting implications for matching individual abilities with job demands.…

Both male and female college students rated motivators as important, but females also placed importance on environmental factors. The subject's sex could be predicted by both the importance for self and importance for opposite sex ratings. Females' job preferences were related to their mothers' educational achievement. (Author)

Examined women with stable and unstable career choices over four years. Findings supported the importance of congruence in stable women; differentiation and consistency operated similarly for women with stable and unstable choices. (Author/RC)