This current study investigated Janis and Mann's (1977) Conflict Model of Decision Making. Specifically, Janis and Mann's model was tested to examine decision-making styles (coping patterns) and students who either have already decided or who have yet to decide on their college major. Furthermore, the current study is aimed to expand Janis and…

Interest differentiation and elevation are supposed to provide important information about a person's state of interest development, yet little is known about their development and criterion validity. The present study explored these constructs among a group of Swiss adolescents. Study 1 applied a cross-sectional design with 210 students in 11th…

In 1987, 208 second graders were interviewed about their occupational aspirations and expectations, school likes and dislikes, educational plans, and other variables. They were reinterviewed every 2 years through senior year in high school. A 5-year post-high school follow-up was conducted, and 35 young adults (23 years old) from the original…

Four texts were analyzed using Burke's model for explicating dramatic experiences: Bennett's "Clayhanger," Lawrence's "The Rainbow," a biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Blythe's "Akenfield." Analysis shows how vocational exploration is a form of personal project during which individuals socially construct…

Describes the major elements of a lifespan, life-space approach to career development. Looks at the origins of these elements and briefly describes their evolution. Suggests five categories of possible future refinements in this approach so as to enhance theory building, testing, and synthesizing this model's applicability. (RJM)

Fourteen papers from an international workshop on research into personal development relative to educational and vocational choice are presented in this report. Representative titles of the papers are as follow: (1) problems and designs in research on educational and vocational careers; (2) opportunities, pressures and constraints: research into…

Presents a broad view with which to survey theory, research, and practice in career exploration. Looks at contributions to career adaptability and applies the "life-career rainbow" to current areas of ambiguity in the career exploration literature. Discusses the theoretical implications of a context-rich view and suggests counseling…

Creating Self-Portraits is an individual and/or group career development tool designed to assess without testing. Researchers have found that testing can be counter-productive; once clients were labelled, they frequently stopped self-examination. A tool was needed that would help people understand themselves in a way that would encourage further…

Explored the relationship between vocational needs and experiential factors and constructed a weighted biographical information form to predict vocational needs. Analysis showed the utility of this form as a measure of vocational needs. (Author/BEF)

The enthusiasm of student teachers can develop into mature dedication if their interest is challenged, good examples of the art of teaching are upheld, pride in their skills is encouraged, and they see their work as a valuable contribution to the world. (JD)

This analysis provides the basis for conceptualizing vocational maturity development as being analogous to and not separate from personality development. Proposed research studies are mentioned which test basic relationships between vocational maturity development and various aspects of personality development. (Author)

Deals with inner city youth and a program for developing flexible thinking. (SB)

Career exploration typically involves the investigation of personal factors: interests, aptitudes, values, and personal style. This digest outlines one counseling method, pattern identification exercise (PIE). PIE starts with past experiences and identifies personal patterns which are relevant to career decisions. A premise of PIE is that…

Non-students are college-age and older youth who have had some college education but are not formal students or members of the labor force, are potentially creative individuals, and are attracted to academic environments. At Berkeley there are approximately 3,000 of these non-conformist college dropouts, 151 of whom volunteered to participate in a…

Interviews were conducted with 456 Northeastern University liberal arts undergraduate students to ascertain their perceptions of personal change due to college experiences, career attitudes and expectations, social and humanistic attitudes, and student voluntary activities. Two-hundred and ninety-three of the students had either participated or…