An Examination of Circumscription and Compromise in Career Decision-Making Among College Students
Leung, Seung-Ming A.
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/69217
Description
Title
An Examination of Circumscription and Compromise in Career Decision-Making Among College Students
Author(s)
Leung, Seung-Ming A.
Issue Date
1988
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Harmon, Lenore W.
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Guidance and Counseling
Education, Educational Psychology
Abstract
This study examined some hypotheses generated from Gottfredson's theory of career aspiration (1981, Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28, 545-597). Gottfredson suggested that individuals eliminate career choice based on sextype, prestige, and field of interest. The theory maintained that individuals would only explore occupations that are within one's acceptable levels of sextype and prestige, which Gottfredson called the zone of acceptable alternatives. A total of 95 male and 151 female subjects participated in this study, and they responded to several instruments related to the certainty of career decision, sex-role orientation, and career interest. They were also asked to respond to a forced choice questionnaire requiring them to state their occupational preference from a pair of alternatives. Lastly, they were asked to report, from a list of 155 occupations, vocational choices that they have considered in their lives so far. Five different indicators were computed from the data as operational definitions of the zone of acceptable alternatives. It was generally found that the indicators of the zone of acceptable alternatives changed across different life periods, and that the ranges of prestige and sextype that individuals considered tended to increase until around ages 16 and 17. Sex differences were found. When compared with females, males tended to consider occupations with higher prestige levels, but they were less likely to cross over the sextype boundary. The relationship between the indicators of the zone of acceptable alternatives and career decisiveness, sex-role orientation, interest pattern, and choice of academic major were also examined. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for the validity of Gottfredson's theory, for career counseling and for future research.
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