Cognitive structures in vocational information processing and decision making

Abstract

The present study tested the assumptions that the structural features of vocational schemas effect vocational information processing and career self-efficacy. One hundred ten male and female college undergraduates were placed into one of four groups based upon whether they were high or low along the dimensions of vocational differentiation and integration (HH, HL, LH, LL). Results indicated that effective vocational information processing was facilitated by well-integrated systems that processed information along fewer channels or dimensions. The importance of schematic organization on the self-efficacy of individuals with highly differentiated systems was also found. Vocational schemas become better organized as career identities develop. These findings underscore the importance of integration as a conceptual tool and call for the investigation of the differential utility of vocational interventions depending on the individual's stage of vocational development.