The Cognitive Processes Associated with Occupational/Career Indecision

Abstract

This study developed and tested a new model of the cognitive processes associated with occupational/career indecision for gifted adolescents. A survey instrument with rigorous psychometric properties, developed from a number of existing instruments, was administered to a sample of 687 adolescents attending three academically selective high schools in Sydney, Australia. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and related procedures. The findings suggested that three cognitive process pathways may be associated with occupational indecision for gifted adolescents, all of which incorporated amotivation with the occupational decision. Within these pathways, both idiocentric orientations toward the future and social influences from the family were identified as negative predictors of occupational amotivation, while perfectionism (which was itself negatively predicted by multipotentiality) appeared to be a positive predictor of occupational amotivation. Educators, psychologists, and counselors may be able to use the findings to reassess their career guidance to gifted adolescents.