Applications of Self-Efficacy Theory to the Career Assessment of Women

Abstract

This article reviews the applicability of self-efficacy theory to the career assessment of women. The article begins by summarizing Bandura's self-efficacy theory, including its particular relevance to women's career development. Next, the domains of occupational, scientific—technical, and mathematics self-efficacy are reviewed, followed by those represented by Holland's RIASEC model and Rooney and Osipow's (1992; Osipow, Temple, & Rooney, 1993) Task-Specific Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale (TSOSS). The article concludes with a review of work on the relationship of self-efficacy to vocational interests and on counseling implications of self-efficacy theory.