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Differences in Career Thoughts
Research has suggested that an individual's career thoughts play a significant role in what an individual perceives as viable career options and how an individual makes specific career choices. This study examined the differences in career thoughts between 63 individuals with a disability and a convenience sample of 149 college students in a southern urban university. The results of independent sample t-tests suggested no significant differences between the groups on all four scales of the Career Thoughts Inventory. The authors discuss effect sizes, several possible explanations for the results, and limitations to the study. The results would also suggest that rehabilitation professionals working with individuals with disabilities should not assume that individuals with disabilities have a higher level of dysfunctional career thoughts. Instead, rehabilitation professionals should individually analyze an individual's career thoughts to determine implications for career development and rehabilitation planning.
Cognition has been widely recognized as an important factor to consider when working with individuals regarding issues related to vocational development and career decision making (Lustig & Strauser, 2000). Research in this area has suggested that an individual's vocational behavior is influenced by the interaction between vocational cognitions, behaviors, and environments and is often cognitively mediated (Keller, Biggs, & Gysbers, 1982). Individuals who express and verbalize positive cognitions regarding the career decision-making process tend to make effective decisions. On the other hand, individuals who express and verbalize negative or dysfunctional cognitions regarding the career decision-making process tend to experience difficulty and avoidance (Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996). With the potential of career cognitions affecting the career decision-making process, researchers have focused efforts on developing an understanding of career thoughts and their potential impact on career and vocational behavior. One cognitive process that has received attention and has been found to affect career decision-making and vocational behavior is the construct of career thoughts. This paper will explore the differences in career thoughts between individuals with disabilities and individuals without disabilities to examine any differences between the two groups in terms of how they conceptualize career thoughts.
Dysfunctional career thoughts have been conceptualized as dysfunctional career beliefs (Krumboltz, 1990), dysfunctional cognitions (Corbishley & Yost, 1989), self-beliefs (Borders & Archadel, 1987), self-defeating assumptions (Dryden, 1999), and faulty self-efficacy beliefs...