Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Cottrell, Catherine

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

This study sought to investigate how college students make career choices and which method is linked to the greatest life satisfaction. Three constructs from occupational psychology were used to answer this question. Self-efficacy states that people seek activities in which they have succeeded and avoid those in which they have failed. Extrinsic motivation describes how people perform actions for material and social rewards. Calling is defined as a transcendent summons originating outside the self, toward a vocation of personal meaning, focusing on helping others. The three hypotheses predicted that self-efficacy would be ranked the most important career selection method with the greatest positive correlation to life satisfaction, and that calling would be stable. Participants at a liberal arts college responded to a survey with a ranking measure for the importance of self-efficacy, calling, and extrinsic motivation, and general self-efficacy, calling, motivation, and life-satisfaction. Results indicated that self-efficacy was ranked the most important career choice method and had the greatest correlation to life satisfaction. Calling showed a nonsignificant trend toward stability. This study shows that self-efficacy is important, but all methods of career selection can lead to satisfaction.

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