Data from 245 male and 257 female adolescents who reported occupational aspirations and expectations in grades 8, 9, and 10 indicated that those who had significant aspiration-expectation discrepancies in one grade made significant changes in aspiration the following year. To the extent the changes were toward more realistic or accessible…

Data from 95 career counseling clients and from their counselors supported the validity of the Career Decision Making Difficulties Questionnaire. Compared with a sample of 259 young adults, counselees had significantly fewer difficulties related to motivation but more difficulties in six other categories. (SK)

A survey of work-related opinions of 479 Australian police officers showed a significant correlation between tenure and organizational commitment. Cross-sectional analysis was inconclusive regarding a developmental trend in affective organizational commitment. (SK)

The accuracy of students' knowledge of 20 well-known occupations was assessed in 57 third-graders, 43 sixth-graders, 44 ninth-graders, and 45 12th-graders. They were most accurate judging earnings and least judging occupational availability. Accuracy increased with age. Occupations at the extremes yielded the greatest inaccuracy. (SK)

Examination of 66 congruence studies, including benchmarking studies with improved methodology, showed that congruence is a sufficient though not a necessary condition for job satisfaction. A paradigmatic shift is needed with diverse research designs and methods, emphasizing experiment and drawing on person-environment psychology. (Contains 142…

In a survey of 458 telecommunications workers, those who were positive about the workplace social climate reported fewer unwanted sexual behaviors; those who perceived equal gender treatment reported less sexual harassment; those who perceived favorable management attitudes about work and family reported fewer incidents of sexual harassment. (SK)

Three analyses of data from 197 older employees and their spouses identified work and nonwork factors influencing age of retirement. Finances predicted retirement but health and gender did not. Being tired of working and expecting to work for pay after retirement predicted earlier retirement. (SK)

Multidimensional scaling was used to examine relationships between vocational interests (in Holland's model) and motivation to lead (MTL) using data from 285 undergraduates. MTL was correlated with Social and Enterprising interests but was largely independent of Holland's model. (SK)

Content analysis of data from 156 proteges identified 15 types of negative mentoring experiences clustered in five themes: mismatch within dyad, distancing behavior, manipulative behavior, lack of mentor expertise, and general dysfunctionality. Proteges reported negative mentoring most often when mentors had dissimilar attitudes, values, and…

The relationship between the personal style scales of the Strong Interest Inventory and the Big Five model of personality was investigated with 740 undergraduates and a cross-validation sample of 321. No significant gender differences were observed. Personal style scales indicating living and working preferences were correlated with personality…

Study 1 (n=40) examined the influence of time delay on decisions between paying student fees and receiving scholarships; greater time discounting occurred for positive outcomes. Study 2 compared 13 expert career counselors with 22 novices, finding no difference in degree of discounting their own job preferences. However, experts assessed the…

Attorneys (n=200) who rated employers' likely acceptance of requests for part-time work thought they were more likely to be approved when attorneys performed well, would be difficult to replace, had strong organizational connections, or threatened to quit. Approval was considered likely for women and for attorneys who requested part time for child…

A study of 200 mentor/protege pairs found those involving female mentors with male or female proteges provided more role modeling. Male mentors of male proteges offered less role modeling and psychosocial support than female mentors of male proteges. Male mentors with female proteges provided the most career development of any gender combination.…

Tenth graders' (n=7,953) achievement perceptions were compared with their college major choices 2-4 years later. Math achievement perceptions had the strongest effect for men and lower socioeconomic status women. English achievement perceptions had stronger effects than math for middle and high socioeconomic status women. (SK)

Describes qualitative techniques and their use in industrial and vocational psychology for theory generation, elaboration, and testing. Discusses research design, data analysis, and best practices using qualitative methods. Contains 54 references. (SK)