Cognitive structuring was implemented by showing 30 subjects a 10-minute videotape that presented Holland's (1985) model of the world of work before they used an interactive computer-assisted guidance system (DISCOVER). The effect of prior structuring was assessed in terms of a subject's representation of the world of work, occupational certainty, and vocational identity. The subjects were 90 volunteer clients who came to a university career resource center for vocational counseling. Two treatment groups and a control group were used: pretest, cognitive structuring, and DISCOVER; pretest and DISCOVER; and DISCOVER only. The results indicated that subjects who assimilated the Holland model prior to using DISCOVER were more homogeneous in sorting 36 randomly selected occupations into related clusters and were more homogeneous in the number of occupational alternatives they listed on a posttest. Subjects who used DISCOVER without cognitive structuring became significantly more assured of their vocational identity (i.e., goals, interests, personality), while the cognitive structuring group did not become so assured. Occupational certainty was unaffected by any treatment. The cognitive structuring experience prior to subjects' use of DISCOVER encouraged them to add occupations to consider when they had few alternatives and to eliminate occupations to consider when they had many. The use of cognitive structuring and DISCOVER may therefore prove useful in vocational counseling of adults, although more research is needed. (Author/KC)