Date of Award

1995

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in career aspirations, expectations, and beliefs of male adolescents as a function of race and Holland social personality type. Participants were 22 African-American, 38 White, and 28 Hispanic male, ninth-graders from a suburban high school. Participants responded to four instruments: (a) A demographics form (b) a career aspiration and expectation questionnaire, (c) the Vocational Preference Inventory, and (d) the Career Beliefs Inventory. Two null hypotheses were tested using a 3 X 2 analysis of covariance. There were no differences in career aspirations and expectations either by race or by Holland social personality type. The only difference in career beliefs by race was that African-Americans scored higher than Whites and Hispanics in their belief that approval of others was not important in choosing a career. Differences in career beliefs by Holland social personality type were noted on four scales. High Social Personality Types scored higher than Low Social Personality Types on all four scales, indicating the following beliefs: (a) A willingness to work harder despite facing uncertain futures; (b) a greater inclination to persevere even in the face of failure; (c) envisioning greater capacity to pursue job satisfaction, even if it meant changing jobs in the process; and (d) feeling more confident in being able to overcome future obstacles in pursuit of meaningful work.

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