Provides selected review of two lines of recent research on career exploration (identifying antecedents of exploratory activity and application of information processes biases to career exploration), with specific focus on applications for counseling practice. Describes relevant counseling interventions and concludes with summary of six goals to…

Develops a new framework for career exploration research based on four perspectives: the identity formation process, human motivation and self-determination, sociocultural context, and historical context. Proposes a research agenda. (SK)

Attempted to identify role of career exploration in the career decision making process using college student (N=103) subjects. Found internal search instrumentality beliefs to be associated with the planning phase of career decision making, and environmental exploration was predictive of vocational commitment. (Author/ABL)

Administered an individual differences measure of motivational and orientations and a multidimensional measure of exploratory activity and beliefs to undergraduate students (N=154). Canonical analysis yielded one significant canonical root which indicated autonony and control orientations were positively related to self-exploration and beliefs in…

Examined vocational hypothesis testing by applying Snyder's hypothesis-testing research paradigm to a vocational task in two experiments. Subjects (N=106) were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of a specific occupation for themselves. Subjects tended to exhibit confirmatory hypothesis-testing strategies when relevant occupations were…

Examined vocational decision-making style, contextual anxiety, and exploratory activity in 148 undergraduate students. Results suggest that individuals who rely upon thinking-oriented approaches to decisions and who experience stress with regard to the specific tasks of exploration are likely to engage in exploration of environment and, to lesser…

Correlational analysis of data from 134 undergraduates assessed the variance between career choice variables and decisional progress variables (vocational self-concept, commitment, readiness). Most significantly related to progress variables were exploration variables: amount of information and intended-systematic exploration. Congruence between…

Examines the role of parent-adolescent attachment relationships in the career exploration process. Results, based on 137 college students, indicate that attachment to parents is positively associated with environmental exploration. However, parental attachment did not influence traditionality of exploration. Age played a significant role in career…

Reviews literature on attachment theory and career development, especially studies that have examined the contribution of attachment theory to ego identity formation, preimplementation career behavior, and postimplementation career adjustment. Advances four propositions to guide subsequent empirical and theoretical efforts in this area. Presents…