Researchers have assessed young people’s outcomes when they do not meet their career goals, but little is known about the consequences when they do better than expected (positive discrepancies). We (a) tested the cross-lagged relationships between positive career goal discrepancies and the career-related outcomes of upward goal revision, career exploration, and career coasting, and (b) assessed the indirect relationships between positive career goal discrepancy and outcomes through self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Using a sample of 314 young adults (76% female, Mage 19.13 years), we found that the standard causation model was the most parsimonious. Positive discrepancies predicted more upward goal revision and exploration and less coasting after a 6-month time lag, both directly and indirectly through outcome expectations. The findings highlight the importance of positive career goal appraisals in career goal-setting, exploration, management and clarify the roles of agency (self-efficacy and outcome expectations) as explanatory mechanisms in these relationships.
AkmalS. Z.CreedP. A.HoodM.DuffyA. (2021). The positive career goal discrepancy scale: Development and initial validation. Journal of Career Assessment, 29(2), 338–354. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072720976376
2.
AndersonK. L.MountsN. S. (2012). Searching for the self: An identity control theory approach to triggers of occupational exploration. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 173(1), 90–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2011.573027
3.
BanduraA. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 248–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90022-l
4.
BanduraA. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Worth Publishers.
BrownS. D.LentR. W. (2017). Promoting adaptive career behavior. In NotaL.SoresiS. (Eds.), Counseling and coaching in times of crisis and transition: from research to practice. (pp. 103–112). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315266596
9.
BrownS. D.LentR. W.TelanderK.TramayneS. (2011). Social cognitive career theory, conscientiousness, and work performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79(1), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.11.009
CarverC. S.ScheierM. F. (1998). On the self-regulation of behavior. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/2654424
12.
CarverC. S.ScheierM. F. (2000). On the structure of behavioral self-regulation. In BoekaertsM.PintrichP. R.ZeinderM. (Eds.), Handbook of Self-Regulation (pp. 41–84). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-012109890-2/50032-9
ColeD. A.MaxwellS. E. (2003). Testing mediational models with longitudinal data. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112(4), 558–577. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.112.4.558
15.
CreedP. A.HoodM. (2015). The development and initial validation of a scale to assess career goal discrepancies. Journal of Career Assessment, 23(2), 308–317. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072714535175
16.
CreedP. A.WamelinkT.HuS. (2015). Antecedents and consequences to perceived career goal-progress discrepancies. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 87(April), 43–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.12.001
17.
CreedP. A.HoodM.HuS. (2017). Personal orientation as an antecedent to career stress and employability confidence: The intervening roles of career goal-performance discrepancy and career goal importance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 99(April), 79–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.12.007
18.
De LangeA. H.TarisT. W.KompierM. A. J.HoutmanI. L. D.BongersP. M. (2004). The relationships between work characteristics and mental health. Work and Stress, 18(2), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370412331270860
DonovanJ. J.HafsteinssonL. G. (2006). The impact of goal-performance discrepancies, self-efficacy, and goal orientation on upward goal revision. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36(4), 1046–1069. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00054.x
21.
DonovanJ. J.WilliamsK. J. (2003). Missing the mark: Effects of time and causal attributions on goal revision in response to goal-performance discrepancies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(3), 379–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.3.379
22.
DonovanJ. J. (2009). Antecedents of discrepancy production in an achievement setting. Journal of Managerial Issues, 21(3), 402–420. www.jstor.org/stable/40604657Copy
GustavsonK.Von SoestT.KarevoldE.RoysambE. (2012). Attrition and generalizability in longitudinal studies. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 918. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-918
25.
HairJ. F.BlackW. C.BabinB. J.AndersonR. E. (2014). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson Education Limited.
HolmanD. J.TotterdellP.RogelbergS. G. (2005). A daily diary study of goal striving. Research in Emotion in Organizations, 1(5), 95–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1746-9791(05)01105-3
28.
HoodM.AkmalS. Z.CreedP. A. (2021) (In preparation). Career coasting scale [Unpublished Manuscript]. Griffith University.
29.
HuS.CreedP. A.HoodM. (2017). Career goal revision in response to negative feedback. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(3), 335–345. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000193
30.
HuS.HoodM.CreedP. A. (2017). Negative career feedback and career goal disengagement in young adults. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 102(5), 63–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.07.006
31.
HuS.HoodM.CreedP. A. (2018). Negative career feedback and career outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 106(3), 180–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.02.002
KlineR. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. In KennyD. A.LittleT. D. (Eds.), Methodology in the social sciences (4th ed.). The Guilford Press.
34.
LentR. W.BrownS. D. (2019). Social cognitive career theory at 25: Empirical status of the interest, choice, and performance models. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 115(3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.06.004
35.
LentR. W.BrownS. D.HackettG. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79–122. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1994.1027
36.
LentR. W.LopezA. M.LopezF. G.SheuH. (2008). Social cognitive career theory and the prediction of interests and choice goals in the computing disciplines. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73(1), 52–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2008.01.002
37.
LentR. W. (2013). Social cognitive career theory. In BrownS. D.LentR. W. (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (2nd ed., pp. 115–146). John Wiley & Sons.
38.
LittleT. D.RhemtullaM.GibsonK.SchoemannA. M. (2013). Why the items versus parcels controversy needn’t be one. Psychological Methods, 18(3), 285–300. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033266
39.
LockeE. A.LathamG. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Prentice-Hall.
LouroM. J.PietersR.ZeelenbergM. (2007). Dynamics of multiple-goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(2), 174–193.https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.2.174
42.
MatsunagaM. (2008). Item parceling in structural equation modeling: A primer. Communication Methods and Measures, 2(4), 260–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312450802458935
43.
McWhirterE. H.RasheedS.CrothersM. (2000). The effects of high school career education on social-cognitive variables. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(3), 330–341. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.47.3.330
44.
PhillipsJ. M.HollenbeckJ. R.IlgenD. R. (1996). Prevalence and prediction of positive discrepancy creation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(5), 498–511. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.81.5.498
45.
PorfeliE. J.SkorikovV. B. (2010). Specific and diversive career exploration during late adolescence. Journal of Career Assessment, 18(1), 46–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072709340528
46.
PorfeliE. J.LeeB.VondracekF. W.WeigoldI. K. (2011). A multi-dimensional measure of vocational identity status. Journal of Adolescence, 34(5), 853–871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.02.001
47.
RogersM. E.CreedP. A. (2011). A longitudinal examination of adolescent career planning and exploration using a social cognitive career theory framework. Journal of Adolescence, 34(1), 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.12.010
48.
RogersM. E.CreedP. A.GlendonI. A. (2008). The role of personality in adolescent career planning and exploration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73(1), 132–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2008.02.002
49.
SawitriD. R.CreedP. A. (2015). Perceived career congruence between adolescents and their parents as a moderator between goal orientation and career aspirations. Personality and Individual Differences, 81(July), 29–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.12.061
50.
SawitriD. R.CreedP. A.Zimmer-GembeckM. J. (2014). Parental influences and adolescent career behaviours in a collectivist cultural setting. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 14(2), 161–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-013-9247-x
51.
SchynsB.von CollaniG. (2002). A new occupational self-efficacy scale and its relation to personality constructs and organizational variables. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 11(2), 219–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320244000148
52.
SheppardS.HoodM.CreedP. A. (2019). An identity control theory approach to managing career identity in emerging adults. Emerging Adulthood, 8(5), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696819830484
53.
SheuH.LentR. W.BrownS. D.MillerM. J.HennessyK. D.DuffyR. D. (2010). Testing the choice model of social cognitive career theory across holland themes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76(2), 252–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.10.015
54.
ShulmanS.NurmiJ. E. (2010). Dynamics of goal pursuit and personality make-up among emerging adults. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 130(130), 57–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd
55.
SitzmannT.YeoG. (2013). A meta-analytic investigation of the within-person self-efficacy domain. Personnel Psychology, 66(3), 531–568. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12035
56.
TarisT. W.KompierM. A. (2006). Games researchers play — extreme-groups analysis and mediation analysis in longitudinal occupational health research. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 32(6), 463–472. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.1051
57.
TolliA. P.SchmidtA. M. (2008). The role of feedback, causal attributions, and self-efficacy in goal revision. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3), 692–701. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.692
58.
VancouverJ. B.KendallL. N. (2006). When self-efficacy negatively relates to motivation and performance in a learning context. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(5), 1146–1153. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.5.1146
59.
VancouverJ. B.ThompsonC. M.WilliamsA. A. (2001). The changing signs in the relationships among self-efficacy, personal goals, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(4), 605–620. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.4.605
60.
WangC.MukhopadhyayA. (2012). The dynamics of goal revision. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(5), 815–832. https://doi.org/10.1086/660853
