This article begins by reviewing the scientific origins of research on career self-efficacy, highlighting its original development as a means of understanding the career development of women and discussing its development through the years into what is now, along with its extension as social cognitive career theory, a widely applicable major approach to the understanding and facilitation of the career development process. Concerns about current research efforts are discussed. The first is the tendency of researchers to overlook the fact that the concept of self-efficacy must be linked to a specific behavioral domain to have meaning. As a corollary, measures of self-efficacy expectations must be developed with careful and exact specification of the behavioral domain in question. Detailed suggestions are provided for the construction of such measures. A second major concern is the lack of familiarity of many researchers with the theory that underlies this work, in particular, Bandura’s theory and its elaborations. The article praises the extensive research attention given to these exceedingly useful theories (self-efficacy and social cognitive) and suggests that more careful attention to the theoretical underpinnings and issues of conceptualization and measurement would be beneficial.
Bandura, A. (1977a). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. PsychologicalReview, 84, 191-215.
2.
Bandura, A. (1977b). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
3.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
4.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
5.
Bandura, A. (2005). Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales. In F. Pajares & T. Urdan (Eds.), Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (pp.1-43). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
6.
Betz, N. E. (1978). Prevalence, distribution, and correlates of math anxiety in college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 25, 441-448.
7.
Betz, N. E., & Hackett, G. (1981). The relationship of career-related self-efficacy expectation to perceived career options in college women and men. Journal of CounselingPsychology, 28, 399-410.
8.
Betz, N. E., & Hackett, G. (1983). The relationship of mathematics self-efficacy expectations to the selection of science-based college majors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 23, 329-345.
9.
Betz, N. E., & Hackett, G. (1987). Concept of agency in educational and career development. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34, 299-308.
10.
Betz, N. E., Klein, K., & Taylor, K. (1996). Evaluation of a short form of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 4, 47-57.
11.
Borgen, F. H. (1991). Megatrends and milestones in vocational behavior: A 20-year counseling psychology retrospective. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 39, 263-290.
12.
Byars, A., & Hackett, G. (1998). Applications of social cognitive theory to the career development of women of color. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 7, 255-267.
13.
Chartrand, J., & Rose, M. (1996). Career interventions for at-risk populations. Career DevelopmentQuarterly, 44, 341-353.
14.
Cousins, S. O. (1997). Elderly tomboys: Sources of self-efficacy for physical activity in late life. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 5, 229-243.
15.
Crites, J. O. (1978). Career Maturity Inventory: Administration and use manual. Monterey, CA: CTB/McGraw Hill.
16.
Cronbach, L. (1957). The two disciplines of scientific psychology. American Psychologist,12, 671-684.
17.
Cronbach, L. J., & Meehl, P. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. PsychologicalBulletin, 52, 281-302.
18.
Flores, L., & O’Brien, K. (2002). The career development of Mexican American adolescent women: A test of social cognitive career theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49, 14-27.
19.
Fouad, N., Smith, P., & Zao, K. E. (2002). Across academic domains: Extensions of the social cognitive career modelJournal of Counseling Psychology, 49, 164-171.
20.
Gloria, A., & Hird, J. (1999). Influences of ethnic and non-ethnic variables on career decision self-efficacy of college students. Career Development Quarterly, 48, 157-174.
21.
Hackett, G. (1985). Role of mathematics self-efficacy in the choice of mathematics-related majors in college women and men: A path analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology,32, 47-56.
22.
Hackett, G., & Betz, N. E. (1981). A self-efficacy approach to the career development of women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 18, 326-336.
23.
Hackett, G., & Betz, N. E. (1995). Self efficacy and career choice and development. In J. E. Maddux (Ed.), Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: Theory, research, and application (pp. 249-280). New York: Plenum.
24.
Hackett, G., Betz, N. E., & Doty, M. S. (1985). The development of a taxonomy of career competencies for professional women. Sex Roles,12, 393-409.
25.
Hackett, G., & Byars, A. (1996). Social cognitive theory and the career development of African American women. Career Development Quarterly,44, 322-340.
26.
Holland, J.L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
27.
Lent, R. W. (2005). A social cognitive view of career development and counseling. In S.D. Brown & R.W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work. (pp. 101-130). New York: Wiley.
28.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79-122.
29.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (2000). Contextual supports and barriers to career choice: A social cognitive analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47, 36-49.
30.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., Schmidt, J., Brenner, B., Lyons, H., & Treistman, D. (2003). Relation of contextual supports and barriers to choice behaviors in engineering majors: Test of alternative social cognitive models. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50, 458-465.
31.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., Sheu, H. B., Schmidt, J., Brenner, B., Gloster, C., et al. (2005). Social cognitive predictors of academic interests and goals in engineering: Utility for women and students at historically black universities. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 84-92.
32.
Luzzo, D., Hitchings, W. E., Retish, P., & Shoemaker, A. (1999). Evaluating differences in college students’ career decision-making on the basis of disability status. Career Development Quarterly, 48, 142-145.
33.
Nunnally, J., & Bernstein, I. (1994). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
34.
Tang, M., Fouad, N., & Smith, P. L. (1999). Asian Americans’ career choices: A path model to examine factors influencing their career choices. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 142-157.
35.
Taylor, K. M., & Betz, N. E. (1983). Applications of self-efficacy theory to the understanding and treatment of career indecision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 22, 63-81.
