Assessment of Implicit Interests through an Unobtrusive Computer Task. Their Relations with Career Decision, Anxiety, and Personality Traits

Abstract

Adolescence is a period where youngsters still do not know much about themselves. That makes some decisions, like those concerning vocational elections, a complicated issue that has important consequences for their life. The main goal of this piece of research is to measure implicit interests using a situated, unobtrusive computer tool (PrUnAs: Preferences Unobtrusive Assessment) as well as its connection with anxiety and personality traits: neuroticism, extraversion, self-efficacy, optimism, consciousness, and openness. Sample: 304 16-year-old adolescents enrolled in the last course of compulsory education. Instruments: Computer programs were used to measure implicit interests, career preferences, and to self-descript personality traits; finally, the paper-and-pencil test Stai was applied to measure anxiety. Results: Concordance between implicit interests and explicit choices was less than 50%. The software developed for assessing implicit interests not only proved to be an efficient tool to make them arise but also a good predictor of anxiety. Conclusions: Implicit interests and explicit elections are not the same. The approach from implicit preferences is an important shift in the approximation to vocational guiding and to reduce youngsters’ indecision level. Beyond vocational choice, this information may improve the short- and long-term quality of life and mental health.

At what age does vocational tendency begin?

“…Holland's (1997) RIASEC model is the most basic interest model, it evaluated individual interests and abilities in six areas: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. His theory has had a wide impact on career counseling on both theoretical and practical grounds (Castelló & Cladellas, 2021). Each RIASEC dimension is characterized by specific personality-related attributes, for example, interests, values, and beliefs (Lerche, Burk, & Wiese, 2022).…”

Deciding Alone or with Others: Employment Anxiety and Social Distance Predict Intuitiveness in Career Decision Making

“…Career decision making is an individual's choice about the career he or she is going to pursue [1,2] and is one of the important decisions that people must face in their lives, which is related to their development and well-being and may have indirect social consequences for society [3,4]. In recent years, the factors influencing career decisions have received extensive scholarly attention [5][6][7], but these studies have analyzed the direct influences on career decisions in a piecemeal manner, making it difficult to provide an adequate theoretical basis for promoting effective decision making.…”