Implicit versus explicit importance of career values in making a career decision.

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which the explicitly stated importance of career values agrees with their implicit importance in high school students' ranking of occupational alternatives. A sample of 353 high school seniors rated 10 individually selected occupational alternatives on 10 individually selected career values. Values were ranked according to explicit importance in making a decision and according to agreement with overall preference ordering of occupations. It was found that explicit importance agreed very weakly with implicit importance in ranking occupations. & Dilley, 1974) and programs (Gelatt, Varenhorst, & Carey, 1972) rest partially upon an assessment of the values a decider wishes to realize in a career. For example, given considerations such as salary and interest, which is more important? If there was a conflict between the two, on which should the person place priority? Less dramatic, but still crucial, if there was an opportunity to increase salary slightly with a slight decrease in work interest (or vice versa), should one do so? In resolving conflict, appraising differences in occupations, and estimating overall occupational utilities, a well-established set of priorities is essential. Although authors vary considerably in their attention to value priorities, it seems to be a more-orless explicit objective of most decision models and programs. Probably the most explicit treatment of values and priorities can be found in Katz (1966) and Katz, Norris, and Pears (1978). In Katz's model, which has been developed into a computerassisted program (System of Interactive Guidance and Information, Katz, 1973), values are identified and weighted numeri-This study was supported by a grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Rational career decision models (JepsenI would like to express my appreciation to Wayne MacCulloch for his coordination of the program at Burnaby South Senior Secondary.Requests for reprints should be sent to Larry Cochran,

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