University students and career decidedness: effects of two computer-based career guidance interventions

• Published in: Computers in human behavior Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 531 - 541
• Main Authors: Peter Eveland, A., Conyne, Robert K., Blakney, Vicki L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.12.1998; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Educational psychology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Miscellaneous; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Human; Vocational guidance; University; Student; Computer aid; Career
• ISSN: 0747-5632; 1873-7692
• DOI: 10.1016/S0747-5632(98)00022-3

The DISCOVER Program (American College Testing Program, 1995) is a widely used computer-assisted guidance program that reportedly increases career decidedness by providing users with a computer generated list of occupations representing a congruent fit between the individual's personality and possible work environments. A review of the literature, however, suggested a need for additional research exploring the effectiveness of DISCOVER with and without counselor intervention with various populations grouped by combinations of age, sex, and race. This article describes the effects of a counselor-plus-computer and computer-only intervention on increasing the level of career decidedness in a sample population of university students. Results of the study indicate that both the computer-only and counselor-plus-computer experimental conditions were significantly different from the delayed treatment control group. The results further indicate that the counselor-plus-computer experimental condition was significantly different from both the delayed treatment control group and the computer-only experimental condition group. No significance was found when controlling for age, gender, and race. Implication of the study's findings are discussed.