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Making a good career choice: A decision‐analytical intervention to enhance proactive decision‐making and career choice self‐efficacy in high school students
Abstract
At the end of high school, teenagers must deal with the first life‐changing decision of determining what to do after graduation. For these decisions, adolescents need to be able to make good choices. However, most schools have not yet implemented decision trainings into their curricula. A new intervention called “KLUGentscheiden!” was developed to train complex decision‐making in high school students to close this gap. The intervention targets three key components of good decision‐making: envisioning one's objectives, identifying relevant alternatives, and comparing the identified alternatives by a weighted evaluation. We assumed that successfully training those decision‐analytical steps should enhance self‐perceived proactive decision‐making skills. In addition, the training should also enhance self‐assessed career choice self‐efficacy. The intervention was evaluated in a pseudorandomized control study including 193 high school students. Compared to a control group, the intervention group significantly increased proactive decision‐making skills and career choice self‐efficacy. Although different long‐term evaluations are still pending, the KLUGentscheiden! intervention provides an important tool to train complex decision‐making in high‐school students. It also has the potential to apply to other career choices of young individuals, such as choosing majors, a final thesis, a job, or a field of work.
... Of the 25 articles included, four (16%) do not detail the theoretical framework supporting the application of career intervention (Gu et al., 2020;Deng et al., 2020;Janeiro et al., 2014;Siebert et al., 2023). The remaining articles consisted of three main theories: the career construct theory mentioned in 12 (48%) articles (Cardoso et al., 2022;Maree and Magere, 2023;Maree, 2019;Cadaret and Hartung, 2020;Santilli et al., 2020;Chen, 2020;Maree and Symington, 2015;Cook and Maree, 2016;Maree et al., 2017;Cardoso et al., 2018;Gülşen et al., 2021;Wang and Liu, 2023). ...
... Of the articles included, the intervention modalities consisted of five primary types: career group counseling, career course, individual group counseling, workshop and computer-based online intervention. Half of the studies mentioned the use of group career counseling (n = 12, 48%) (Janeiro et al., 2014;Miles and Naidoo, 2016;Cook and Maree, 2016;Chiesa et al., 2016;Maree et al., 2017;Maree, 2019;Santilli et al., 2020;Lau et al., 2021;Cardoso et al., 2022;Wang and Liu, 2022;Siebert et al., 2023;Maree and Magere, 2023), followed by workshops (n = 5, 20%) (Maree and Symington, 2015;Cardoso et al., 2018;Cadaret and Hartung, 2020;Gülşen et al., 2021;Jemini Gashi et al., 2023) and career courses (n = 4, 16%) (Dou et al., 2016;Atli, 2016;Gu et al., 2020;Deng et al., 2020). Less common were computerassisted interventions (Garcia et al., 2021) (n = 1, 4%), online career courses (Chen et al., 2022) (n = 1, 4%), and individual career counseling (Chen, 2020;Wang and Liu, 2023) ...
... Overall, the sessions covered the following areas: Career world of information (Janeiro et al., 2014;Miles and Naidoo, 2016;Chiesa et al., 2016;Atli, (Miles and Naidoo, 2016;Chiesa et al., 2016;Atli, 2016;Gu et al., 2020;Lau et al., 2021;Chen et al., 2022;Garcia et al., 2021;Jemini Gashi et al., 2023), career planning (Janeiro et al., 2014;Lau et al., 2021;Chen et al., 2022), CV creation and interview training (Deng et al., 2020;Jemini Gashi et al., 2023), career goal exploration (Miles and Naidoo, 2016;Lau et al., 2021), self-efficacy and outcome expectations (Wang and Liu, 2022), career decision-making training (Janeiro et al., 2014;Miles and Naidoo, 2016;Dou et al., 2016;Gu et al., 2020;Chen et al., 2022). metacognition (Dou et al., 2016), reflecting on goals and choices (Siebert et al., 2023), and reflecting on personal career values (Chiesa et al., 2016), inclusively looking to the future (Santilli et al., 2020), to relate selfknowledge to educational opportunities (Cardoso et al., 2022). ...
Introduction
This study presents a systematic literature review of career interventions for high school students, exploring the theoretical framework, intervention modality, evaluation and outcomes of the intervention.
Methods
Five keywords, three databases and five inclusion criteria were defined. Of the 419 documents collected, 25 remained for meta-synthesis.
Results
The results showed that (1) the theoretical framework mainly consisted of career construct theory, social cognitive career theory, and cognitive information processing theory. (2) The intervention modality was mainly group counseling (8 sessions, 45 min). (3) The evaluation system mainly consisted of a pre-and post-test for the experimental and control group, and (4) the intervention outcomes were mainly focused on the positive development of career adaptability and career decision-making.
Discussion
The discussion offers recommendations for future research and practice in high school career interventions. (1) Social cognitive career theory should be given attention. (2) A three-tiered high school career development guidance model of career curriculum, career group counseling and individual counseling could be developed. (3) Career interventions should be shifted to mixed quantitative and qualitative studies, tracer studies, and special groups. (4) Outcome expectations should be given equal attention.
... Decision-making is part of every aspect of hu-man life, where individuals use their mental capacity to react to a situation (Colakkadioglu & Celik, 2016). It comprises three components: envision the objective, identify significant substitutes, and compare identified substitutes using assessment method (Siebert et al., 2022). According to Dodgson and Gann (2020), students should under-stand how to make decisions in solving problems. ...
Entrepreneurial skills play an essential role in the entrepreneurial process to business success, especially for student entrepreneurs. This paper aims to identify the level of importance of entrepreneurial skills of student entrepreneurs at the Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography. A descriptive research method was used. The snowball and convenience sampling technique were applied for respondents’ identification. There were 55 students who participated in this study from different course programs. A Likert-scaling survey questionnaire was employed for data collection. The percentage method was utilized to analyse the data collected. The result shows that all entrepreneurial skills are vitally important to the respondents. Creativity is the highest value as very important. However, communication and leadership skills are the highest response on not important. The significance is to help student entrepreneurs for business continuity through the technical assistance of the university by conducting seminars and training and financial support by public and private organizations.
Decision sciences are in general agreement on the theoretical relevance of decision training. From an empirical standpoint, however, only a few studies test its effectiveness or practical usefulness, and even less address the impact of decision training on the structuring of problems systematically. Yet that task is widely considered to be the most crucial in decision-making processes, and current research suggests that effectively structuring problems and generating alternatives—as epitomized by the concept of proactive decision making—increases satisfaction with the decision as well as life satisfaction more generally.
This paper empirically tests the effect of decision training on two facets of proactive decision making—cognitive skills and personality traits—and on decision satisfaction. In quasi-experimental field studies based on three distinct decision-making courses and two control groups, we analyze longitudinal data on 1,013 decision makers/analysts with different levels of experience. The results reveal positive training effects on proactive cognitive skills and decision satisfaction, but we find no effect on proactive personality traits and mostly non-significant interactions between training and experience. These results imply the practical relevance of decision training as a means to promote effective decision making even by more experienced decision makers.
The findings presented here may be helpful for operations research scholars who advocate for specific instruction concerning proactive cognitive skills in courses dedicated to decision quality and/or decision theory and also for increasing, in such courses, participants’ proactive decision making and decision satisfaction. Our results should also promote more positive decision outcomes.
To develop effective counter-terrorism strategies, it is important to understand the capabilities and objectives of terrorist groups. Much of the understanding of these groups comes from intelligence collection and analysis of their capabilities. In contrast, the objectives of terrorists are less well understood. In this article, we describe a decision analysis methodology to identify and structure the objectives of terrorists based on the statements and writings of their leaders. This methodology was applied in three case studies, resulting in the three objectives hierarchies of al-Qaeda, ISIL, and Hezbollah. In this article, we propose a method to compare the three objectives hierarchies, highlight their key differences, and draw conclusions about effective counter-terrorism strategies. We find that all three terrorist groups have a wide range of objectives going far beyond the objective of killing and terrorizing people in the non-Muslim world. Among the shared objectives are destroying Israel and expelling Western powers from the Middle East. All three groups share the ambition to become a leader in the Islamic world. Key distinctions are the territorial ambitions of ISIL and Hezbollah vs. the large-scale attack objectives of al-Qaeda. Objectives specific to ISIL are the establishment of a caliphate in Iraq and Syria and the recreation of the power of Sunni Islam. Hezbollah has unique objectives related to the establishment of a Palestine State and to maintain the relationship with and support of Iran and Syria. Al-Qaeda’s objectives remain focused on large scale attacks in the West. We also noted a recent shift to provide support for small-scale attacks in the West, by both al-Qaeda and ISIL. Our method can be used for comparing objectives hierarchies of different organizations as well as for comparing objectives hierarchies over time of one organization.
Proactive decision making, a concept recently introduced to behavioural operational research and decision analysis, addresses effective decision making during its phase of generating alternatives. It is measured on a scale comprising six dimensions grouped into two categories: proactive personality traits and proactive cognitive skills. Personality traits are grounded on such theoretical constructs as a proactive attitude and proactive behaviour; cognitive skills reflect value-focused thinking and decision quality. These traits and skills have been used to explain decision satisfaction, although their antecedents and other consequences have not yet been the subject of rigorous hypotheses and testing.
This paper embeds proactive decision making within a model of three possible consequences. We consider—and empirically test—decision satisfaction, general self-efficacy, and life satisfaction by conducting three studies with 1,300 participants. We then apply structural equation modelling to show that proactive decision making helps account for life satisfaction, an explanation mediated by general self-efficacy and decision satisfaction. Thus proactive decision making fosters greater belief in one’s abilities and increases satisfaction with one’s decisions and with life more generally. These results imply that it is worthwhile to help individuals enhance their decision-making proactivity.
Demonstrating the positive effects of proactive decision making at the individual level underscores how important is the phase of generating alternatives, and it also highlights the merit of employing “decision quality” principles and being proactive during that phase. Hence the findings presented here confirm the relevance of OR, and of decision-analytic principles, to the lives of ordinary people.
This two-piece paper describes how to solve a practical decision problem using decision theory. The first part emphasizes the high importance of a solid structuring of the decision situation in objectives, alternatives, and uncertainties. It is shown how to proceed in this step with the support of a decision analyst. The following second part uses the results of the first part and shows how to find an optimal alternative by a quantification of the necessary parameter.
Short text: After graduation, the question arises for the graduates with which job they want to start their further career. A decision-theoretical analysis uses a practical example to show how the decision problem can be well structured with the help of a decision analyst.
One of the frequent questions by users of the mixed model function lmer of the lme4 package has been: How can I get p values for the F and t tests for objects returned by lmer? The lmerTest package extends the 'lmerMod' class of the lme4 package, by overloading the anova and summary functions by providing p values for tests for fixed effects. We have implemented the Satterthwaite's method for approximating degrees of freedom for the t and F tests. We have also implemented the construction of Type I - III ANOVA tables. Furthermore, one may also obtain the summary as well as the anova table using the Kenward-Roger approximation for denominator degrees of freedom (based on the KRmodcomp function from the pbkrtest package). Some other convenient mixed model analysis tools such as a step method, that performs backward elimination of nonsignificant effects - both random and fixed, calculation of population means and multiple comparison tests together with plot facilities are provided by the package as well.
The quality of alternatives is crucial for making good decisions. The process of generating high-quality alternatives can be enhanced by using decision makers' objectives as stimuliThe quality of alternatives is crucial for making good decisions, and the stimulation with objectives as stimuli enhances the quality of decision alternatives. This paper examines empirically the impact and interrelation of experience and the stimulation with objectives on decision makers’ ability to create alternatives for an important decision. The study confirms with high significance that both experience and stimulation with objectives enhance the quality of alternatives. We are able to show that all participants, irrespective of their experience, enhance the quality of their alternatives when they are stimulated with objectives, i.e. the relationship between being stimulated with objectives and the quality of alternatives is not moderated by experience. In contrast to gaining experience, stimulating a participant with objectives can be utilized immediately without a long learning phase and is able to substitute for experience in certain decision contexts. Further, we analyze how stimulation with objectives affects the creation of alternatives. We find evidence that the relation between being stimulated with objectives and the quality of alternatives is partially mediated by the number of objectives considered while creating alternatives.
Decision analysis is a prescriptive theory that aids individuals or groups confronted with complex problems in a wide variety of contexts. By framing issues, identifying risks, eliciting stakeholder preferences, and suggesting alternative approaches, decision analysts can offer workable solutions in domains such as the environment, health and medicine, engineering and operations research, and public policy. This book is a mixture of historical and forward-looking essays on key topics in decision analysis. Part I covers the history and foundations of decision analysis. Part II discusses structuring decision problems, including the development of objectives and their attributes, and influence diagrams. Part III discusses probabilities and their elicitation and Bayes nets. Part IV discusses additive and multiplicative utilities, risk preferences, and 'option pricing' methods. Part V discusses risk analysis. Part VI puts decision analysis in a behavioral and organizational context. Part VII presents case studies of applications.
In psychological assessment, we aim for the most accurate description of some cognitive or behavioral attribute. In assessment involving self-reports, this objective is invariably haunted by the possibility of misrepresentation. Certainly we would be sceptical of self-reports of intelligence, perhaps because of its universal desirability. Among the few qualities typically rated as even more desirable than intelligence is having a good personality. Thus it seems dangerous to ignore the possibility that at least some respondents systematically misrepresent their own personality.
The quality of alternatives is crucial for making good decisions. This research, based on five empirical studies of important personally relevant decisions, examines the ability of decision makers to create alternatives for their important decisions and the effectiveness of different stimuli for improving this ability. For decisions for which the full set of potentially desirable alternatives is not readily apparent, our first study indicates that decision makers identify less than half of their alternatives and that the average quality of the overlooked alternatives is the same as those identified. Four other studies provide insight about how to use objectives to stimulate the alternative-creation process of decision makers and confirm with high significance that such use enhances both the number and quality of created alternatives. Using results of the studies, practical guidelines to create alternatives for important decisions are presented.
On the basis of an extensive interdisciplinary literature review proactive decision-making (PDM) is conceptualised as a multidimensional concept. We conduct five studies with over 4,000 participants from various countries for developing and validating a theoretically consistent and psychometrically sound scale of PDM. The PDM concept is developed and appropriate items are derived from literature. Six dimensions are conceptualised: the four roactive cognitive skills ‘systematic identification of objectives’, ‘systematic search for information’, ‘systematic identification of alternatives’, and ‘using a ‘decision radar’’, and the two proactive personality traits ‘showing nitiative’ and ‘striving for improvement’. Using principal component factor analysis and subsequent item analysis as well as confirmatory factor analysis, six conceptually distinct dimensional factors are identified and tested cceptably reliable and valid. Our results are remarkably similar for individuals who are decision-makers, decision analysts, both or none of both with different levels of experience. There is strong evidence that individuals with high
scores in a PDM factor, e.g. proactive cognitive skills or personality traits, show a significantly higher decision satisfaction. Thus, the PDM scale can be used in future research to analyse other concepts. Furthermore, the scale can be applied, e.g. by staff teams to work on OR problems effectively or to inform a decision analyst about the decision behaviour in an organisation.
Maximum likelihood or restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimates of the
parameters in linear mixed-effects models can be determined using the lmer
function in the lme4 package for R. As for most model-fitting functions in R,
the model is described in an lmer call by a formula, in this case including
both fixed- and random-effects terms. The formula and data together determine a
numerical representation of the model from which the profiled deviance or the
profiled REML criterion can be evaluated as a function of some of the model
parameters. The appropriate criterion is optimized, using one of the
constrained optimization functions in R, to provide the parameter estimates. We
describe the structure of the model, the steps in evaluating the profiled
deviance or REML criterion, and the structure of classes or types that
represents such a model. Sufficient detail is included to allow specialization
of these structures by users who wish to write functions to fit specialized
linear mixed models, such as models incorporating pedigrees or smoothing
splines, that are not easily expressible in the formula language used by lmer.
The investigations described in this series are concerned with the conditions of independence and lack of independence in the face of group pressure. The abstract temper of present-day theory and investigation in this region rests to a considerable degree on a neglect of the cognitive and emotional experiences that are part of the individual's psychological field. The understanding of social influences will require the study of a wide range of conditions and of the interrelated operations of different psychological functions. A group of seven to nine individuals was gathered in a classroom to take part in what appeared to be a simple experiment in visual discrimination. The subjects were all male, white college students, ranging in age from 17 to 25; the mean age was 20. For certain purposes a large number of critical subjects was required for the present experiment. The present report is based on a total of 123 subjects. The task consisted of the comparison of a standard line with three other lines, one of which was equal in length to the standard. We investigated some of the conditions responsible for independence and lack of independence in the face of arbitrary group pressure. To this end we produced a disagreement between a group and one individual member about a clear and simple issue of fact. The interview, which followed the experimental session, provided qualitative evidence concerning the effects produced by the majority, The particular properties of the experimental situation and their relation to more usual social contradictions were described.
Self-esteem has been conceptualized as an outcome,
motive, and buffer, but there is no overall theory of self-esteem. In this
article it is suggested that identity theory can provide a theoretical
framework for the integration of the various conceptualizations of
self-esteem. We suggest that self-esteem is an outcome of, and necessary
ingredient in, the self-verification process that occurs within groups,
maintaining both the individual and the group. Verification of role
identities increases an individual's worth-based and efficacy-based
self-esteem. The self-esteem built up by self-verification buffers the
negative emotions that occur when self-verification is problematic, thus
allowing continued interaction and continuity in structural arrangements
during periods of disruption and change. Last, a desire for self-esteem,
produced in part through self-verification, stabilizes the group because
it motivates individuals to form and maintain relationships that verify
identities.
Every day, we make decisions on topics ranging from personal investments to schools for our children to the meals we eat to the causes we champion. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. The reason, the authors explain, is that, being human, we all are susceptible to various biases that can lead us to blunder. Our mistakes make us poorer and less healthy; we often make bad decisions involving education, personal finance, health care, mortgages and credit cards, the family, and even the planet itself. Thaler and Sunstein invite us to enter an alternative world, one that takes our humanness as a given. They show that by knowing how people think, we can design choice environments that make it easier for people to choose what is best for themselves, their families, and their society. Using colorful examples from the most important aspects of life, Thaler and Sunstein demonstrate how thoughtful "choice architecture" can be established to nudge us in beneficial directions without restricting freedom of choice. Nudge offers a unique new take-from neither the left nor the right-on many hot-button issues, for individuals and governments alike. This is one of the most engaging and provocative books to come along in many years. © 2008 by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. All rights reserved.
Decision making is rarely taught in high school, even though improved decision skills could benefit young people facing life-shaping decisions. While decision competence has been shown to correlate with better life outcomes, few interventions designed to improve decision skills have been evaluated with rigorous quantitative measures. A randomized study showed that integrating decision making into U.S. history instruction improved students' history knowledge and decision-making competence, compared to traditional history instruction. Thus, integrating decision training enhanced academic performance and improved an important, general life skill associated with improved life outcomes.
This study investigated a personal disposition toward proactive behavior, defined as the relatively stable tendency to effect environmental change. We developed an initial scale to assess the construct and administered it to a sample of 282 undergraduates. Factor analysis led to a revised, unidimensional scale with sound psychometric properties. A second sample of 130 undergraduate students was used to determine the relationships between the proactive scale and the ’Big Five‘ personality domains: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. In a third sample of 148 MBA students, we assessed the proactive scale's relationships with three personality traits and three criterion measures. Consistent with hypotheses, scores on the proactive scale correlated with need for achievement, need for dominance, and independent measures of the nature of subjects' extracurricular and civic activities, the nature of their major personal achievements, and peer nominations of transformational leaders. We discuss the potential of the proactive construct to enhance our understanding of, and ability to predict, a wide range of behaviors.
Zusammenfassung: Für die deutschsprachige Fassung der Rosenberg-Skala zum Selbstwertgefühl von Ferring und Filipp (1996) wird eine Teilrevision vorgeschlagen. Ein Item der bisherigen Skalenversion stellte sich in eigenen Analysen als psychometrisch unzulänglich heraus und weist eine mangelnde inhalt-liche Validität auf. Dadurch ist möglicherweise die Vergleichbarkeit mit der Originalversion und mit Adaptationen der Rosenberg-Skala in anderen Sprachen nicht gewährleistet. Die vorgeschlagene Teilre-vision der Skala versucht, diese Mängel zu beheben und erweist sich in zwei unabhängigen Untersuchun-gen als Verbesserung der bisherigen Skala auf Itemebene. Außerdem werden hier erstmals vollständige Kennwerte für alle Skalenitems mitgeteilt. Abstract: A partial revision is proposed for the German version of Rosenberg's general self-esteem scale published by Ferring und Filipp (1996). According to our results, one item of the previous scale adaptation turned out to be psychometrically weak and – in our opinion – is lacking content validity. Therefore, the comparability with the original version and with adaptations of the Rosenberg-scale in other languages might be critical. The partially revised scale tries to eliminate these shortcomings and shows improved item statistics in two independent samples. In addition, complete statistics are presented for all scale items.
Objectives have long been considered a basis for sound decision making. This research examines the ability of decision makers to generate self-relevant objectives for consequential decisions. In three empirical studies, participants consistently omitted nearly half of the objectives that they later identified as personally relevant. More surprisingly, omitted objectives were perceived to be almost as important as those generated by participants on their own. These empirical results were replicated in a real-world case study of strategic decision making at a high-tech firm. Overall, our research suggests that decision makers are considerably deficient in utilizing personal knowledge and values to form objectives for the decisions they face.
Real decision makers exhibit significant shortcomings in the generation of objectives for decisions that they face. Prior research has illustrated the magnitude of this shortcoming but not its causes. In this paper, we identify two distinct impediments to the generation of decision objectives: not thinking broadly enough about the range of relevant objectives, and not thinking deeply enough to articulate every objective within the range that is considered. To test these explanations and explore ways of stimulating a more comprehensive set of objectives, we present three experiments involving a variety of interventions: the provision of sample objectives, organization of objectives by category, and direct challenges to do better, with or without a warning that important objectives are missing. The use of category names and direct challenges with a warning both led to improvements in the quantity of objectives generated without impacting their quality; other interventions yielded less improvement. We conclude by discussing the relevance of our findings to decision analysis and offering prescriptive implications for the elicitation of decision objectives.
In this version of the paper, “Improving the Generation of Decision Objectives” by Samuel D. Bond, Kurt A. Carlson, and Ralph L. Keeney, originally published online ahead of print March 10, 2010, the first panel heading of Figure 2 was corrected to read “Study 1 (Choice context = Dissertation),” as shown on page 243.
We investigated the hypothesis that people's facial activity influences their affective responses. Two studies were designed to both eliminate methodological problems of earlier experiments and clarify theoretical ambiguities. This was achieved by having subjects hold a pen in their mouth in ways that either inhibited or facilitated the muscles typically associated with smiling without requiring subjects to pose in a smiling face. Study 1's results demonstrated the effectiveness of the procedure. Subjects reported more intense humor responses when cartoons were presented under facilitating conditions than under inhibiting conditions that precluded labeling of the facial expression in emotion categories. Study 2 served to further validate the methodology and to answer additional theoretical questions. The results replicated Study 1's findings and also showed that facial feedback operates on the affective but not on the cognitive component of the humor response. Finally, the results suggested that both inhibitory and facilitatory mechanisms may have contributed to the observed affective responses.
This review examines recent developments during the past 5 years in the field of judgment and decision making, written in the form of a list of 16 research problems. Many of the problems involve natural extensions of traditional, originally rational, theories of decision making. Others are derived from descriptive algebraic modeling approaches or from recent developments in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.
“Wir müssen wissen. Wir werden wissen.” (We must know. We will know.) David Hilbert, Mathematische Probleme ( 1900 )
Decision analysis is a prescriptive theory that aids individuals or groups confronted with complex problems in a wide variety of contexts. By framing issues, identifying risks, eliciting stakeholder preferences, and suggesting alternative approaches, decision analysts can offer workable solutions in domains such as the environment, health and medicine, engineering and operations research, and public policy. This book is a mixture of historical and forward-looking essays on key topics in decision analysis. Part I covers the history and foundations of decision analysis. Part II discusses structuring decision problems, including the development of objectives and their attributes, and influence diagrams. Part III discusses probabilities and their elicitation and Bayes nets. Part IV discusses additive and multiplicative utilities, risk preferences, and 'option pricing' methods. Part V discusses risk analysis. Part VI puts decision analysis in a behavioral and organizational context. Part VII presents case studies of applications.
The best way to improve your quality of life is through the decisions you make. This book teaches several fundamental decision-making skills, provides numerous applications and examples, and ultimately nudges you toward smarter decisions. These nudges frame more desirable decisions for you to face by identifying the objectives for your decisions and generating superior alternatives to those initially considered. All of the nudges are based on psychology and behavioral economics research and are accessible to all readers. The new concept of a decision opportunity is introduced, which involves creating a decision that you desire to face. Solving a decision opportunity improves your life, whereas resolving a decision problem only restores the quality of your life to that before the decision problem occurred. We all can improve our decision-making and reap the better quality of life that results. This book shows you how.
This study was designed to obtain validity evidence for the Middle School Self-Efficacy Scale, a measure of self-efficacy, outcome-expectancy and intentions and goals in career decision making or mathematics/science.
This literature review of decision making (how people make choices among desirable alternatives), culled from the disciplines of psychology, economics, and mathematics, covers the theory of riskless choices, the application of the theory of riskless choices to welfare economics, the theory of risky choices, transitivity of choices, and the theory of games and statistical decision functions. The theories surveyed assume rational behavior: individuals have transitive preferences ("… if A is preferred to B, and B is preferred to C, then A is preferred to C."), choosing from among alternatives in order to "… maximize utility or expected utility." 209-item bibliography. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Die Arbeitswelt wandelt sich immer schneller, was zunehmende Anforderungen an die Flexibilitaet von Unternehmen und Beschaeftigten stellt. Vor allem kurzfristige und unvorhersehbare Anforderungen wie Kundenanfragen, zusaetzliche Aufgaben oder Terminaenderungen landen meist direkt bei den beteiligten Arbeitsgruppen oder Mitarbeitern vor Ort. Diesen Flexibilitaetsanforderungen so zu begegnen, dass die Beschaeftigtengesundheit einerseits, aber auch die Liefer- und Qualitaetsstandards des Unternehmens andererseits nicht gefaehrdet werden, ist eine zunehmende Herausforderung moderner Arbeitswelten.
Um diesen hohen Anforderungen an die Flexibilitaet gerecht werden zu koennen, sind materielle und immaterielle Puffer von Unternehmensseite zu beruecksichtigen, aber auch personale Ressourcen der Beschaeftigten selbst. Das Job Demands-Resources Modell (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner & Schaufeli, 2001) erlaubt die gleichzeitige Betrachtung der Bedeutung von Arbeitsanforderungen und arbeitsbezogenen Ressourcen auf negative und positive Gesundheitsindikatoren, laesst aber personale Ressourcen in diesem Zusammenspiel eher außer Acht. Flexibilitaetsanforderungen, die im Modell bislang nicht beruecksichtigt wurden, aber als zentrale Herausforderung moderner Arbeitswelten gelten koennen, werden neben Arbeitsmenge als Arbeitsanforderung in das Modell integriert. Dazu wird ein Index zur Messung von Flexibilitaetsanforderungen aus bestehenden Instrumenten heraus gebildet, ergaenzt und ueberprueft. Als arbeitsbezogene Ressourcen werden mit Autonomie und Sozialer Unterstuetzung zwei breit gueltige und einflussreiche Ressourcen in das Modell aufgenommen. Berufliche Selbstwirksamkeit als der Glaube daran, mit den eigenen Faehigkeiten bestimmte Ziele erreichen oder Herausforderungen ueberwinden zu koennen, wird hier auf Basis ihrer bereichsspezifischen Formulierung fuer den Berufskontext und ihrer Veraenderlichkeit durch Erfahrungen und Entwicklung als personale Ressource ausgewaehlt und in das Modell integriert. Beide Modellerweiterungen durch Flexibilitaetsanforderungen und Berufliche Selbstwirksamkeit werden anhand einer quer- und einer laengsschnittlichen Fragebogen-Studie mit Beschaeftigten ueberprueft.
Die Ergebnisse der ersten Studie, durchgefuehrt mit 110 Beschaeftigten aus einem deutschen Metall- und IT-Unternehmen, koennen regressionsanalytisch die Bedeutung von Beruflicher Selbstwirksamkeit fuer das Befinden (Irritation und Work Engagement) belegen. Darueber hinaus zeigt Autonomie einen direkten Effekt auf Work Engagement. Ein inkrementeller Effekt von Flexibilitaetsanforderungen sowie erwartete Interaktionseffekte mit Beruflicher Selbstwirksamkeit koennen nicht festgestellt werden.
Die zweite Studie, eine Tagebuchstudie mit fuenf Erhebungszeitpunkten, durchgefuehrt mit 122 Beschaeftigten zweier deutscher Finanzdienstleistungsunternehmen, kann mehrebenenanalytisch zeigen, dass Flexibilitaetsanforderungen neben Arbeitsmenge einen inkrementellen Anteil an Varianz in der Emotionalen Erschoepfung aufklaeren koennen. Zudem zeigt sich ein bedeutsamer Interaktionseffekt zwischen Arbeitsmenge und Beruflicher Selbstwirksamkeit. Die Berufliche Selbstwirksamkeit weist ueberdies sowohl zu Emotionaler Erschoepfung als auch zu Vitalitaet, einer Komponente von Work Engagement, direkte Zusammenhaenge auf. Im Hinblick auf positives Befinden interagiert Berufliche Selbstwirksamkeit mit Sozialer Unterstuetzung.
Die Modellerweiterung durch die Betrachtung von Flexibilitaetsanforderungen wird bestaetigt. Dabei scheint der Effekt von Flexibilitaetsanforderungen auf das Befinden in der hier verwendeten Operationalisierung negativ zu sein, es bestehen positive Zusammenhaenge zu negativen Befindensindikatoren. Die nachgewiesenen direkten und Interaktionseffekte Beruflicher Selbstwirksamkeit stuetzen die Bedeutung personaler Ressourcen fuer das Job Demands-Resources Modell. Allerdings zeigen die Ergebnisse auch, dass vermutlich nicht die personale Ressource als Moderator fungiert, sondern die jeweils bedingungsbezogene Variable (Soziale Unterstuetzung, Arbeitsmenge) moderierend auf den Zusammenhang von arbeitsbezogenen Ressourcen und Arbeitsanforderungen mit Befindensindikatoren wirkt.
Dies verdeutlicht, dass nie allein individuelle oder arbeitsbezogene Aspekte fuer die Beschaeftigtengesundheit verantwortlich sind, sondern ein Zusammenspiel dieser. Es scheint daher zentral, fuer die betriebliche Gestaltung von Flexibilitaetsanforderungen verhaltens- und verhaeltnisbezogene Maßnahmen zu veranlassen, um langfristig Leistungsfaehigkeit und Gesundheit von Beschaeftigten erhalten und foerdern zu koennen.
In this paper the initial phase of decision processes is conceptualized as the development of a structural representation of relevant knowledge. Goals are viewed as playing an important role in representing decision problems when they have some specific content and are not purely formal (e. g., maximize SEU). A network model is proposed far the representation of goals and actions, and several assumptions are made regarding the spread of activation through the network. In an experiment, hypotheses about the effects of two factors were investigated: Goal explidtness (E) was varied by presenting to Ss goal hierarchies of different specificity (one to three levels), and goal importance (R) was varied by letting Ss either rank-order goals with respect to their personal priorities, or not The results show that the number of actions generated increases with the degree of goal explidtness, thus supporting the Ss creative search process, whereas the number of actions is lower for Ss who focus on their own values compared to Ss who do not, thus pointing to ego involvement as a factor restricting creativity. On the other hand, the actions generated by the personally involved group were rated higher on goal achievement scales than the actions generated by the other group. The results are in accordance with the model which, however, needs elaboration.
Research on adult judgment and decision making has focused on deviations from normative models, demonstrating biases and reliance on heuristic shortcuts, thus presenting a very different picture than developmental theories that describe a unidirectional progression toward greater logic and efficiency. Recent research related to this apparent contradiction indicates that children develop competencies to reason effectively and make normative decisions, but also develop biased judgment strategies that are used inappropriately in some situations. We suggest potential explanations for the findings, highlighting the need to consider models that incorporate development in both experiential and analytic information processing systems.
The paper describes and evaluates the GOFER course in decision making for high school students (Mann, Harmoni and Power, 1988). The course was based on principles from the conflict theory of decision making (Janis and Mann, 1977) and was designed to provide adolescents with an understanding of factors that produce good and poor decision making as well as knowledge and practice of sound decision skills. Two evaluation studies were conducted to examine effectiveness of the course. Study 1 was conducted with young adolescents (12 year olds). It found a significant difference between students trained in the course and a control group on measures of self-esteem as a decision maker, self reported decision habits and knowledge of decision strategy. Study 2 was conducted with mid-adolescents (15 year olds). It, too, found a significant difference between students who took the course and a control group on measures of self esteem as a decision maker and self-reported decision habits. It is concluded that while the evaluation study fell short of an ideal test, the GOFER course met the criteria of improving student knowledge, raising confidence in decision making and changing self reported decision habits.
As the organizational literature on specific proactive behaviors grows, researchers have noted inefficiencies and redundancies in the separate study of different proactive behaviors when their underlying nature, antecedents, processes, and consequences may be similar. We develop a framework designed to generalize across specific manifestations of proactivity, describing the nature, dimensions, situational antecedents, psychological mechanisms, dispositional moderators, and consequences of proactive behavior. We conclude by discussing implications and recommendations for organizational scholars to take a more proactive approach to constructing, evaluating, and cumulating theory about proactive behavior. Our chapter thus answers recent calls for integrative theory about the general dynamics of proactivity, and fits with current trends emphasizing the increasing importance of proactivity in organizational life.
Zusammenfassung: Es wird eine Prüfung der internen Struktur einer deutschsprachigen Fassung der Skala zum globalen Selbstwertgefühl nach Rosenberg vorgenommen. Explorative und vor allem konfirmatori-schen Faktorenanalysen zeigen, dass das Konstrukt des globalen Selbstwertes, operationalisiert mittels der Selbstwert-Skala von Rosenberg, als mehrdimensional angenommen werden muss. Es finden sich Belege für ein Modell mit den Komponenten «Selbstabwertung» und «Selbstakzeptanz», letztere unter-teilt in zwei Unterkomponenten. Validitätshinweise für dieses Modell werden präsentiert. Unterschiedlich ausgeprägtes Sprachverständnis der Probanden scheint allerdings nicht für die bivariate Struktur verant-wortlich zu sein. Ein einheitliches Konstrukt «Selbstwertgefühl» kann jedoch zumindest auf der Stufe eines Faktors 2. Ordnung angenommen werden. Schlüsselwörter: Globales Selbstwertgefühl, Rosenberg-Skala, Dimensionalitätsanalyse Summary: The internal structure of a German version of Rosenberg's global self-esteem scale is investigated. Explorative and, in particular, confirmatory factor analyses show that the construct of global self-esteem , as measured by the above scale, has to be assumed as multidimensional, and evidence is given for a model with the components «self-deprecation» and «self-acceptance», the latter subdivided into two sub-components. Hints for the validity of this model are presented. The level of verbal comprehension of the participants, however, does not seem to be responsible for the bivariate structure. A unitary construct of global self-esteem can be assumed on the level of a second-order factor.
Rationality and DebiasingThe Nature of BiasesMotivational StrategiesCognitive StrategiesTechnological StrategiesAdoption and Diffusion of Debiasing TechniquesThe Future of Debiasing
Decision analysis stands on a foundation of hundreds of years of philosophical and practical thought about uncertainty and decision-making. The accomplishments and promise of the field are impressive, yet it has not become commonplace even in very important decisions. While human nature may pose an ultimate limitation, maintaining clarity of concept and exploiting progress in the realms of scope, skill, and efficiency should lead to more widespread use.
A central conceptual distinction is that between normative and descriptive views of decision-making. We discuss the importance of maintaining this distinction in the face of attempts to compromise.
The procedures for formulating, eliciting, evaluating, and appraising the decision problem are all experiencing major improvements. The strategy-generation table helps in finding creative alternatives. Decision quality concepts permit us to assure both effectiveness and efficiency in analyzing decision problems. The influence diagram provides new clarity to the conversation between decision-maker and analyst, allowing representations that are both easily understandable and mathematically consistent. The clarity test makes sure we know what we are talking about regardless of what we are saying about it. Direct and indirect values illuminate preferences. Generic risk attitude considerations indicate how to relate corporate risk tolerance to the financial measures of the corporation. Spreadsheet, decision tree, and influence diagram programs speed evaluation. Intelligent decision systems realized in computers offer promise of providing the benefits of decision analysis on a broader scale than ever before. Decision analysis is now poised for a breakthrough in its usefulness to human beings.
This paper presents the present philosophy and practice used in probability encoding by the Decision Analysis Group at Stanford Research Institute. Probability encoding, the process of extracting and quantifying individual judgment about uncertain quantities, is one of the major functions required in the performance of decision analysis. The paper discusses the setting of the encoding process, including the use of sensitivity analyses to identify crucial state variables for which extensive encoding procedures are appropriate. The importance of balancing modeling and encoding techniques is emphasized and examples of biases and unconscious modes of judgment are reviewed. A variety of encoding methods are presented and their applicability is discussed. The authors recommend and describe a structured interview process that utilizes a trained interviewer and a number of techniques designed to reduce biases and aid in the quantification of judgment.
This paper provides an introduction to mixed-effects models for the analysis of repeated measurement data with subjects and items as crossed random effects. A worked-out example of how to use recent software for mixed-effects modeling is provided. Simulation studies illustrate the advantages offered by mixed-effects analyses compared to traditional analyses based on quasi-F tests, by-subjects analyses, combined by-subjects and by-items analyses, and random regression. Applications and possibilities across a range of domains of inquiry are discussed.
This study describes the development and initial psychometric evaluation of the 25-item Resilience Scale (RS) in a sample of 810 community-dwelling older adults. Principal components factor analysis of the RS was conducted followed by oblimin rotation indicating that the factor structure represented two factors (Personal Competence and Acceptance of Self and Life). Positive correlations with adaptational outcomes (physical health, morale, and life satisfaction) and a negative correlation with depression supported concurrent validity of the RS. The results of this study support the internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity of the RS as an instrument to measure resilience.