April 1990
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108 Reads
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55 Citations
This study examined the construct of the zone of acceptable alternatives proposed by L. S. Gottfredson (see record 1982-03363-001) in her developmental theory of career aspiration. College students (95 men and 151 women) responded to a demographic questionnaire, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, and the Occupations List. The Occupations List consisted of 155 occupational titles, and subjects were asked to indicate whether they had considered each of the occupations and when. Occupations considered were coded with measurements of sex type and prestige, and 5 indicators were computed for each subject as multiple operational definitions of the zone of acceptable alternatives. Changes in some of the indicators over time were identified. Differences in the indicators were found to be related to gender and sex role orientation of the participants. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for Gottfredson's model and for counseling practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)