Factors related to indecisiveness and career indecision in undecided college students

Some myths appear to incapacitate a student's decision making. Some of the myths that seem to be particularly problematic include: deciding and entering into a career will solve personal problems; an ideal career will fulfill all aspirations; and making a career choice is a one-time event and there is no turning back (Gati, Krausz, & Osipow, 1996).

In a cluster analysis, Lucas and Epperson (1988) found a group of undecided students who appeared to lack motivation to enter the career decision-making process. Gati, Krausz, et al.'s (1996) research also indicated a moderately high correlation between lack of motivation and lack of readiness.

Larson, Heppner, Ham, and Dugan (1988) found four clusters. One of these clusters was found to be the least informed about themselves, had a lack of career planning activities combined with maladaptive coping behaviors and attitudes. The overall results for these "planless avoiders" suggest that inadequate knowledge and a lack of vocational maturity may minimize their participation in the career planning process (Larson et al.).

Several studies suggest that some students could be termed vocationally immature and not ready to begin the career planning process (Chartrand et al., 1994; Gati, Krausz, et al., 1996; Larson et al., 1988). This may be due to lack of motivation or dysfunctional myths, whereas other students simply do not understand the process and need some psychoeducational interventions. The three major factors of career dysfunctional myths, lack of knowledge about the process, and lack of motivation are interrelated and are therefore incorporated into the career readiness variable of the current study.

Career Information Received and Indecisiveness

Progress in career development becomes blocked when there is a lack of information about self the world of work (occupational information), and ways of obtaining information. Students who lack career information may enter college and quickly find that their career goals are unobtainable or unsuitable (Larson et al., 1988). Those who have an adequate amount of self-information and occupational knowledge will make better decisions whereas those without this information will make poor decisions (Holland, 1985). The research of Chartrand et al. (1994), Larson et al. (1988), and Gati, Fassa, and Houminer (1995) further support this idea in that they found that all students who do not have adequate information may be blocked from making a decision at all.

Today the world of work includes a practically infinite number of alternatives and overwhelming information related to those choices (Gati, et al., 1995). Inadequate information may actually stop the process of decision making once it has begun because the lack of initial occupational information has been correlated with the inability to locate and use the additional sets of information needed to continue (Gati, Krausz et al., 1996).

The lack of information about self and occupations suggests that there would be difficulty in decision making.