This study examined relationships among dysfunctional career thoughts and levels of communication apprehension. Undergraduate students, 88 women and 87 men, completed the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI; J. P. Sampson, G. W. Peterson, J. G. Lenz, R. C. Reardon, & D. E. and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24; J. C. . Analysis of correlation coefficients found significant mild-to-moderate correlations among scales of the CTI and the PRCA-24. The results indicated that individuals with average and high levels of communication apprehension had greater decision-making confusion, commitment anxiety, and external conflict than persons with low levels of communication apprehension. Implications for counseling and further research are discussed in light of these results.
Counselors make inferences about persons' readiness for career assistance by listening to them talk about their thoughts or by examining their self-report responses to tests and inventories. Communication is an essential element of counseling; in fact, the ability to put feelings into words may reduce emotional distress . However, communication behavior per se is seldom examined in the counseling literature. Our inspection of the contents of the Journal of Counseling Psychology, the Journal of Counseling & Development, and The Career Development Quarterly published during the past 20 years revealed one study examining this topic . We sought to address this limitation in the literature by conducting a study examining the idea that persons who have good selfknowledge and can communicate effectively might have fewer negative career thoughts impeding their decision making.
The mental processes involved in career decision making are explained in cognitive information processing (CIP) theory . According to CIP theory, emotions (affect) and thoughts (cognition) are inseparable from career choices, including options about fields of study, occupations, and/or jobs. As persons think through their career decisions, their emotions can motivate them to make and follow through on choices or cause them not to act at all.