According to cognitive information processing theory, career thoughts mediate the relationship between career and life stress and the ensuing career decision state. Using a sample of 232 college students and structural equation modeling, this study found that an increase in career and life stress was associated with an increase in negative career thinking and that an increase in such thoughts was associated with a lower level of decidedness and satisfaction with career choice. However, when the variation associated with negative career thoughts was partitioned in the mediated causal model, career and life stress became associated with less career indecision and dissatisfaction with career choice. The results suggest that counselors attend to negative career thoughts when individuals encounter career and life stress.
Relationships among emotions, thoughts, and behavior have been emphasized in cognitive behavioral counseling theories (e.g., Beck, 1976;Ellis, 1962). Likewise, in career counseling, the cognitive information processing (CIP) approach to career decision making underscores the importance of addressing emotions, thoughts, and behaviors (Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 1991; Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2004). One key assumption on which the CIP approach is based is that career decision making is affected by both emotional and cognitive processes. Specifically, this assumption states, "as we think through our career problems and make decisions, our emotions can help motivate us to choose and follow through or cause us to act too slowly, too quickly, or too randomly to make an appropriate choice" (Sampson et al., 2004, p. 3). Therefore, in the application of the CIP approach in career counseling, it is essential to assess and address distressing emotions and negative career thoughts at the beginning of the career decision-making process.