Annual Review: Vocational Behavior and Career Development-1994

Career and Vocational Assessment 1995-1996: A Biennial Review

This selective review of career assessment literature covers the period 1995 to 1996. The authors emphasize published research related to vocational theories and instruments, particularly research concerning career counseling and individual career development, and identify trends and new advances in career assessment. They conclude that Holland's vocational typology continues to be prominent, that the structure of interests is an unresolved issue, that more research has been conducted in previously neglected areas, that the development of new measures and improvement of old ones continues at a rapid pace, that type of methodology affects results, and that other literatures contain possibilities for career assessment. The authors also suggest implications for policy and research.

The Relationship between Black Racial Identity and Moral Development

This study examined the theoretical relationship between moral development and Black racial identity development among African American university students. Results indicated that racial identity and moral judgments are linked and that emotionality embedded within Black racial identity statuses differentially influences moral decision making. It is recommended that school-based programs involving moral development include racial identity issues and subsequent emotionbased components during training.

Individualism-Collectivism

Individualism-collectivism (IC) constitutes a cultural variable thought to influence a wide variety of variables including career planning and decision making. To examine this possibility, college students (216 women, 106 men, 64% racial-ethnic minorities) responded to measures of IC, occupational plans, and work values. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) results indicated significant main effects for gender and race. Men, more so than women, endorsed vertical individualism (VI)—a cultural pattern characterized by independence and dominance—and intrinsic work values. African Americans expressed more fit of their occupational plans with personal goals and endorsed extrinsic work values more than did European Americans. A hypothesized inverse relationship between collectivism and consistency of occupational plans with personal goals was not supported. Hypothesized positive relationships between collectivism and work values stressing relationship and interdependence were supported, whereas expected inverse relationships between collectivism and work values emphasizing independence and personal gain were not supported. Findings are discussed in terms of acculturation issues, career assessment implications, and future research directions.