TOWARD A UNIFYING SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY OF CAREER AND ACADEMIC INTEREST, CHOICE, AND PERFORMANCE

This article presents a social cognitive framework for understanding t hree intricately linked aspects of career development: (a) the formati on and elaboration of career-relevant interests, (b) selection of acad emic and career choice options, and (c) performance and persistence in educational and occupational pursuits. The framework, derived primari ly from Bandura's (1986) general social cognitive theory, emphasizes t he means by which individuals exercise personal agency in the career d evelopment process, as well as extra-personal factors that enhance or constrain agency. In particular, we focus on self-efficacy, expected o utcome, and goal mechanisms and how they may interrelate with other pe rson (e.g., gender), contextual (e.g., support system), and experienti al/learning factors. Twelve sets of propositions are offered to organi ze existing findings and guide future research on the theory. We also present a meta-analysis of relevant findings and suggest specific dire ctions for future empirical and theory-extension activity. (C) 1994 Ac ademic Press, Inc.