Research Article
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Cognitive Flexibility and Positivity as Predictors of Career Future in University Students

Year 2020, Volume: 10 Issue: 57, 297 - 320, 19.06.2020

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the career future of university students can be predicted significantly by cognitive flexibility and positivity. The study designed for this purpose consists of 401 participants (290 female, 111 male) who attended two different universities in Ankara and Istanbul. The data of this research were collected by using Turkish adaptation of the "Career Futures Scale (CFS)", "Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI)", and "Positivity Scale (PS)". Besides these, a personal information form was used for collecting various demographic variables. The findings of this research demonstrated that there is a positive and significant relationship between career future, cognitive flexibility, and positivity. As a result of the analyses conducted in order to test the predictability of the career future by cognitive flexibility and positivity, they were found to be a significant predictor of the career future of university students (R2 = .48, p < .01). In addition to these findings, fourth-year students' career future scores were found to be significantly higher than the second and third grade students. Moreover, the career future scores of students who voluntarily selected their major of study were significantly higher than those who unwillingly chose it.

References

  • Amundson, N. E., Harris-Bowlsbey, J., & Niles, S. G. (2005). Essential elements of career counseling: Processes and techniques. Pearson/Merrill/Prentice-Hall.
  • Arnett, J. J. (2007). Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for?. Child Development Perspectives, 1(2), 68-73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x
  • Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Does happiness promote career success? Journal of Career Assessment, 16, 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072707308140
  • Büyükgöze-Kavas, A. (2014). Validation of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-Turkish form and its relation to hope and optimism. Australian Journal of Career Development, 23(3), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416214531931
  • Büyükgöze‐Kavas, A. (2016). Predicting career adaptability from positive psychological traits. The Career Development Quarterly, 64(2), 114-125. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12045
  • Caprara, G. V., Alessandri, G., Eisenberg, N., Kupfer, A., Steca, P., Caprara, M. G., ... & Abela, J. (2012). The positivity scale. Psychological Assessment, 24(3), 701-712. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026681
  • Caprara, G. V., Steca, P., Alessandri, G., Abela, J. R., & McWhinnie, C. M. (2010). Positive orientation: Explorations on what is common to life satisfaction, self-esteem, and optimism. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 19(1), 63-71. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1121189X00001615
  • Creed, P. A., Patton, W., & Bartrum, D. (2002). Multidimensional properties of the LOT-R: Effects of optimism and pessimism on career and well-being related variables in adolescents. Journal of Career Assessment, 10(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072702010001003
  • Crone, E. A., Ridderinkhof, R. K., Worm, M., Somsen, R. J., & Van Der Molen, M. W. (2004). Switching between spatial stimulus–response mappings: a developmental study of cognitive flexibility. Developmental science, 7(4), 443-455. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2004.00365.x
  • Çıkrıkçı, Ö., Çiftçi, M., & Gençdoğan, B. (2015). Pozitiflik ölçeği Türkçe formu’nun psikometrik özellikleri [The psychometric properties of the Turkish form of the positivity scale]. The Journal of Happiness &Well-Being, 3(1), 57-76.
  • Çuhadaroğlu, A. (2013). Bilişsel esnekliğin yordayıcıları [Predictors of cognitive flexibility]. Cumhuriyet Uluslararası Eğitim Dergisi, 2(1), 86-101.
  • Dennis, J. P., & Vander Wal, J. S. (2010). The cognitive flexibility inventory: Instrument development and estimates of reliability and validity. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34(3), 241-253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9276-4
  • Diener, E., Napa-Scollon, C. K., Oishi, S., Dzokoto, V., & Suh, E. M. (2000). Positivity and the construction of life satisfaction judgments: Global happiness is not the sum of its parts. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1(2), 159-176. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010031813405
  • Duffy, R. D. (2010). Sense of control and career adaptability among undergraduate students. Journal of Career Assessment 18(4), 420-430. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072710374587
  • Duffy, R. D., Douglass, R. P., & Autin, K. L. (2015). Career adaptability and academic satisfaction: Examining work volition and self-efficacy as mediators. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 90, 46-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.07.007
  • Ebberwein, C. A., Krieshok, T. S., Ulven, J. C., & Prosser, E. C. (2004). Voices in transition: Lessons on career adaptability. The Career Development Quarterly, 52(4), 292-308. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2004.tb00947.x
  • George, D., & Mallery, P. (2016). IBM SPSS Statistics 23 Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference, 23.0 update (14 ed.) New York & London: Routledge.
  • Griffin, B., & Hesketh, B. (2003). Adaptable behaviours for successful work and career adjustment. Australian Journal of Psychology, 55(2), 65-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530412331312914
  • Guan, Y., Deng, H., Sun, J., Wang, Y., Cai, Z., Ye, L., ... & Li, Y. (2013). Career adaptability, job search self-efficacy and outcomes: A three-wave investigation among Chinese university graduates. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 561-570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.09.003
  • Gülüm, I. V., & Dağ, İ. (2012). Tekrarlayıcı Düşünme Ölçeği ve Bilişsel Esneklik Envanterinin Türkçeye uyarlanması, geçerliliği ve güvenilirliği [The Turkish adaptation, validity and reliability study of the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire and the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory]. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, 13(3), 216-223.
  • Hartung, P. J., Porfeli, E. J., & Vondracek, F. W. (2008). Career adaptability in childhood. Career Development Quarterly, 57, 63–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2008.tb00166.x
  • Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.
  • Johnston, C. S. (2018). A systematic review of the career adaptability literature and future outlook. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(1), 3-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072716679921
  • Kalafat, T. (2012). Kariyer Geleceği Ölçeği (KARGEL): Türk örneklemi için psikometrik özelliklerinin incelenmesi [Career Futures Inventory (CFI): The examination of psychometric properties in Turkish sample]. Türk Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 4(38), 169-179.
  • Kao, J. (2007). Innovation nation: How America is losing its innovation edge, why it matters, and what we can do to get it back. Simon and Schuster.
  • Karacan-Ozdemir, N., & Yerin-Guneri, O. (2017). The factors contribute to career adaptability of high school students. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 67, 183-198.
  • Klehe, U. C., Kleinmann, M., Hartstein, T., Melchers, K. G., König, C. J., Heslin, P. A., & Lievens, F. (2012). Responding to personality tests in a selection context: The role of the ability to identify criteria and the ideal-employee factor. Human Performance, 25(4), 273-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2012.703733
  • Koen, J., Klehe, U. C., & Van Vianen, A. E. (2012). Training career adaptability to facilitate a successful school-to-work transition. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81(3), 395-408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.10.003
  • Nota, L., Ginevra, M. C., & Soresi, S. (2012). The Career and Work Adaptability Questionnaire (CWAQ): A first contribution to its validation. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1557-1569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.06.004
  • Plimmer, G., Smith, M., Duggan, M., & Englert, P. (2000). Career adaptability, well-being, and possible selves. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 15(4), 83-92.
  • Rand, K. L. (2009). Hope and optimism: Latent structures and influences on grade expectancy and academic performance. Journal of Personality, 77(1), 231-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00544.x
  • Rottinghaus, P. J., Day, S. X., & Borgen, F. H. (2005). The Career Futures Inventory: A measure of career-related adaptability and optimism. Journal of Career Assessment, 13(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072704270271
  • Rudolph, C. W., Lavigne, K. N., & Zacher, H. (2017). Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptivity, adapting responses, and adaptation results. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 17-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.002
  • Santilli, S., Ginevra, M. C., Sgaramella, T. M., Nota, L., Ferrari, L., & Soresi, S. (2017). Design my future: An instrument to assess future orientation and resilience. Journal of Career Assessment, 25(2), 281-295. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072715621524
  • Savickas, M. L. (1997). Career adaptability: An integrative construct for life‐span, life‐space theory. The Career Development Quarterly, 45(3), 247-259. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.1997.tb00469.x
  • Savickas, M. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. Career Development and Counseling: Putting Theory and Research to Work, 1, 42-70.
  • Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 661-673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.011
  • Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (2001). Optimism, pessimism, and psychological well-being. Optimism and Pessimism: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice, 1, 189-216. https://doi.org/10.1037/10385-009
  • Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. (2004). General mental ability in the world of work: Occupational attainment and job performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(1), 162-173. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.1.162
  • Silver, J. A., Hughes, J. D., Bornstein, R. A., & Beversdorf, D. Q. (2004). Effect of anxiolytics on cognitive flexibility in problem solving. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, 17(2), 93-97. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.wnn.0000119240.65522.d9
  • Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (2013) Using Multivariate Statistics (Sixth ed.) Pearson, Boston.
  • Taber, B. J., & Blankemeyer, M. (2015). Future work self and career adaptability in the prediction of proactive career behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, 20-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.10.005
  • TÜİK (2017). Ağustos 2017 işgücü istatistikleri. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK) haber bülteni [August 2017 labor statistics. Turkey Statistical Institute (TSI) newsletter]. Retrieved from http://www.tuik.gov.tr/HbGetirHTML.do?id=24633#, 24.11.2018.
  • Ulaş, Ö. (2016). Kariyer kararı verme öz-yetkinliği: Bir model testi. Yayınlanmamış doktora tezi, Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Ankara.
  • Yesilyaprak, B. (2012). The Paradigm Shift of Vocational Guidance and Career Counseling and Its Implications for Turkey: An Evaluation from Past to Future. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 12(1), 111-118.
  • Zacher, H. (2014). Individual difference predictors of change in career adaptability over time. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(2), 188-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.01.001
Year 2020, Volume: 10 Issue: 57, 297 - 320, 19.06.2020

Abstract

References

  • Amundson, N. E., Harris-Bowlsbey, J., & Niles, S. G. (2005). Essential elements of career counseling: Processes and techniques. Pearson/Merrill/Prentice-Hall.
  • Arnett, J. J. (2007). Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for?. Child Development Perspectives, 1(2), 68-73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x
  • Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Does happiness promote career success? Journal of Career Assessment, 16, 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072707308140
  • Büyükgöze-Kavas, A. (2014). Validation of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-Turkish form and its relation to hope and optimism. Australian Journal of Career Development, 23(3), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416214531931
  • Büyükgöze‐Kavas, A. (2016). Predicting career adaptability from positive psychological traits. The Career Development Quarterly, 64(2), 114-125. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12045
  • Caprara, G. V., Alessandri, G., Eisenberg, N., Kupfer, A., Steca, P., Caprara, M. G., ... & Abela, J. (2012). The positivity scale. Psychological Assessment, 24(3), 701-712. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026681
  • Caprara, G. V., Steca, P., Alessandri, G., Abela, J. R., & McWhinnie, C. M. (2010). Positive orientation: Explorations on what is common to life satisfaction, self-esteem, and optimism. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 19(1), 63-71. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1121189X00001615
  • Creed, P. A., Patton, W., & Bartrum, D. (2002). Multidimensional properties of the LOT-R: Effects of optimism and pessimism on career and well-being related variables in adolescents. Journal of Career Assessment, 10(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072702010001003
  • Crone, E. A., Ridderinkhof, R. K., Worm, M., Somsen, R. J., & Van Der Molen, M. W. (2004). Switching between spatial stimulus–response mappings: a developmental study of cognitive flexibility. Developmental science, 7(4), 443-455. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2004.00365.x
  • Çıkrıkçı, Ö., Çiftçi, M., & Gençdoğan, B. (2015). Pozitiflik ölçeği Türkçe formu’nun psikometrik özellikleri [The psychometric properties of the Turkish form of the positivity scale]. The Journal of Happiness &Well-Being, 3(1), 57-76.
  • Çuhadaroğlu, A. (2013). Bilişsel esnekliğin yordayıcıları [Predictors of cognitive flexibility]. Cumhuriyet Uluslararası Eğitim Dergisi, 2(1), 86-101.
  • Dennis, J. P., & Vander Wal, J. S. (2010). The cognitive flexibility inventory: Instrument development and estimates of reliability and validity. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34(3), 241-253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9276-4
  • Diener, E., Napa-Scollon, C. K., Oishi, S., Dzokoto, V., & Suh, E. M. (2000). Positivity and the construction of life satisfaction judgments: Global happiness is not the sum of its parts. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1(2), 159-176. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010031813405
  • Duffy, R. D. (2010). Sense of control and career adaptability among undergraduate students. Journal of Career Assessment 18(4), 420-430. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072710374587
  • Duffy, R. D., Douglass, R. P., & Autin, K. L. (2015). Career adaptability and academic satisfaction: Examining work volition and self-efficacy as mediators. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 90, 46-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.07.007
  • Ebberwein, C. A., Krieshok, T. S., Ulven, J. C., & Prosser, E. C. (2004). Voices in transition: Lessons on career adaptability. The Career Development Quarterly, 52(4), 292-308. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2004.tb00947.x
  • George, D., & Mallery, P. (2016). IBM SPSS Statistics 23 Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference, 23.0 update (14 ed.) New York & London: Routledge.
  • Griffin, B., & Hesketh, B. (2003). Adaptable behaviours for successful work and career adjustment. Australian Journal of Psychology, 55(2), 65-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530412331312914
  • Guan, Y., Deng, H., Sun, J., Wang, Y., Cai, Z., Ye, L., ... & Li, Y. (2013). Career adaptability, job search self-efficacy and outcomes: A three-wave investigation among Chinese university graduates. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 561-570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.09.003
  • Gülüm, I. V., & Dağ, İ. (2012). Tekrarlayıcı Düşünme Ölçeği ve Bilişsel Esneklik Envanterinin Türkçeye uyarlanması, geçerliliği ve güvenilirliği [The Turkish adaptation, validity and reliability study of the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire and the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory]. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, 13(3), 216-223.
  • Hartung, P. J., Porfeli, E. J., & Vondracek, F. W. (2008). Career adaptability in childhood. Career Development Quarterly, 57, 63–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2008.tb00166.x
  • Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.
  • Johnston, C. S. (2018). A systematic review of the career adaptability literature and future outlook. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(1), 3-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072716679921
  • Kalafat, T. (2012). Kariyer Geleceği Ölçeği (KARGEL): Türk örneklemi için psikometrik özelliklerinin incelenmesi [Career Futures Inventory (CFI): The examination of psychometric properties in Turkish sample]. Türk Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 4(38), 169-179.
  • Kao, J. (2007). Innovation nation: How America is losing its innovation edge, why it matters, and what we can do to get it back. Simon and Schuster.
  • Karacan-Ozdemir, N., & Yerin-Guneri, O. (2017). The factors contribute to career adaptability of high school students. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 67, 183-198.
  • Klehe, U. C., Kleinmann, M., Hartstein, T., Melchers, K. G., König, C. J., Heslin, P. A., & Lievens, F. (2012). Responding to personality tests in a selection context: The role of the ability to identify criteria and the ideal-employee factor. Human Performance, 25(4), 273-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2012.703733
  • Koen, J., Klehe, U. C., & Van Vianen, A. E. (2012). Training career adaptability to facilitate a successful school-to-work transition. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81(3), 395-408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.10.003
  • Nota, L., Ginevra, M. C., & Soresi, S. (2012). The Career and Work Adaptability Questionnaire (CWAQ): A first contribution to its validation. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1557-1569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.06.004
  • Plimmer, G., Smith, M., Duggan, M., & Englert, P. (2000). Career adaptability, well-being, and possible selves. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, 15(4), 83-92.
  • Rand, K. L. (2009). Hope and optimism: Latent structures and influences on grade expectancy and academic performance. Journal of Personality, 77(1), 231-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00544.x
  • Rottinghaus, P. J., Day, S. X., & Borgen, F. H. (2005). The Career Futures Inventory: A measure of career-related adaptability and optimism. Journal of Career Assessment, 13(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072704270271
  • Rudolph, C. W., Lavigne, K. N., & Zacher, H. (2017). Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptivity, adapting responses, and adaptation results. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 17-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.002
  • Santilli, S., Ginevra, M. C., Sgaramella, T. M., Nota, L., Ferrari, L., & Soresi, S. (2017). Design my future: An instrument to assess future orientation and resilience. Journal of Career Assessment, 25(2), 281-295. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072715621524
  • Savickas, M. L. (1997). Career adaptability: An integrative construct for life‐span, life‐space theory. The Career Development Quarterly, 45(3), 247-259. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.1997.tb00469.x
  • Savickas, M. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. Career Development and Counseling: Putting Theory and Research to Work, 1, 42-70.
  • Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 661-673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.011
  • Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (2001). Optimism, pessimism, and psychological well-being. Optimism and Pessimism: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice, 1, 189-216. https://doi.org/10.1037/10385-009
  • Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. (2004). General mental ability in the world of work: Occupational attainment and job performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(1), 162-173. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.1.162
  • Silver, J. A., Hughes, J. D., Bornstein, R. A., & Beversdorf, D. Q. (2004). Effect of anxiolytics on cognitive flexibility in problem solving. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, 17(2), 93-97. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.wnn.0000119240.65522.d9
  • Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (2013) Using Multivariate Statistics (Sixth ed.) Pearson, Boston.
  • Taber, B. J., & Blankemeyer, M. (2015). Future work self and career adaptability in the prediction of proactive career behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, 20-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.10.005
  • TÜİK (2017). Ağustos 2017 işgücü istatistikleri. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK) haber bülteni [August 2017 labor statistics. Turkey Statistical Institute (TSI) newsletter]. Retrieved from http://www.tuik.gov.tr/HbGetirHTML.do?id=24633#, 24.11.2018.
  • Ulaş, Ö. (2016). Kariyer kararı verme öz-yetkinliği: Bir model testi. Yayınlanmamış doktora tezi, Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Ankara.
  • Yesilyaprak, B. (2012). The Paradigm Shift of Vocational Guidance and Career Counseling and Its Implications for Turkey: An Evaluation from Past to Future. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 12(1), 111-118.
  • Zacher, H. (2014). Individual difference predictors of change in career adaptability over time. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(2), 188-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.01.001
There are 46 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Subjects Psychology
Journal Section Makaleler
Authors

Elvan Yıldız-akyol

Mehmet Boyacı This is me

Publication Date June 19, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Volume: 10 Issue: 57

Cite

APA Yıldız-akyol, E., & Boyacı, M. (2020). Cognitive Flexibility and Positivity as Predictors of Career Future in University Students. Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Journal, 10(57), 297-320.

!! From 30 November 2023, English language proofreading will be required for accepted articles to ensure language quality.