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The dual-process theory of career decision-making (DTC; Xu, 2021a ; 2021b) resulted from a synthesized and critical reflection of career decision-making and related models in the contemporary psychosocial context of career development. The DTC features persistent decision uncertainty as a salient condition of contemporary career decision-making, and its theoretical framework and predictive model establish DTC's conceptual and empirical foundation, respectively. However, the DTC and the career decision-making literature in general still lack a process-oriented prescriptive model that foregrounds decision uncertainty. Consequently, the extant literature fails to prescribe key decision-making components and procedures under decision uncertainty. Thus, drawing on the DTC, decision-making science, and existing models of career decision-making, we propose a four-stage process model, which involves four interlinked macro stages and micro steps within each stage. The model also involves five propositions to explain and predict the effects of important personal and environmental factors on the process and outcomes of each stage. We describe the DTC process model and use a case example to illustrate how the model can be applied in practice. Together, the DTC's theoretical framework, predictive model, and process-oriented prescriptive model constitute a comprehensive theory regarding dynamic career decision-making and adaption in an uncertain world and offer diverse research and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dual-process theory of career decision-making (DTC) adds to the conversation about understanding and facilitating career decision-making from a more realistic and inclusive perspective and highlights the joint operation of decision ambiguity and ambiguity management strategies in career decision-making. However, a psychometrically sound measure of decision ambiguity is lacking. Thus, the current study used two samples of U.S. college students to develop and initially validate a measure of decision ambiguity (CDMA). Study 1 (n = 195) developed the CDMA and found initial evidence for a unidimensional structure. Study 2 (n = 271) cross-validated the unidimensional structure of the CDMA and supported the convergent, discriminant, concurrent, and incremental validities of the CDMA. Specifically, the results supported (1) the differential associations of the CDMA with need for information and with neuroticism/negative affectivity, lack of readiness, and interpersonal conflicts, (2) the positive association between the CDMA and choice/commitment anxiety, and (3) the incremental predictions of the CDMA for career decidedness, career certainty, and major satisfaction over and beyond need for information. Therefore, the current study offers a psychometrically sound measure of decision ambiguity, which has potential to facilitate the scientific inquiry and social justice application of the DTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research has identified a five-factor model of career decision-making difficulty based on meta-analytical evidence and cross-cultural comparison, the field lacks an elaborated theoretical account of the joint operation of the five decision difficulties. The current study drew on the dual-process theory of career decision-making (DTC) to examine the interplay of the five decision difficulties in predicting career decidedness in the Chinese context. Study 1 developed and validated measures of decision ambiguity, advance in narrowing down, and career decidedness in a sample of Chinese college students (n = 180). Study 2 examined the structural model using another sample of Chinese college students (n = 408). Focusing on the relations of the five major decision difficulties to career decidedness, the results did not support the standalone mechanism of confusion management but supported the standalone mechanism of ambiguity management. Additionally, the results supported the crossover mechanism from confusion management to ambiguity management and the crossover mechanism from ambiguity management to confusion management. The results not only shed light on the role of each difficulty but also offer evidence for the interplay of key DTC macro elements. The practical implications based on the joint operation of the five decision-making difficulties are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although dysfunctional career decision-making beliefs represent an important assessment and intervention area in career counseling, the empirical foundation and the general mechanism of the dysfunctionality of dysfunctional career decision-making beliefs remain not fully clear. Based on the dual-process theory of career decision-making, the current study used a sample of U.S. college students (n = 200) and examined a longitudinal mediation model in which dysfunctional career decision-making beliefs predict subsequent career decidedness, career commitment, and academic major satisfaction through ambiguity aversion. The results supported the hypothesized mediation model in that dysfunctional career decision-making beliefs negatively predicted subsequent career decidedness, career commitment, and academic major satisfaction, and ambiguity aversion mediated all three links. Therefore, the present study not only shows that dysfunctional career decision-making has a pervasive detrimental role in career decision-making but also sheds light on the intricate relationship between dysfunctional career decision-making beliefs and ambiguity management in career decision-making. The limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before we can fruitfully discuss what Europe ought to do about its various policy dilemmas, we need to re-examine the lens through which we view these dilemmas. I will highlight two problems with the habitual lens on Europe's future: firstly, it's unrealistic emphasis on clarity and coherence and, secondly, its state-centrism and state-envy. I explore the ways in which we can reverse the lens to examine familiar problems from unfamiliar angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current work, we investigated the relationship between career decision ambiguity tolerance (CDAT) and career decision-making difficulties among French-speaking university students. In a preliminary validation study (N = 246), we examined the psychometric properties of the CDAT Scale. Our results showed that the French CDAT Scale had satisfactory levels of scale score reliability, that its factor structure was consistent with the original three-factor structure, and that it had incremental predictive power over general ambiguity tolerance when predicting career decision self-efficacy and career adaptability. In a second study (N = 412), building on social cognitive career theory, we hypothesized that career decision self-efficacy mediates the relationship between CDAT and career decision-making difficulties. Results were consistent with our hypotheses. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the valuation of uncertain prospects, a difference is often observed between selling and buying perspectives. This paper distinguishes between risk (known probabilities) and ambiguity (unknown probabilities) in decisions under uncertainty and shows that the valuation disparity increases under ambiguity compared to risk. It is found that both the comparative versus noncomparative evaluation of risky and ambiguous prospects and the uniqueness of the valuation perspective (either seller or buyer) moderate this increase in the disparity under ambiguity. The finding is consistent with recent theoretical accounts of pricing under uncertainty. We discuss implications for market behaviour and for the ambiguity paradigm as a research tool. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The influences of optimism and pessimism on ambiguity aversion were investigated in two tasks that manipulated the presence or absence of a potentially competitive experimenter. A total of 112 participants chose which option—ambiguous or known-risk—they preferred in the two slightly differing Ellsberg urns tasks. Optimism was measured using the Extended Life Orientation Test (ELOT). Highly optimistic people showed significantly less ambiguity aversion than less optimistic people when information was given that the number of balls was randomly determined. This pattern was present but less pronounced in the condition when the composition of the ambiguous urn could be interpreted as being influenced (rigged) by the experimenter. Pessimism was uninfluential. Perceptions of the situation, especially the degree of trust in the experimenter, were significantly influenced by the participants' optimism. People who do not have highly optimistic personalities tend to shy away from choosing ambiguous options. When ambiguity is clear, and trust issues are removed, people's optimistic outlook influences their degree of ambiguity aversion and thus their decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on media sources reveal Covid-19 pandemic challenges with its preconceptions and lingering consequences with the level of ambiguity. Topics include creativity in the multifaceted healthcare systems; and educational opportunities emerge with finding alternative ways of guiding all levels of students to achieve goals that foster the professions' commitment to society.