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This study investigated the level of congruency between scores on the Self-Directed Search–Form R (J. L. Holland, 1994) and scores from an online instrument, both of which measure Holland types (J. L. Holland, 1985, 1997). A reasonably high level of congruence was found. Implications for career counselors are briefly delineated.

This comparative study examined the degree of congruency between the results of the Self-Directed Search Form E (J. L. Holland, 1990) and an online self-assessment career planning exercise. A relatively high level of congruence was found between the 2 measures. Implications for career counselors and for future research studies are briefly discussed.

The authors examined job satisfaction and workers' perceptions of a nonprofessional occupation using the Position Classification Inventory (PCI; G. D. Gottfredson & J. L. Holland, 1991). Results revealed high job satisfaction scores and suggest that the PCI shows promise as a method of classifying working-class occupations according to J. L. Holland's (1985, 1997) theory.

Career decision making is an important aspect of career choice and career development. This theoretical article explores the relationship between J. L. Holland's (1997) 6 dimensions of personality and individual decision-making styles. Implications for career counselors are also provided.

The authors examined the degree of congruency found in a sample of 61 college students between a preference for a specific counseling orientation, measured using the Counseling Orientation Scale (COS; L. C. Loesch & R. J. McDavis, 1978), and a dominant Holland type, measured using the Self-Directed Search (SDS; J. L. Holland, 1994). Results revealed a moderate degree of congruency between the 2 scores. Implications of the findings for counselors are discussed.

The authors, using the recently developed Position Classification Inventory (PCI; G. Gottfredson & J. L. Holland, 1991), examined male and female perceptions of a nonprofessional occupation. Results suggest that the PCI shows promise as a method of classifying occupations according to J. L. Holland's (1997) theory.

The author investigated the degree of change in a single client's 3-letter Holland code (J. L. Holland, 1985) over a 10-year period. Results seem to support Holland's theory that personality traits remain relatively stable over time.

This article provides career counselors and clients with useful information on understanding occupational environments. Specifically, the focus is on how to handle a situation in which a client's 3-letter code is identical to 2 clearly divergent occupations.

A common client concern is worry, However, an organized description of worry and how to treat it remains relatively unaddressed. This article provides 2 theoretical perspectives of worry and a brief review of the literature on worry. An operational definition of worry is offered, along with suggestions for counselors on how to better assist the worrisome client.

This article offers a new mapping procedure—used in conjunction with Holland's (1985) hexagon—to help clients identify and explore occupational alternatives.

The number and type of scoring errors made on Holland's Self-Directed Search-R (SDS-R) are examined. Participants were high school juniors and seniors. The results indicate that although some errors were made, the SDS-R was perceived as a useful career assessment tool. Implications of the results are also discussed.

This article discusses how counselor intentions function within the process of counseling. Counselor intentions are discussed within the framework of the cognitive mediational paradigm. Implications of the use of counselor intentions for the training of beginning counselors are also delineated.

An investigation of graduate students' perceptions of the effectiveness of a three-part videotape series on group work was conducted. In general, the videotape series was perceived positively. Implications for counselor educators are discussed.

This article suggests that an important aspect of the career decision-making process is the awareness that uncertainty (i.e., “1 don't know”) is normal, natural, and most likely unavoidable. The essential message of this article is that it is as useful, and even vocationally mature, to be both certain and uncertain about making a career decision.

Counselors often spend some time during their initial encounters with clients explaining the parameters of the counseling process. This explanation stage is often referred to as structuring (Miller, 1979). Day and Sparacio (1980) defined structure as a joint understanding between the counselor and the client regarding the characteristics, conditions, procedures, and parameters of counseling" (p. 246). More recently, Egan (1990) noted that structuring in the counseling relationship is similar to an explicit contract whereby both counselor and client have an understanding about the goals to be pursued and the procedures to be used during the helping process.A number of researchers have studied the potential beneficial effects of the use of structuring in personal-social counseling. The findings from these studies suggest that explaining to clients what to expect during the counseling experience is viewed positively and increases both the quality and the quantity of client participation in personal counseling (Friedlander & Kaul, 1983; Heitler, 1973). Perhaps similar to empirical evidence on the value of pregroup or early group structure (e.g., Bednar & Langebahn, 1979; Crews & Melnick, 1976), it can be speculated that one reason why structuring is viewed as positive is because structuring may decrease distortions, interpersonal fears, and subjective distress, while encouraging client involvement and increasing client understanding about the process.Whether similar positive effects of the use of structuring also occurs in career counseling remains uncertain. We wished to examine empirically the impact of structuring in career counseling for two reasons. The first reason for this study was that, compared to personal-social counseling, relatively little research has been conducted on the process of career counseling (Galassi, Crace, Martin, James, & Wallace, 1992). The second reason for this study was that, although personal-social counseling and career counseling share similarities (Betz & Corning, 1993), they also have important differences (Crites, 1974; Watkins, Savickas, Brizzi, & Manus, 1990), so we wanted to better understand career counseling as a separate process. Thus, the overall purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of structuring on students perceptions of career counseling using an analogue format.METHODSParticipantsThe participants for this study were 232 undergraduate university students enrolled in introductory psychology classes in the 1991 Fall Quarter. An equal number (n = 116) of women and men participated in this study. The ethnic breakdown of the participants was as follows: White (81 %), Black (17%), Hispanic (1 %), and Asian (1 %). Most of the participants were either freshmen (66%) or sophomores (23%).The participants were assigned to one of the two experimental groups based on the introductory psychology class in which they were enrolled. Experimental Group 1 contained 60 women and 56 men with a mean age of 19.38 years, SD = 3.08, and a range of 17 to 36 years. Experimental Group 2 contained 56 women and 60 men with a mean age of 19.21 years, SD = 3.29, and a range of 17 to 47 years. Students in these introductory classes were asked to voluntarily participate in a study designed to measure students' impressions of a career counseling session. No credit was given for their participation.Stimulus MaterialThe stimulus material for the student's rating was a 10-to 12-minute segment of a career counseling session. The tapes were made to simulate an actual career counseling interview and to control counselor and client verbal behavior in both tapes. The only difference in the tapes was the manipulation of the independent variable; that is, the counselor used structure on one tape and not on the other. The transcript used was similar to the one used in previous counseling studies by Watkins, Savickas, Brizzi, and Manus (1990). …

This article uses an “inverse” method to assess the validity of Holland's theory. Specifically, this study examined the degree of congruency between participants' least-characteristic Holland types and their stated least desirable college major. Implications for career counselors are briefly discussed.

In this study the associations of three-letter Holland codes of 40 parents and their children (20 mothers and daughters, 20 fathers and sons) were analyzed. Implications for school counselors, based on the results, are briefly discussed.

This study examined the effects of three counselor influence factors—expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness—on participants' impressions of a counselor during a counseling analogue situation. Using a 2 (counselor disability) x 2 (level of training) factorial design, no significant differences were found with respect to counselor social influence. These results are interpreted relative to the literature on perceptions of counselors with physical disabilities.

This article outlines an effective method-the lifeline-of fostering self-exploration and promoting group interaction among counselors-in-training. Directions on how to use the lifeline, its advantages, and variations of it are presented

This article provides a practical and proven diagnostic system that can be used by career counselors to assess and counsel their clients.

Surprisingly little has been written in the counseling journals on the topic of lying: that is, why some clients consciously choose to be either dishonest with their counselors or deliberately hold back (i.e., keep secrets) important information from their counselors. This article discusses the dynamics of lying and offers suggestions to counselors on how to work with clients who lie.

This article outlines one innovative approach by which school counselors can reinforce students' learning of important career information.

This article illustrates how career counselors can integrate the results from two widely used instruments—the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory—to enhance a client's decision-making ability.

The Self-Directed Search was administered to 68 university seniors who were majoring in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering, Elementary Education, and Office Administration. Their resulting three-letter summary codes were compared with three-letter college major codes obtained from the College Majors Finder. A high degree of agreement between the two sets of codes was found for each of the three majors. Effective methods for matching people to jobs have held the interest and occupied much time for career counselors and vocational theorists since the inception of the trait-factor approach to career counseling. More recently, Holland (1985a) broadened and clarified matching procedures through the development of his typological theory of vocational choice. Just as personality types and occupational environments have been organized using Holland's framework to foster an understanding of occupational choice, Holland's theory can also be used to explain other types of choices, such as choice of a college major.

The Self-Directed Search was given to 70 university graduate students in counseling. Their resulting summary codes were compared with a two-letter leisure code obtained from The Leisure Activities Finder. A high degree of agreement between the two sets of codes was found. Implications for career counselors are discussed.

The advantages of a shift in focus in research—a shift more in keeping with the counselor's genuine interest in the individual client—are explored.

L'orientation vers la participation a la gestion exige des individus formes aux principes de la prise de decision. Les AA. presentent un programme integre d'enseignement de la prise de decision fonde sur deux modeles : « Situational Leadership » et « Conflict Model »

In this study the relationship between attitudes about chance and self-concept of 140 college students (74 women, 66 men) were analyzed. The finding of nonsignificance is discussed in view of previous assumptions as to relations between the two variables. Suggestions for further work are outlined.

Client resistance is a frequent occurrence within the helping profession. This article helps define client resistance, provides a brief review of related literature, and offers one way—counselor attractiveness—of addressing the issue.

Research over the past decade has demonstrated that performance and transitory affect (mood states) are related. This study examined the relationship between highly experienced (black belts), experienced (brown belts), moderately experienced (colored belts), and novice (white belts) karate practitioners and transitory affect. Analysis indicated that black belt competitors scored higher in precompetition fatigue-inertia than lower ranked competitors.

This article outlines the five-factor model of personality (i.e., “OCEAN”) and illustrates how it can be used to diagnose clients.

The author shares some brief thoughts on 30 years of involvement in the area of career counseling and vocational behavior.

The contents of this short article suggest that alternative methods for measuring agreement among Holland (J. L. Holland, A. B. Powell, & B. A. Fritzsche, 1994) codes are appropriate and helpful.

The Paranormal Belief Scale was given to high school students in Grade 11 (95 boys, 98 girls). This scale provides a total Paranormal Belief Score, plus scores on each of seven paranormal subscales: Traditional Religious Belief, Psi Belief, Witchcraft, Spiritualism, Superstition, Extraordinary Life Forms, and Precognition. Paranormal scale/subscale scores of high school students were compared to those of a sample of college students. Generally, high school students were greater disbelievers in paranormal phenomena than college students. High school students showed significantly less belief than college students on the total Paranormal Scale and on the subscales, Psi Belief, Extraordinary Life Forms, and Witchcraft. As hypothesized, the number of science courses taken by high school students correlated significantly and inversely with total Paranormal Scale scores, Traditional Religious Belief scores, and Psi Belief scores. Also as hypothesized, Traditional Religious Belief scores were significantly and directly associated with grade point average ( r = .21). Further as hypothesized, high school students in the most accelerated academic track showed significantly less belief on Superstition than students in other tracks.

The psychological aftermath for some Vietnam veterans is severe and lasting. A discussion of the war, along with implications for counseling, are delineated.

This article attempts to define and to describe those clients who “drop out” of counseling prematurely. Recommendations for dealing with the dropout are also discussed.

In this article the author reviews some of the literature on counselor profanity and provides guidelines for its use in counseling.

Vocational behaviors such as occupational decision making are a prolonged developmental process, beginning at least as early as the elementary school grades. This article describes first the general characteristics of the middle school youngster, followed by pragmatic activities and strategies for counselors to use at this level.