Internal and External Barriers, Cognitive Style, and the Career Development Variables of Focus and Indecision:

One hundred and thirty final year high school students were administered scales tapping optimism/pessimism, self-esteem, external career barriers, career decision-making selfefficacy, career focus and career indecision. It was hypothesised, first, that cognitive style (optimism/pessimism) would predict both internal (self-esteem) and external career-related barriers, second, that internal barriers would interact with external barriers and impact on career decision-making self-efficacy, and third, the previously mentioned variables would subsequently predict career focus and career indecision. Results demonstrated that cognitive style was influential in determining the perception of internal barriers (for females and males) and external barriers (females only). Internal and external barriers, along with optimistic/pessimistic cognitive style, were found to predict career decision-making selfefficacy (in males, but not in females). There was no evidence that internal and external barriers interacted to predict career decision-making self-efficacy. Last, it was found that career decision-making self-efficacy, internal and external barriers, and optimistic/pessimistic cognitive style were able to predict career focus (males and females) and career indecision (males only). Results are discussed in the context of Carver and Scheier’s (1981) control theory. Career barriers have been described as any factors that thwart the achievement of career goals (Crites, 1969). They have typically been viewed as either internal to the person, such as lack of confidence or low motivation, external to the person, such as lack of access to education and poverty, or both. Crites (1969) saw barriers as either internal conflicts or external frustrations that might impede career development. O’Leary (1974) hypothesised six types of internal barriers and four types of external barriers specific to women’s career development. Farmer (1976) suggested six internal (self-concept) and three external (or environmental) barriers, while Harmon (1977) proposed examining barriers from both a psychological and a sociological perspective. More recently, Swanson and Tokar (1991a) argued that attitudinal (internal), social/interpersonal (external), and interactional barriers (between internal and external) should be considered. Studies have consistently found that students perceive a range of career barriers, such as ethnic and gender discrimination, financial problems, family attitudes, perceived lack of ability and lack of educational opportunities (Luzzo, 1993, 1995; McWhirter, 1997; Swanson, Daniels, & Tokar, 1996; Swanson & Tokar, 1991a, 1991b). Gender (McWhirter, 1997; Swanson & Tokar, 1991a, 1991b), cross-ethnic (Luzzo, 1993) and cross-cultural (Patton, Creed, & Watson, 2002) differences in perceptions of career barriers have also been identified. However, while career barriers have been examined empirically, and have been acknowledged in career development theories (e.g., Crites, 1969), they have been discussed primarily in the context of women’s career development and have not constituted an integral component of mainstream career theories (Luzzo, 1996). It has been argued that Gottfredson’s (1981) developmental theory of occupational aspirations provides one of the more fruitful frameworks from which to examine career-related barriers (Luzzo). There are two salient points from this theory concerning career barriers. First, Gottfredson suggested that when individuals identify and confront their career-related barriers this would lead them to compromise their vocational goals. Luzzo has also suggested that as barriers are recognised, confidence may be affected, and other career-related variables might also be compromised. Second, Gottfredson’s theory suggests that it is the interaction between the internal barriers (self-concept) and external barriers (perceived accessibility) that directly influences career-related variables. In relation to this point, Luzzo (1995, 1996) and others (Swanson & Tokar, 1991a, 1991b) have suggested that the perception of career-related barriers need not necessarily be viewed as negative for the individual, and that some individuals may view barriers as challenging rather than defeating. One internal person-related variable that is likely to influence whether the individual perceives a barrier as being challenging or defeating is their cognitive style. A useful cognitive style to examine in this context is optimism/pessimism, which is a generalised tendency to expect positive outcomes (Scheier & Carver, 1993). A small number of studies has investigated optimism in the career area (Creed, Patton, & Bartrum, 2002; Patton, Bartrum, & Creed, 2002; Petrone, 2000; Powell & Luzzo, 1998). Creed, Patton and Bartrum (2002), for example, found that students who endorsed higher levels of optimism showed greater career planning and exploration, were more decided about their career and had more career goals, while those high in pessimism reported less career knowledge, were more indecisive and achieved more poorly academically. The findings from these studies suggest that optimism and pessimism might play a functional role in the development of career-related variables. Lazarus (1991) has referred to optimism/pessimism as an appraisal style as it can influence the way an individual perceives, feels and copes with a situation. For example, an optimistic individual is more likely to view external barriers, such as financial demands, as challenging rather than threatening to their achievement of vocational goals. This highlights the importance of personal dispositions as a cognitive style that can influence career motivation (e.g., career expectations and goals) and future career-related behaviours. Numerous studies have identified significant associations between career development and cognitive styles in general, such as attributional style and locus of control (e.g., Luzzo & Jenkins-Smith, 1998; Powell & Luzzo, 1998), which suggest that cognitive style is a salient factor affecting the career development process. Based on this literature review, the current study aims to investigate the constructs of cognitive style (optimism/pessimism), internal barriers (operationalised in this study as selfesteem), external barriers, career decision-making self-efficacy, career focus and career indecision. Specifically, it is predicted that optimism/pessimism will influence the perception of internal and external barriers, and that internal and external barriers will interact and impact on career-related confidence and subsequently affect career focus and career indecision.