An Examination of the Relationship Between Career Thoughts and Communication Apprehension

This study examined relationships among dysfunctional career thoughts and levels of communication apprehension. Undergraduate students, 88 women and 87 men, completed the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI; J. P. Sampson, G. W. Peterson, J. G. Lenz, R. C. Reardon, & D. E. Saunders, 1996) and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24; J. C. McCroskey, 1984b). Analysis of correlation coefficients found significant mild-ro-moderate correlations among scales of the CTI and the PRCA-24. The results indicated that individuals with average and high levels of communication apprehension had greater decision-making confusion, commitment anxiety, and external conflict than persons with low levels of communication apprehension. Implications for counseling and further research are discussed in light of these results. Counselors make inferences about persons' readiness for career assistance by listening to them talk about their thoughts or by examining their self-report responses to tests and inventories. Communication is an essential element of counseling; in fact, the ability to put feelings into words may reduce emotional distress (Eisenberger, Lieberman, & Williams, 2003). However, communication behavior per se is seldom examined in the counseling literature. Our inspection of the contents of the Journal of Counseling Psychology, the Journal of Counseling & Development, and The Career Development Quarterly published during the past 20 years revealed one study examining this topic (Swagler & Ellis, 2003). We sought to address this limitation in the literature by conducting a study examining the idea that persons who have good selfknowledge and can communicate effectively might have fewer negative career thoughts impeding their decision making. The mental processes involved in career decision making are explained in cognitive information processing (CIP) theory (Peterson, Sampson, Lenz, & Reardon, 2002). According to CIP theory, emotions (affect) and thoughts (cognition) are inseparable from career choices, including options about fields of study, occupations, and/or jobs. As persons think through their career decisions, their emotions can motivate them to make and follow through on choices or cause them not to act at all. CIP theory focuses on career problem-solving and decision-making skills (Peterson et al., 2002). The model comprises four domains, which are represented by a pyramid. The foundation of the pyramid symbolizes the knowledge domains, which include self-knowledge and occupational knowledge. The middle level of the CIP pyramid represents the decisionmalting skills domain, which includes generic information-processing skills essential in gathering and using information to solve problems and make decisions. These skills include five phases for receiving external or internal signals of a gap between one's current and desired situation (communication), interrelating problem components (analysis), generating alternatives (synthesis), prioritizing options or alternatives (valuing), and forming an action plan to close the gap (execution) - the CASVE cycle. At the top of the pyramid is the executive processing domain, which relates to metacognitions (e.g., self- talk, self-awareness, and control and monitoring) that govern the choosing and sequencing of cognitive strategies used to make career decisions. The communication phase in the CASVE cycle is of special relevance in this study. In this phase, information is received by the sense organs and interpreted in the cerebral cortex, which signals that a problem exists. The signal may stem from external demands (e.g., choice of college major, the need for employment) or from internal states, such as anxiety, depression, confusion, avoidant behavior, or physiological stress reactions. One then queries oneself and the environment to identify the gap between the existing state of indecision and a desired state of decidedness, which serves to frame the problem. …