The Exploration of Role Induction as a Potential Method for Improving Men's Perceptions of Career Counseling

The authors explored the influence of role induction on men's perceptions of career counseling and attitudes toward seeking professional help. Two separate role inductions were presented to 268 male college students; the first discussed holistic career counseling, and the second integrated a discussion of male gender role socialization. Results demonstrated that participants who viewed the holistic role induction reported greater valuing of career counseling when compared with a control group. However, results indicated no difference in perceptions of career counseling between a holistic career counseling role induction and one that included socialized male perceptions of counseling. Work plays a central role in the life of men. Men have been socialized from childhood to connect their sense of self with work, often to the point that one's identity is found through work (Heppner 6c Heppner, 2001). A central component to the "code of masculinity'' Pollack & Levant, 1998, p. 1) is the importance of a man's career. Career decisions and choices influence how men find meaning in their lives, including the creation of a selEidenuty (Heppner & Heppner, 2001) and the establishment of self-worth (KeUy & Hall, 1992). Although work is socialized to be a vital component in men's lives, researchers have not fully explored the provision of gender-sensitive career counseling services to men (e.g., Fouad & Kantarnneni, 2008). Previous work in these areas has associated traditional male gender roles with educational and career choices (e.g., Jome & Tokar, 1998) as well as career self-efficacy (e.g., Betz, 2008). However, to date, only Rochlen and O'Brien 2002 ) have investigated whether men consider using career counseling as a service for focusing on career or academic concerns rather than on personal issues. Furthermore, they demonstrated that men preferred a directive style of career counseling over a contextual approach. This finding presents career counselors with an interesting dilemma; vocational psychologists have argued that clients seeking career counseling are more satisfied when it is conducted from a holistic perspective (Swanson, 2002), yet research has indicated that men prefera more directive style of career counseling that often focuses solely on the presenting concern (Rochlen & O' Brien, 2002). Men also perceive more stigma (Rochlen, Mohr, & Hargrove, 1999) and have more negative attitudes related to seeking career counseling when compared with women (Fischer & Farina, 1995). The pervasiveness of this problem has led researchers to recommend that Counselors present counseling services in alternative formats to increase men's engagement in the therapeutic process (Kiselica, 2001; Wester, 2008). However, the limited research on the potential efficacy of using alternative practices has been mixed. Rochlen, Blazina, and Raghunathan (2002), for example, found that using a career counseling brochure explaining the career counseling process to potential male clients increased their valuing of career counseling and decreased their stigma toward seeking career counseling, whereas a more gender-specific brochure that addressed male gender role stereotypes was not more effective than a gender neutral brochure. However, a significant concern fies in the impersonal nature of this approach because potential clients may not be actively engaged in the counseling process via a brochure. Furthermore, brochures are unlikely to generate the cognitive effort required to centrally produce attitude change (e.g., Elaboration Likelihood Model; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). A more appropriate method, therefore, might be one that engages active cognition via the offering of more personalized information regarding what one might expect in career counseling services (Addis & Mahalik, 2003; Wester & Lyubelsky, 2005). Role induction is a specific method that may be helpful in accomplishing these goals (Connors, Walitzer, & Dcrmen, 2002; Whitaker, Phillips, & Tokar, 2004). …