Content-Type: text/html Career Counseling/TOPB Higher education in the United States has become a more than $165 billion industry. There are approximately 13 million undergraduate students enrolled in more than 3,600 colleges and universities across the country, and enrollment is expected to increase to 16 million by the year 2002 (Simpson & Frost, 1993; Karabell, 1998; Kruckeberg, 1995). This figure may be a conservative one, when current events such as Clinton's higher education initiative are taken into account. In 1997, Clinton pledged "to make the thirteenth and fourteenth years of education -- at least two years of college -- just as universal in America by the twenty-first century as a high school education is today" (Haworth, 1997). Increasingly, college is being seen as an American birthright, and students are responding to the call (Karabell, 1998; Matthews, 1997; Sacks, 1996). College is seen more as an assumption than a choice, and because of this, today's students are arguably different than students of past gener ations (Ringer, 1999; Matthews, 1997; Sacks, 1996). What remains the same, however, is their need to figure out a plan -- an academic plan for their college years and a career plan for their futures. Yet many students resist planning for the futures, and university career counseling centers sit underutilized across the country. Research has shown that there is a direct correlation between student satisfaction with their college experience and having a career plan while enrolled (Tan, 1992). Research has also shown that students, who seek career counseling help when they need it, feel more empowered and prepared (Crockett & Crawford, 1989). However, many students do not take advantage of what career counselors offer, for a myriad of reasons (Gordon, 1984). Therefore, it can be proposed that it is in part up to educators, career counselors and the public relations practitioners who work for university career counseling centers to convince and encourage students to seek career counseling help when they need it. The question is, however, how can this most effectively be done, as budgetary and time concerns loom large on most campuses. In an effort to increase the base of knowledge that educators are armed with, this study tested the usefulness of the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985), an expectancy-value model, as a predictive model clarifying what factors impact a student's decision to seek career counseling. The TOPB uses the variables of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control to predict behavioral intention, and in turn, behavioral intention is used as direct predictor of behavior. Once it is determined which of these variables affect students, mass media campaigns can be developed for maximum effectiveness. The TOPB suggests that people will behave as they intend to behave, as long as the behavior will allow them to obtain favorable outcomes and the behavior meets the expectations of others who are important to them. Because it is generally thought that the process of selecting a career is one that ends with a favorable outcome, and that both parents and peers weigh heavily in the way young adults make decisions, it is thought that applying the question of why student seek or do not seek career counseling to the TOPB may allow educators to make more accurate predictions of student career counseling behavior. Career Counseling/TOPB Literature Review Indecision about selecting a career is detrimental to both students and institutions of higher education (for example, Chase and Keene, 1981; Gordon, 1984). Often, the discussion of the problem -- or problems, as the case may be -- includes the impact and effect of career guidance and career counseling. Isaacson and Brown (1993) cite the following statistics: Only approximately 60 percent of college graduates report being in their present career as a result of following a conscious plan. Of those adults who either did not finish college or attended a two-year institution, about 43 percent followed a conscious plan into their current careers. Approximately 15 to 20 percent of those who attended some form of post-secondary education had never used any occupational information. Nearly 60 percent of college graduates would try to get more information about careers if they could start over, and only about 55 percent of those who graduated from college or received some college training feel that their skills are being well used in their current jobs. Additionally, Johnston and Packer (1987) propose that while it is expected that the number of jobs requiring a college degree will increase in the next few years, there will be increasing unemployment and underemployment among college graduates because of an oversupply and because of a mismatch between the education received by graduates and the demands of the work force. Career guidance and counseling can help to improve these statistics. Shertzer and Stone (1980) define guidance in this way: As an education construct, [guidance] refers to the provision of experiences that help pupils to understand themselves; and as a program, it refers to procedures and processes organized to achieve certain educational and personal goals. . .Guidance is the process of helping individuals to understand themselves and their world. (p.12) In order to make a career choice, a student must go through a decision-making process. According to Pietrofesa and Splete (1975), this decision-making process occurs throughout one's career development and is affected by several factors, primarily understanding the process, self-knowledge, occupational knowledge, experience, and vocational maturity. Of these aspects, all can be affected in a positive way by career counseling. Often the first obstacle to overcome, "understanding the process," can be the most difficult. Pietrofesa and Splete (1975) note that "many people are unable or unwilling to involve themselves in making decisions because they do not wish to take the risk involved. They are unable to see that making a choice can be within their control and that it can be a learning experience that is beneficial rather than constricting or harmful" (p.104). Counselors can help the student learn about him- or herself and about different occupational opportunities. Good counselors have been trained professionally and should be able to provide both information and empathy to the undecided student. However, no matter how well trained the counselors may be, students often have to make the first contact. They must be willing and able to take the steps to contact the counselor and take the time to meet them. Statistics show that many students are not partaking of available resources. For example, the University of Florida's Career Resource Center Annual Report 1997-1998 stated that only 4,238 students of the more than 40,000 students enrolled at UF received individual counseling. Another 12,439 students attended career workshops, classroom presentations, student organization presentations, and/or special events. However, it is not known if these are the same students who participated in the events over and over or if all are different students entirely. Even assuming they are different students, the percentage of the overall student population who took an active role in seeking out information and used these resources still is only approximately 32 percent. It is reported that approximately 45 percent of the students who visited career resource counselors are undecided about their majors, and an additional 15 to 20 percent who reported having recently changed their majors came in to use the library facilities or attend a career workshop. Without proper guidance and support, students may fail to achieve their potential, and the ramifications of this "failure" affect more than the individual student. Families, peers, teachers, and entire universities are all affected by this process. With this in mind, educators spend considerable time encouraging students to seek career counseling. But there is a large degree of uncertainty. Do students seek career counseling when they need it? Why do they choose not to go when they need it? What makes a student take that extra step and seek help? Can we predict whether they are likely to go or not, and therefore, can we recognize which students need extra and different measures to help them take a more active role in their educational and career decision-making processes? And, most important to this study, when we know the answers to these questions, can educators and public relations practitioners develop effective mass communication campaigns that encourage students to seek career advising? A Theory of Reasoned Action Since the early 1900s, when researchers began investigating the relationship between attitudes and behaviors, a number of theories have been proposed to give a framework that would help provide both correlation and predictive information. One such theory, the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein, 1967; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), proposed that an individual's behavior is immediately determined by the intention to behave in a certain way, and that this intention is, in turn, influenced by that individual's attitude toward the behavior and the individual's perception of the social pressure put on him or her to perform the behavior (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1980) (See Figure 1). Intentions represent a person's motivation to follow a conscious plan to try to perform a certain behavior. The stronger an individual's intentions, the more the individual is expected to try, and thus the greater likelihood that the behavior actually will be performed. For example, if a student says that he or she is v ery motivated to seek career help from a counselor, then it is thought that he or she will attempt to make the appropriate arrangements (ie. an appointment) to see the counselor. In general, the attitude toward performing the behavior is assessed using a traditional measure of attitude (such as the semantic differential). The perception of social pressure, otherwise known as the subjective norm, is assessed through items that ask if important others (called referents) think a particular behavior should be performed (Fishbein & Stasson, 1990). The attitude toward performing the behavior and the perception of subjective norms can be predicted from behavioral beliefs, evaluations, normative beliefs, and motivations to comply (see Figure 1). As defined by Fishbein and Stasson (1990), behavioral beliefs refer to the perceived likelihood that the behavior will lead to certain outcomes; evaluations refer to the extent to which these outcomes are judged to be positive or negative; normative beliefs consist of the likelihood that a particular referent thinks one should or should not perform the behavior in question; and motivations to comply refer to the extent to which one wants to comply with the referent in question. Therefore, to obtain an estimate of attitude, belief strength is multiplied by outcome evaluation and the resulting products are summed across all salient beliefs. (p. 174) Subjective norms are calculated by multiplying the strength of each normative belief with the person's motivation to comply with the referent in question, and then summing the resulting products across all salient referents (Ajzen & Madden, 1986) (see Figure 1). FIGURE 1 ABOUT HERE Fishbein and Ajzen (1975; 1980) propose that other variables that had been suggested in the past to contribute to behavior, such as age, educational level, past behavior, and sex, are external to the model and are assumed to influence intentions to the extent that they affect either attitudes or subjective norms. They state, "the theory's validity depends not on support for hypotheses concerning the effects of external variables but on empirical support for the relationships put forth in the model" (Fishbein & Azjen, 1980, p.9) Specifically, they are referring to the relationships between attitude toward the behavior and subjective norms, the relative importance of attitudinal and normative considerations, intention, and behavior. Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action The application of the theory of reasoned action (TORA) to a wide variety of behavioral outcomes has met with considerable success. Dozens of studies have been conducted over the past 20 years, in both experimental and naturalistic settings, examining both the correlations between the variables in the model and its ability to explain behaviors, as well as the predictive value of the model's application to certain behaviors. For example, TORA has been applied to weight loss (Sejwacz, Ajzen, & Fishbein, 1980), family planning behaviors (Fishbein, Jaccard, Davidson, Ajzen, & Loken, 1980a; Vinokur-Kaplan, 1978), reinlisting in the military (Shtilerman, 1982), smoking marijuana (Ajzen, Timko, & White, 1982), voting behavior (Fishbein, Ajzen, & Hinkle, 1980), having an abortion (Smetana & Adler, 1980), attendance at an employee training session (Fishbein & Stasson, 1990), and changing the behavior of alcoholics (Fishbein, Ajzen, & McArdle, 1980). In educational contexts, TORA has been u sed successfully to explain and predict student intentions to study science or enroll in science courses (Stead, 1985; Koballa, 1988; Norman & Tedeschi), and elementary school teachers' intentions to teach science using hands-on activities (Koballa, 1986). Three studies have applied TORA to career decision-making processes with success. Sperber, Fishbein, & Azjen (1980) conducted a study investigating the factors underlying women's occupational choices, specifically whether they desired and planned to be homemakers or to work professionally outside the home. Their sample consisted of 111 high school women, and each student was given a carefully formulated questionnaire designed to determine what variables would predict a woman's decision to become a homemaker or to pursue a career outside the home. The results supported the hypothesis that the intentions of these women to pursue either lifestyle depended on the difference between their desires to attain each of the lifestyles. The stronger their intention to pursue one of the lifestyles, the more likely they were to select that lifestyle when given a choice. The intentions were found to be predicted by attitudes and subjective norms. Interestingly, the researchers point out that thi s study is a good example of how external variables are unnecessary for prediction and explanation of women's career choice when using TORA. Specifically, their results are inconsistent with the commonly held belief that personalities, interests, and needs will affect a woman's career choice (when deciding between homemaking and a career outside the home). Whereas conventional explanations say that a career-oriented woman will value different things in life than a homemaking-oriented woman, the researchers found no difference in the evaluations of what mattered to them in terms of lifestyle. Simply, some women believed that homemaking would make them happier and more fulfilled, and others believed that a career would provide the same satisfaction. These personality traits and interests filter into the woman's belief system and therefore, are taken into account when measuring attitudes and subjective norms. In a similar study, Vincent, Peplau, and Hill (1998) examined young women's career intentions using the TORA framework, but in a longitudinal study. Fishbein and Ajzen (1980) stated that in order for the TORA to predict behavior with the most success, intention must be measured close in time to the actual behavior; for example, asking students what is the likelihood of attending a certain class in the next week or month. They have argued that if the measure of intention and the actual behavior span a long time period, intentions may change and therefore be less predictive of behavior (see Randall & Wolff, 1994, for a meta-analytic review of this issue). However, Vincent, Peplau, and Hill desired to test the TORA using what they called "stable intentions." Specifically, the researchers examined the influences on women's career orientations and the association between career orientation and career behavior 14 years later. The subjects were women who had attended college or graduate school in 1973 and had participated in the Boston Couples Study, another longitudinal investigation (Rubin, Peplau, & Hill, 1979). Data was gathered from 105 women in 1987 to determine if their stated intentions regarding career choice had, indeed, resulted in the stated career behavior. The researchers found that their test of the TORA was generally successful. The women's career orientations while in college directly predicted career behavior 14 years later. They also found marginal correlations between gender-role attitudes and the career orientation and significant positive correlations between the influence of "important others" and their own career preferences. For example, in this sample, young women's perceptions of their boyfriends' preferences for combining marriage and career were directly related to their own preferences, as were the women 's perceptions of their parents' attitudes toward careers. In conclusion, the researchers note, "it is clear that women's career intentions in early adulthood significantly predict their career behavior many years later. The college years may represent a critical time in which women formulate their career-related intentions" (p. 774-775). A Shift From Reasoned Action to Planned Behavior Despite the widespread application of the TORA, there were criticisms. The primary issue regarding TORA that met with considerable discussion was that of volitional versus non-volitional behavior. Liska (1984) asserted that while the TORA may be adequate for behaviors under complete volitional control, which is defined as "behavior that does not require skills, abilities, opportunities, and the cooperation of others" (p. 63), social scientists are primarily concerned with behavior that is not under complete volitional control. He states, most behavior is not volitional or nonvolitional, but ranges from behavior which requires little skill and social cooperation (e.g., waving an arm) to behavior which requires considerable skill (e.g., playing the violin) considerable social cooperation (e.g., sexual intercourse) or both considerable skill and cooperation (e.g., playing chess). Indeed, most behavior of interest seems to require social others. (p. 63) In response to this and other criticisms of the TORA, Ajzen (1985) proposed an extension of the model, the theory of planned behavior (TOPB). This model adds to the TORA the variable of perceived behavioral control, which is defined as one's perception of how easy or difficult it is to perform the behavior (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). Ajzen (1985) states, "the success of an attempt to execute the behavioral plan depends not only on the effort invested, but also on the person's control of other factors, such as requisite information, skills, and abilities, including possession of a workable plan, willpower, presence of mind, time, opportunity, and so forth" (p. 36). Therefore, the addition of perceived behavioral control should add to the predictive ability of the model. The more resources and opportunities individuals believe they possess, the greater their control will be over their behavior; in other words, they have confidence in their abilities to perform the behavior. For example , if a student desires to get information about careers from a guidance counselor and feels he or she has much control over this behavior (ie. living within walking distance of the counselor, the services being free of charge, the ease of getting an appointment) he or she is more likely to actually see the counselor. Perceived behavioral control is added to the model as an exogenous variable that has both a direct effect on behavior and an indirect effect on behavior through behavioral intentions. The direct path from perceived behavioral control to behaviors is thought to reflect the actual control a person has over performing the behavior (Madden, Ellen, & Ajzen, 1992) (see Figure 2). Applications of the Theory of Planned Behavior Like the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned behavior's explanatory and predictive abilities have been tested on numerous occasions. Studies by Ajzen and Madden (1986) and Schifter and Ajzen (1985) were the first to test the theory of planned behavior. The studies involved the behaviors of class attendance and weight loss, respectively. In both cases, the addition of perceived behavioral control was a significant predictor of intention as well as of behavioral achievement, and the addition of perceived behavioral control improved the predictive ability of the TORA. In other words, the TOPB was found to be a better model in that it explained more of the variance in behavioral intention and behavioral achievement than did the TORA. In the Ajzen and Madden (1986) study, the researchers set about to compare the TORA and the TOPB with two similar experiments dealing with college students and academics. In the first study, the researchers were interested in the behavior of class attendance, which was thought to be perceived by the students as under almost complete volitional control; thus the TORA was thought to be the better explanatory model. In the second study, the researchers were interested in the behavior of getting an "A" in a course, which was thought to be perceived by the students as not under complete volitional control; thus the TOPB would be the better explanatory model. However, contrary to expectations, the TOPB, with its addition of perceived behavioral control, was found to be the better explanatory model in both experiments. Ajzen and Madden (1986) propose that no matter the degree of perceived behavioral control, the more or less the behavioral goal is perceived to be under volitional control , the intention to try to achieve the behavior will be directly proportional. In other words, the more control the person perceives he or she has over a certain behavior, the more that person will try to achieve the behavior. Therefore, the researchers conclude that by adding the measure of perceived behavioral control, the prediction of behavior, or goal attainment, will be improved. Schifter and Ajzen (1985) examined the interaction between weight loss intentions and perceived behavioral control over body weight. In this study, the researchers predicted that the addition of perceived behavioral control would improve the predictability of the TORA model, as weight loss is often an issue not entirely under volitional control. Physiological factors or other issues can prevent intentions to lose weight from becoming actual weight loss. Important to remember is that in this study weight loss is not actually a behavior, but an outcome. The subjects were 83 college women who considered themselves overweight, and the two-stage experiment took place over a period of six weeks. The results showed that perceived behavioral control significantly increased the predictive ability of the model, with high perceived behavioral control corresponding with both higher intentions to lose weight and greater actual weight loss. The TOPB went on to be tested by numerous different researchers, who applied the model in an attempt to explain or predict a variety of behaviors. In meta-analyses of the applications of both the TORA and the TOPB to exercise behavior, Hausenblas, Carron, and Mack (1997) and Godin and Kok (1996) found that the addition of perceived behavioral control significantly contributed to the predictive and explanatory ability of the model in almost every study analyzed. Specifically, the researchers found that the effect size for the relationships between (1) intention and exercise behavior,(2) perceived behavioral control and intention, (3) attitude and intention, (4) attitude and exercise behavior, and (5) perceived behavioral control and exercise behavior was large for each of the studies they looked at. The relationship between subjective norm and both intention and exercise behavior was not as strong. In another meta-analysis, Sutton (1998) showed that both the TORA and the TOPB explain, on average, between 40 percent and 50 percent of the variance in intention and between 19 percent and 38 percent of the variance in behavior. While these numbers may not seem so impressive, when these variances are compared with typical effect sizes in other social science models, the percentages show that the model predicts well. In addition, as these are averages, some researchers may have used better survey instruments than others or defined their variables differently so as to achieve less than accurate results (Sutton, 1998). The TOPB has been applied to many other health-related behaviors with success; for example, smoking behavior (Hu & Lanese, 1998; Boissonneault & Godin, 1990; DeVreies & Backbier, 1994; Godin, Valois, Lapage, & Desharnais, 1992;), alcohol abuse (Schlegel, D'Avernas, Sanna, De Courville, & Manske, 1992), driving behaviors (Parker, Manstead, Stradling, Reason, & Baxter, 1992; Parker, Manstead, and Stradling, 1995; Richard, DeDobbeleer, Champagne, & Potvin, 1994), clinical and screening behavior (Baumann, Brown, Fontana, & Cameron, 1993; DeVellis, Blalock, & Sandler, 1990; Godin, 1992; McCaul, O'Neill, and Glasgow; 1988), eating behavior (Beale & Manstead, 1991; Sparks & Shepherd, 1992), HIV/AIDS-related behavior (Basen-Engquist & Parcel, 1992; Lavoie & Godin, 1991; Terry, 1993; Schaalma, Kok & Peters, 1993), and oral hygiene behavior (McCaul, O'Neill, & Glasgow, 1988; McCaul, Sandgren, O'Neill, & Hinsz, 1993; Tedesco, Keffler, & Fleck-Kandath, 1991). In addition, other behaviors have been studied using the TOPB, and the model has shown a good capacity to explain and predict, such as leisure behavior (Ajzen & Driver, 1992), the intentions of science teachers to use investigative teaching methods (Crawley, 1990), playing video games, voting behaviors, and giving a gift (see Ajzen, 1991 for a review). Several studies have been conducted applying the TOPB to behaviors similar to those being looked at in this study; specifically enrollment in and attendance of a career counseling session. Crawley and Black (1990) conducted one such study. The researchers examined the utility of the TOPB for understanding and predicting physics course enrollment by high school students. The subjects in this study were 264 secondary high school students, and the researchers were primarily interested in the relationships between attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, and the intention to enroll in a physics course prior to graduation. It was found that perceived behavioral control and attitude were the most effective in explaining and predicting intention. Attitudes that the knowledge of physics does not matter in their future careers, as well as negative attitudes toward careers in science in general, were cited as factors contributing to non-enrollment intentions. Issues su ch as when the class was offered, prerequisites, fear of failure, and conflicts with other activities were all cited by the students as contributing to their lack of control in taking a physics course before graduation. In conclusion, it was suggested that the benefit to this information is that it provides a basis for formulating a persuasive message to change some of these attitudes and control beliefs, therefore potentially improving enrollment. In another application of TOPB to course enrollment, Randall (1994) looked at the power of the model to explain and predict why graduate business students did or did not enroll in a business ethics course. The subjects of the study were 178 business graduate students in Ireland, and they were surveyed about their intentions to sign up for an elective business class, with their behaviors measured two months later. Randall found that the best predictor of intention to enroll and actual enrollment was the attitude a student had toward taking the course in conjunction with how much control the student felt he or she had about taking the course. Caska (1998) conducted a study that examined the relationship between job search activities (job search behaviors) and college students' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. The subjects in the study were college students who were expecting to graduate within two months and who were actively participating in a job search for a full-time position. The researcher hypothesized that (a) perceived behavioral control would positively influence both behavioral intentions and each type of job search behavior; (b) a favorable job search attitude would promote behavioral intentions; (c) subjective norms would be positively associated with intention; and (d) intentions would directly promote job search behaviors. In this study, perceived behavioral control was measured as self-efficacy. Job search behaviors were measured on two levels: employer contact, which was measured by way of general job search activities (ie. sending resumes, filling out applications), and social networking. Appraised challenge and appraised threat as sociated with the job search was also measured, by indicating agreement to items such as, "I view looking for a job as a challenging, exciting experience," and "I feel threatened by the thought of having to find a job." All other variables were measured as set forth by Ajzen (1985). In general, support for the TOPB was found. As hypothesized, intentions directly predicted behavior and were explained by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Specifically, job search intentions were positively associated with job search attitudes and subjective norms. Perceived behavioral control predicted intentions and social networking behavior but did not predict employer contact behavior. Perceived behavioral control also was significantly related to appraised challenge. As Crawley and Black (1990) concluded, Caska (1998) notes that the results of this survey and questionnaire provide helpful information that could be used to create interventions that would promote job search efforts. Hypotheses After a thorough review of the literature and premises, hypotheses were developed. They are as follows: H1: The explanatory variables of behavioral beliefs, outcome evaluations, normative beliefs, and motivations to comply will predict attitudes toward and subjective norms about enrolling in a career counseling workshop. H2: Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control will predict behavioral intention to enroll in a career counseling workshop. H3: Attitudes and subjective norms will be the major predictors of the behavioral intention to enroll in a career counseling workshop. H4: Behavioral intention will predict the behavior of enrolling in a career counseling workshop. Research Question RQ1: What are students' attitudinal and normative beliefs about the outcomes of enrolling in a workshop at the career counseling center? Methodology This study was a correlation analysis was done to explore the relationships between the variables set forth in the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985), specifically attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, and behavior. Pilot Tests Prior to the main study, a pilot test was conducted. Students enrolled in an introductory public relations class were recruited to take the qualitative, in an effort to ascertain what the attitudinal and behavioral beliefs are about attending a career counseling workshop at the Career Resource Center. The qualitative pilot test consisted of five open-ended questions that asked students to provide information about their attitudes toward and normative beliefs about attending a career counseling workshop. Participants Participants in the main study were college students currently enrolled at the University of Florida who were enrolled in typical freshman core, general education courses. Students completed a pretest, which included a series of demographic questions and a series of 67 questions designed to measure the variables of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention. The demographic questions elicited information regarding gender, age, major, future career plans, year in school, parents' educational level and occupation, and whether or not they have ever visited the Career Counseling Center on campus or a similar center at another college or university. Ihe independent variables were attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Attitude was operationally defined as the attitudinal beliefs about the consequences of performing a particular behavior. In accordance with Fishbein and Ajzen's (1980) instructions, several measures combine to achieve an overall attitude score. In order to get a measure of "attitude toward the behavior of attending a career counseling workshop," both direct attitude measures were assessed using seven-point Likert-scale attitude questionnaire items (e.g. "My attending a career counseling workshop at the Career Resource Center in the next month is (useful - useless)"), as well as a combined measure, tabulated by summing the products of pairs of seven-point Likert-scale behavioral belief questionnaire items (e.g. "Attending a career counseling workshop will help me find a job or career (likely - unlikely)") and seven-point Likert-scale outcome evaluation questionnaire items (e.g. "Finding a job or career is (good - bad)"). (See Appendix B). Subjective norm was operationally defined as normative beliefs about what significant others think about the participant performing a particular behavior. In accordance with Fishbein and Ajzen's (1980) instructions, several measures combine to achieve an overall subjective norm score. In order to get a subjective norm measure, both direct subjective norm measures were assessed using a seven-point Likert-scale subjective norm questionnaire item (e.g. "Most people who are important to me think I should attend a career counseling workshop at the Career Resource Center in the next month. (likely -- unlikely)"), as well as a combined measure, tabulated by summing the products of pairs of seven-point Likert-scale normative belief questionnaire items (e.g. "My friends think I should attend a career counseling workshop at the Career Resource Center in the next month. (likely - unlikely)") and seven-point Likert-scale motivation to comply questionnaire items (e.g. "Generally speaking, I w ant to do what my friends think I should do. (true-untrue)"). The normative belief measures were created using the results of the first pilot test responses. On that pilot test students were asked to provide who were the people who might influence their decision to attend a career counseling workshop (see Appendix A). Perceived behavioral control was operationally defined as the beliefs about the control the individual feels he or she has over performing a particular behavior. In accordance with Ajzen's (1985) instructions, a direct measure using a seven-point Likert-scale was used to achieve a perceived behavioral control score. (e.g. "I have complete control over whether I attend a career counseling workshop in the next month. (true-untrue)"). Dependent variables For both parts of the study, the main dependent variable was behavioral intention. This variable was selected as the dependent variable as of primary interest in this study is how students actually behave. The TOPB states that behavioral intention directly predicts behavior. Therefore, the researcher was most interested in seeing how the messages would impact reported behavioral intentions following exposure to treatment. Behavioral intention was operationally defined as how likely or unlikely the participant is to perform a specific behavior, which in this study was attending a career counseling workshop. As with the other variables in the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985), a questionnaire item was used to achieve a behavioral control score (e.g. " I intend to attend a career counseling workshop at the Career Resource Center in the next month. (likely - unlikely)"). For one of the hypotheses, behavior was a dependent variable. Behavior was operationally defined as the actual attendance of a career counseling workshop. This measure was gathered at the Career Resource Center during the workshop itself. It was a categorical measure, either yes, the participant did attend the workshop, or no, the participant did not attend the workshop. Results Pilot Test Students enrolled in an introductory public relations class were recruited to take part in the first pilot test, a qualitative questionnaire designed to determine the students' salient beliefs about attending a career counseling workshop. The questionnaire consisted of five questions. Two questions asked about students' attitudinal beliefs about attending a career counseling workshop: "What do you believe are the advantages of your attending a career counseling workshop in the next month?" and "What do you believe are the disadvantages of your attending a career counseling workshop in the next month?" Two questions asked students for information about their beliefs about the outcomes of attending a career counseling workshop: "What positive outcomes do you associate with attending a career counseling workshop in the next month?" and "What negative outcomes do you associate with attending a career counseling workshop in the next month?" One question asked students for informati on about their normative beliefs: "Who are the people who might influence your decision to attend a career counseling workshop in the next month?" Ninety-eight students completed this questionnaire. Their responses were tabulated, and the most commonly mentioned beliefs were used to develop the measures that made up the main study's questionnaire. The detailed results of the questionnaire will be discussed in the primary analysis section (see Research Question). Main Study Study participants. Five hundred sixteen students participated in this part of the study by completing a questionnaire. Sixty-seven percent of the students who participated were female (n=345). The majority of students were freshman, 76%, (n=392). Seventeen percent were sophomores (n=88), 6 % were juniors (n=31), and 1% were seniors or others (n=5). Twenty students were younger than 18 (4 %), while the majority of students, 86 %, were 18-19 years old (n=446). Eight percent of the students were between the ages of 20 and 23 (n=44). One percent of the students were 24 years old or older (n=6). Forty-one percent of the students who participated reported being certain of their career choice (n=212); while the majority, 59 %, reported being uncertain of their career choice (n=304). Primary Analyses This section will discuss the results of the hypothesis tests and answer the research question: What are students' attitudinal and normative beliefs about the outcomes of enrolling in a workshop at the career counseling center? Correlation Study Hypotheses one, two, three and four, each of which served to test the Theory of Planned Behavior, were tested using linear regression. Hypothesis one stated that the explanatory variables of behavioral beliefs and outcome evaluations, which were thought to predict attitudes toward enrolling in a career counseling workshop, and normative beliefs and motivation to comply, which were thought to predict subjective norms about enrolling in a career counseling workshop. The regression analysis showed a significant and positive correlation between the weighted variables representing behavioral beliefs and outcome evaluations and the attitude index (r=.610, p<.0001). The regression analysis also showed a significant and positive correlation between the weighted variables representing normative beliefs and motivations to comply and general subjective norm variable (r=.602, p<.0001). Therefore it was concluded that these weighted variables were significant predictors of attitude and subject ive norms. Hypotheses two and three stated that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control would predict behavioral intention to enroll in a career counseling workshop, and that attitudes and subjective norms would be the major predictors of behavioral intention to enroll in a career counseling workshop. A regression analysis showed a significant and positive correlation between attitude and behavioral intention (r=.527, p<.0001), and a significant and positive correlation between subjective norm and behavioral intention (r=.341, p<.0001). The correlation between perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention was positive and significant, but much smaller (r=.132, p<.01). The three variables, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, then were entered into the model using stepwise regression analysis (see Table 1). The results showed that only attitude and subjective norms were significant predictors of behavioral intention (see Table 2). As students' attitudes toward attending a career counseling workshop increase, so do students' intentions actually to attend the workshop. As subjective norms are perceived to endorse attending a career counseling workshop, students' intentions actually to attend the workshop increase. TABLES 1 AND 2 ABOUT HERE Hypothesis four stated that behavioral intention would predict the behavior of enrolling in a career counseling workshop. Analysis showed a positive and significant correlation between behavioral intention and actual behavior (r=.278, p<.0001). As intention to attend a career counseling workshop increased, actual attendance at the workshop also increased (B=.278, t=3.568, p<.0001). From the results of these hypotheses tests, a path model showing the application of the Theory of Planned Behavior in regards to attending a career counseling workshop was developed (see Figure 3). FIGURE 3 ABOUT HERE Research Question The research question asked what were students' attitudinal and normative beliefs about the outcomes of enrolling in a career counseling workshop. To answer this question, the results of the qualitative pilot test were organized and tabulated. In addition, the means of the students' responses to the attitude, normative beliefs, and subjective norm measures on the main study questionnaire were compared. The qualitative test revealed that students have distinct and fairly uniform ideas about the advantages and disadvantages of attending a career counseling workshop. Among the most common advantages mentioned were that the student would obtain information about careers and majors (30 responses), that the workshop would help give the student a goal or direction (9 responses), that the workshop would give the student further information about careers he or she is already considering (7 responses), that the workshop would clarify questions about careers (6 responses), and that the workshop would help the student decide on a career (5 responses). Among the most common disadvantages mentioned were that the student might become confused (6 responses), that the workshop would be a waste of time (6 responses), that the workshop would take up too much of the students' time (5 responses), that the student might become overwhelmed by too much information (5 responses), that it might be too early in the students' college career to get career information (5 responses), and that the student might find out he or she was in the wrong major for the career he or she wants (4 responses). Similarly, the students reported clear and uniform positive and negative outcomes of attending a career counseling workshop. The most commonly mentioned positive outcomes were that the student would learn more about careers (18 responses), the student would become more knowledgeable (10 responses), that the student would get a direction (9 responses), that the student would learn specific techniques such as interviewing and resume building (7 responses), that the student would be helped with making a decision about the future (6 responses), that the student would get a job (5 responses), and that the student would meet people already in the field/professionals (5 responses). The most commonly mentioned negative outcomes of attending a career counseling workshop were that the workshop would be a waste of the students' time (7 responses), that the student might then not know what he or she wanted to do anymore (5 responses), that the student would become more confused or overwhelmed (5 responses), that the student might change his or her mind (5 responses), that the student might discover he or she was not qualified for any job (4 responses), and that the student might feel more pressure (4 responses). Students were also asked to report who might influence their decision to attending a career counseling workshop. The most commonly mentioned individuals were teachers (41 responses), friends (34 responses), parents (17 responses), academic advisers (8 responses), other family members, such as sisters and brothers (7 responses), and boyfriends/girlfriends (7 responses). It was also of interest to explore how the measures of behavioral beliefs, attitudes, normative beliefs, and subjective norms were evaluated by the students. To do this, means and standard deviations were tabulated for each of the measures. Of the individual attitude measures, the means show that the students evaluated each of the attitude measures on the "positive" side of the scale. For example, students reported feeling that attending a career counseling workshop would be informative (M=2.54), useful (M=2.59), wise (M=2.65), and beneficial (M=2.66). The overall attitude index measure mean was 2.91. Of the individual behavioral beliefs measures, the means yielded some interesting results. Students reported that they thought it was quite likely that a career counseling workshop would help him or her get accurate information about internships (M=2.15) and jobs and/or careers (M=2.23). Students did not feel that attending a career workshop would make him or her more confused (M=4.61), overwhelmed (M=4.42), bored (M=4.03), or more pressured (M=4.42). In addition, students reported feeling that it was slightly likely that attending a career counseling workshop would inspire them (M=3.39), would help them find a job or career (M=3.05), would help them focus (M=3.09), would prepare them for the job search (M=2.72), would help them make an informed decision about their career choice (M=2.86), and would help put them on the right track for their future career (M=2.89). The means of students' evaluations of their normative beliefs showed that parents were perceived to be most likely to think that the student should attend a career counseling workshop (M=3.79), followed by academic advisers (M=3.95). Friends were perceived to be most least likely to think that the student should attend a career counseling workshop (M=4.45), followed by boyfriends or girlfriends (M=4.37). The overall subjective norm mean was 4.27 (see Table 3). Discussion Usefulness of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Career Counseling Attendance Hypothesis one through four predicted that the variables set forth in the TOPB could be effectively applied to the behavior of attending a career counseling workshop. The results showed that while attitude and subjective norms were found to be significant predictors of behavioral intention, the data in this study do not support the addition of perceived behavioral control to the model. In addition, behavioral intention was found to be predictive of behavior, but not as strongly as was expected. Unlike many of the previous tests of the TOPB which have found very strong correlations between behavioral intention and behavior, there was only a moderate correlation in this study (r=.278). Comparison of the Importance of Attitudes, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Behavioral Control While it was believed that each of the three main variables would be significant, and strong predictors of behavioral intentions, this was not the case. Students reported being completely in control of whether or not they attended a career counseling workshop in the next month. They did not indicate that there were any mitigating factors or people controlling or influencing their decisions and ability to attend the workshops. When the variable of perceived behavioral control was entered into the TOPB model, it did not increase the predictive ability of the model. In addition, there was no significant path between perceived behavioral control and behavior, as other TOPB studies have shown. It was concluded that students perceived attendance at a career counseling workshop to be a completely, or virtually completely, volitional behavior. However, feeling that they were in complete control over attending did not mean that they intended to attend the workshops. In other words, just because it was perceived as being easy to attend didn't mean that they would. Judging from the results of the regression analysis, attitudes were by far the most powerful predictor of whether the student would attend the workshop, with subjective norms adding only slightly to the equation. The fact that subjective norms played such a minor role in predictive ability of the model was surprising. Much research has concluded that those people close to a young adult have a great impact on their behaviors, and the TOPB and TORA have been tested on numerous occasions and found a strong relationship between subjective norms and intention. However, the results of this study indicate that these subjects were not that influenced by their perceptions of whether or not those close to them thought they should attend a career counseling workshop. These results run contrary to what Crawley and Black (1990) found in their study of the intentions to enroll in a high school physics course. In this study, the researchers found that both attitude and subjective norms were strong predictors and that the addition of the variable of perceived behavioral control increased the predictive ability of the model. Students cited several mitigating reasons why they might not have control over enrollment. These reasons included when the class was offered, conflicts with other activities, and fear of failure. However, other researchers have found similar results. For example, Caska (1998) conducted a study that examined the relationship between job search behaviors and the variables in the TOPB. She broke down her behavior variable into two measures: one that measured social networking behavior, and another that measured employer contact (ie. sending resumes, filling out applications). Both attitude and subjective norms were strongly correlated with behavioral intentions. However, perceived behavioral control was found to predict social networking behaviors but not employer contact. She concluded that the reason for this might stem from a misperception of how easy or difficult it might be actually to make employer contacts, and that external factors that are out of the job-seekers' control were not considered (eg., actual job openings, actually getting the interview). In other words, while both behaviors were non-volitional, the students' perceived control over social behaviors was mo re closely aligned with actual control, and vice versa for employer contacts. In light of these studies and others that produced similar results, several explanations can be offered for perceived behavioral control not being predictive. First, in contrast to the Crawley and Black (1990) study, many of the issues the students cited as potentially keeping them from enrolling in the science class seem not to be applicable here. For example, it is possible that the workshops were offered at varied enough times as to not be a huge scheduling conflict, and/or the workshops were seen as only a "one-shot deal" so there would be no real problem to make time for it. Another factor the high school students raised that does not apply in this specific career counseling setting that is there are no prerequisites for them to accomplish before attending, nor do the students need to prepare anything to attend the workshops. In addition, while it is quite possible that a student might not have an aptitude in science and could fail a physics course, it is impossible to "fa il" a career counseling workshop. When compared, it can easily be argued that enrollment in a course and enrollment in a career counseling workshop are two completely different situations in regard to perceived behavioral control, and thus could account for the difference in results between Crawley and Black's study and this one. Second, if it is considered that one explanation offered by Caska (1998) and Ajzen (1988) is that direct links between perceived behavioral control and behavior can only be expected if actual control and perceived control are approximately the same, then perhaps students in this study had a misperception of how easy it would be for them to attend a workshop. For example, they filled out the survey with the control and behavioral intention measures before they were given a copy of the scheduled workshop dates and times. Perhaps they believed that there were more offered, or that they would be offered at more convenient times. In addition, it must be considered that the workshops the students were encouraged to attend and that the behavioral measures were taken from took place the week prior to and the week finals began. This, too, may have had a large effect on the misperception of how easy it would be to attend the workshops as studying, review sessions, and actual final exams ma y have conflicted with the times the workshops were offered. While subjective norms were found to be a significant and positive predictor of intentions, it is important to discuss possible reasons why a stronger relationship was not found. The regression analysis showed that when students reported perceiving that those people who are most important to them thought they should attend a career counseling workshop, they reported a higher intention to attend than those students who did not. However, if one looks at this relationship as the level by which a student feels the need to comply with the feelings of those people important to him/her, the correlation is quite small. In other words, the students do not feel that complying with their significant referents is all that important. An obvious reason for this is suggested by the career counseling and higher education literature. Specifically, students come to college to assert their independence -- independence from parents and from peers. They come to college to test the waters, so to speak. They want the chance to find themselves and to develop their own attitudes and opinions. Therefore it can be hypothesized that on an issue like career planning, a student will do what he or she wants, when they want, because perhaps for the first time they can. Their parents aren't standing over their beds in the morning telling them to get to the career center, and judging by the results of the survey question measuring peer influence, their friends aren't thinking about career counseling any more than they are (M=4.5; 4 being representative of a "they neither think I should nor shouldn't attend a career counseling workshop" response.) Another reason that subjective norms might not be having that strong an influence on student intentions is that it simply may be too early in the student's college career for them to have considered what others think about their attending a career counseling workshop. The majority of the population were first-semester freshmen, and it is quite possible that their parents, teachers, and friends were not yet discussing career counseling with them. Because most of the means for the normative belief measures ranged around "4", which indicates a "neither" response (see above), it could be interpreted that the students really didn't know if their referents wanted them to attend a workshop or not. Both of these possibilities also help to explain why attitudes were such a strong and dominant predictor. The students indicated that their own beliefs and attitudes were what predicted their intentions to behave. The more positively the students evaluated attending the workshop (eg., the more it would help them decide on a career, the more it would inspire them), the higher their intention to attend. Relationship Between Behavioral Intention and Behavior As set forth in the TOPB and the TORA, the results showed that behavioral intention predicted behavior. However, the relationship between the two was weaker than was anticipated. Other researchers have found a much stronger predictive relationship between the two. For example, Sheppard, Hartwick and Warsaw (1988) conducted a meta-analysis of 87 TORA studies and found that the frequency-weighted average correlation was r=.53. This can be explained simply by the fact that turn-out at the actual career counseling workshop was extremely low. Only four students who participated in this study attended a workshop within the month following the study. As was discussed in regard to the perceived behavioral control variable, there were several complicating factors that may have contributed to the students not attending in greater numbers, and for the discrepancy between intentions and actual behavior. Again, as with PBC, the dates and times of the workshops may not have been what the students expected, finals week may have been overwhelming, and there may not have been any workshops offered that were of interest to the students. Conclusion In sum, as proposed by the Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein and Azjen, 1975), when behaviors are perceived by the subjects to be completely under their control, the TORA is an effective model for prediction. In this study, it was concluded that this was so. The elimination of the variable of perceived behavioral control provides more evidence in support of the TORA and its more simplistic path model to predict the behavior of career counseling attendance. Attitudes and subjective norms predicted intention and, in turn, intention is predicted behavior. These results offer evidence that students do hold certain salient beliefs regarding career counseling. Their attitudes toward career counseling were found to be the strongest predictor of intention to seek advising. Therefore, considerable success might be achieved by creating media messages and campaigns specifically designed, in this case, to change their attitudinal beliefs from perceiving career counseling as useless, unhelpful, and uninformative. Based on the relationships between the variables in the TORA, career counseling professionals and educators can begin to see how students may go about beginning the process of selecting a career and take any necessary steps to help assure that students who need career counseling assistance get it. REFERENCES Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action-control: From cognition to behavior (p.11-39). New York: Springer-Verlag. Ajzen, I. & Driver, B.L. (1992). Application of the theory of planned behavior to leisure choice. Journal of Leisure Research, 24, 3, 207-244. Ajzen, I. & Madden, T.J. (1986). Prediction of goal-directed behavior: attitudes, intentions, and perceived behavioral control. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 22, 453-474. Basen-Engquist, K., & Parcel, G. (1992). Attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy: A model of adolescents' HIV-related sexual risk behavior. Health Education Quarterly, 19, 263-277. Baumann, L., Brown, R., Fontana, S., & Cameron, L. (1993). Testing a model of mammography intention. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23, 1733-1756. Beale, D. & Manstead A. (1991). Predicting mothers' intentions to limit frequency of infants'sugar intake: testing the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21, 409-431. Boissonneault, E. & Godin, G. (1990). The prediction of intention to smoke only in designated work site areas. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 32, 621-624. Career Resource Center (1998). 1997-1998 University of Florida Career Resource Center Annual Report. Gainesville:University of Florida. Caska, B.A. (1998). The search for employment: Motivation to engage in a coping behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 3, 206-224. Chase, C. & Keene, J. (1981). Major declaration and academic motivation. Journal of College Student Personnel, 22, 496-501. Crawley, F. & Koballa, T.R. (1991). Hispanic-American students' attitudes toward enrolling in high school chemistry: A study of planned behavior and belief-based change. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the national Association for Research in Science Teaching, Lake Geneva, WI, April 7-10. Crawley, F.E. & Black, C.B. (1990). Attitude and secondary school science students' intention to enroll in physics: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Atlanta, GA, April 8-11. Crockett, J.B. & Crawford, R.L. (1989). The relationship between Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) scale scores and advising style preferences of college freshmen. Journal of College Student Development, 30, 154-161. DeVellis, B., Blalock, S., & Sandler, R. Predicting participation in cancer screening: The role of perceived behavioral control. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20, 639-660. DeVries, H. & Backbier, E. (1994). Self-efficacy as an important determinant of quitting among pregnant women who smoke. Preventative Medicine, 23, 167-174. Eagly, A.H. & Chaiken, S. (1993). The Psychology of Attitudes. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. Fishbein, M., Ajzen, I., & Hinkle, R. (1980). Predicting and understanding voting in American elections: Effects of external variables. In I. Ajzen & M. Fishbein, Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Fishbein, M., Ajzen, I., & McArdle, J. (1980). Changing the behavior of alcoholics: Effects of persuasive communication. In I. Ajzen & M. Fishbein, Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Fishbein, M. (1967). Attitude and the prediction of behavior. In M. Fishbein (Ed.), Readings in attitude theory and measurement. (pp.477-492). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1980). Predicting and understanding consumer behavior: Attitude-behavior correspondence. In M. Fishbein & I. Ajzen (Eds.), Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Fishbein, M. & Azjen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: an introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Fishbein, M. & Stasson, M. (1990). The role of desires, self-predictions, and perceived control in the prediction of training session attendance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20, 3, 173-198. Fishbein, M., Jaccard, J.J., Davidson, A.B., Ajzen, I., & Loken, B. (1980). Predicting and understanding family planning behaviors: Beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. In M. Fishbein & I. Ajzen (Eds.), Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Godin, G. (1992). Understanding physicians' decision to perform a clinical examination on a HIV seropositive patient. Medical Care, 30, 199-207. Godin, G., Valois, P., Lepage, L., & Desharnais, R. (1992). Predictors of smoking behavior: an application of Ajzen's theory of planned behavior. British Journal of Addiction, 87, 1335-1345. Godin, G. & Kok, G. (1996). The theory of planned behavior: A review of its applications to health-related behaviors. American Journal of Health Promotion, 11, 87-98. Gordon, V.N. (1984). The undecided college student: An academic and career advising challenge. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Hausenblas, H.A., Carron, A.V., & Mack, D.E. (1997). Application of the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior to exercise behavior: a meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 19, 36-51. Haworth, K. (1997). President vows to make education his top priority. Chronicle of Higher Education, 26, 2-3. Isaacson, L.E. & Brown, D. (1993). Career information, career counseling, and career development. Fifth Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Karabell, Z. (1998). What's college for?: The struggle to define American higher education. New York, NY: Basic Books. Kruckeberg, D. (1995). 1987 Revisited: Is It Time for a New Look? Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, Albuquerque, NM, May 25-29. Lavioe, M. & Godin, G. (1991). Correlates of intention to use condoms among auto mechanic students. Health Education Research, 6, 313-316. Liska, A.E. (1984). A critical examination of the causal structure of the Fishbein/Ajzen attitude-behavior model. Social Psychology Quarterly, 47, 1, 61-74. Madden, T.J., Ellen, P.S., & Ajzen, I. (1992). A comparison of the theory of planned behavior and the theory of reasoned action. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 1, 3-9. Matthews, A. (1997). Bright college years. New York: Simon & Schuster. McCaul, K., O'Neill, K., & Glasgow, R. (1988). Predicting the performance of dental hygiene behaviors: An examination of the Fishbein and Ajzen model and self-efficacy expectations. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18, 114-128. McCaul, K., Sandgren, A., O'Neill, K., & Hinsz, V. (1993). The value of the theory of planned behavior, perceived control, and self-efficacy expectations for predicting health-protective behaviors. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 14, 231-252. Parker, D., Manstead, A., Stradling, S., Reason, J., & Baxter, J. (1992). Intention to commit driving violations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 94-101. Petty, R.E. & Cacioppo, J.T. (1986). Communication and persuasion: Central and peripheral routes of attitude change. New York: Springer-Verlag. Pietrofesa, J.J. & Splete, H. (1975). Career development: Theory and research. New York: Grune and Stratton. Randall, D.M. & Wolff, J.A. (1994). The time interval in the intention-behavior relationship: Meta analysis. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 405-418. Randall, D.M. (1994). Why students take elective business ethics courses: Applying the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 13, 369-378. Richard, I., Dedobbeleer, N., Champagne, F., & Potvin, I. (1994). Predicting child restraint device use: a comparison of two models. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 1837-1847. Ringer, C.H. & Dodd, J.E. (1999). Why are they communications majors?: Factors influencing students' career decisions. Community College Journalist, 26, 1, 2-4; 16. Sacks, P. (1996). Generation X goes to college: An eye-opening account of teaching in postmodern America. Chicago: Open Court. Schaalma, H., Kok, G., & Peters, L. (1993). Determinants of consistent condom use by adolescents: the impact of experience of sexual intercourse. Health Education Research, 8, 255-269. Schgel, R., D'Avernas, J., Sanna, M., DeCourville, N., & Manske, S. (1992). Problem drinking: A problem for the theory of reasoned action. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 22, 358-385. Schifter, D.E. & Ajzen, I. (1985). Intention, perceived control, and weight loss: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 3, 843-851. Sejwacz, D., Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Predicting and understanding weight loss: Intentions, behaviors, and outcomes. In I. Ajzen & M. Fishbein. (Eds.) Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Sheppard, B.H., Hartwick, J., & Warshaw, P.R. (1988). The theory of reasoned action: A meta-analysis of past research with recommendations for modifications and future research. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 325-343. Shtilerman, M. (1982). The influence of decision making process on the relationship between attitudes, intentions, and behavior. Unpublished master's thesis, Tel Aviv University. Simpson, R.D. & Frost, S.H. (1993). Inside college: Undergraduate education for the future. New York, NY: Plenum Publishing Corp. Smetana, J.G. & Adler, N.E. (1980). Fishbein's value x expectancy model: An examination of some assumptions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 6, 89-96. Sparks, P. & Shepherd, R. (1992). Self efficacy and the theory of planned behavior: Assessing the role of identification with "green consumerism." Social Psychology Quarterly, 55, 388-399. Sperber, B.M., Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1980). Predicting and understanding women's occupational orientations: factors underlying choice intentions. In I. Ajzen & M. Fishbein. Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Sutton, S. (1998). Predicting and explaining intentions and behavior: how well are we doing? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 15, 1317-1338. Tan, D.L. (1992). Do students accomplish what they expect out of college. College Student Journal, 26, 449-454. Tedescu, L., Keffer, M., & Fleck-Kandath, C. (1991). Self-efficacy, reasoned action, and oral health behavior reports: A social cognitive approach to compliance. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 14, 341-355. Terry, D. (1993). Self-efficacy expectancies and the theory of reasoned action. In D. Terry (Ed.) The theory of reasoned action: Its application to AIDS-preventative behavior. New York: Pergamon: 135-151. van Ryn, M. and Vinokur, A.D. (1992). How did it work? An examination of the mechanisms through which an intervention for the unemployed promoted job-search behavior. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 5, 577-597. Vincent, P.C., Peplau, L.A., & Hill, C.T. (1998). A longitudinal application of the theory of reasoned action to women's career behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 9, 761-778. Vinokur, A. & Caplan, R.D. (1987). Attitudes and social support: determinants of job-seeking behavior and well-being among the unemployed. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17, 12, 1007-1024. FIGURES Attitude Behavioral Beliefs Outcome Evaluations Behavior Intention to Behave Normative Beliefs Subjective Norm Motivation to Comply Figure 1: Path Model for the Theory of Reasoned Action. Attitude Behavioral Beliefs Outcome Evaluations Behavior Intention to Behave Normative Beliefs Subjective Norm Motivation to Comply Perceived Behavioral Control Figure 2: Path Model for the Theory of Planned Behavior. Motivation to Comply Actual Behavior Intention to Behave Relative importance of attitude and subjective norm Perceived Behavioral Control Subjective Norm Attitude toward Behavior Normative Beliefs Outcome Evaluations Behavioral Beliefs TABLES TABLES Table 1: Stepwise model. Measure Step r Attitude 1 .484 Subjective Norm 2 .508 Perceived Behavioral Control 3 .508 Table 2: Intention to Attend a Career Counseling Workshop. Measure St. Beta t Significance Attitude .484 12.530 .0001 Subjective Norm .167 4.073 .0001 Perceived Behavioral Control -.002 -.041 .968 Table 3: Means and Standard Deviations for Individual Measures. Means and Standard Deviations for Individual Measures Measure Mean SD Overall attitude 2.91 .85 Good-bad 3.29 1.33 Wise-foolish 2.65 1.10 Beneficial-harmful 2.59 .88 Useful-useless 2.66 1.01 Favorable-unfavorable 3.20 1.19 Desirable-undesirable 3.67 1.33 Helpful-unhelpful 2.67 .969 Informative-uninformative 2.54 9.44 Overall subjective norm 4.27 1.57 Academic advisors 3.95 1.38 Teachers 4.06 1.38 Parents 3.79 1.63 Friends 4.45 1.44 Boyfriend/girlfriend 4.37 1.40 Other family members 4.21 1.43 Find a job/career 3.05 1.21 Figure out a job/career 3.13 1.23 Contacts with professionals 2.67 1.03 Overwhelmed 4.42 1.39 Focus 3.09 1.15 Bore 4.03 1.35 Confident 3.42 1.23 Prepare for job search 2.72 1.04 Inspire 3.39 1.26 Change my mind 4.29 1.41 Informed decision 2.86 1.19 Right track 2.89 1.22 Pressure 4.42 1.39 Decide on a career 3.58 1.42 Declare a major 3.26 1.44 Accurate information/career 2.23 .95 Accurate information/internship 2.15 .92 Hassle 4.09 1.44 More confused 4.61 1.37 Waste of time 4.81 1.40 If We Build It, Will They Come?: Testing the Theory of Planned Behavior as a Predictive Model For Use in Determining How Career Counseling Centers Can Better Promote Their Facilities and Services by Carolyn Ringer Lepre, Ph.D. Assistant Professor 207 Tehama Hall Department of Journalism California State University, Chico Chico, CA 95929-0600 [log in to unmask] If We Build It, Will They Come?: Testing the Theory of Planned Behavior as a Predictive Model For Use in Determining How Career Counseling Centers Can Better Promote Their Facilities and Services ABSTRACT If We Build It, Will They Come?: Testing the Theory of Planned Behavior as a Predictive Model For Use in Determining How Career Counseling Centers Can Better Promote Their Facilities and Services Carolyn Ringer Lepre, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Journalism California State University, Chico Many students resist planning for the futures, and university career counseling centers sit underutilized across the country. It is proposed that it is in part up to educators, career counselors and the public relations practitioners who work for university career counseling centers to convince and encourage students to seek career counseling help when they need it. The question is, however, how can this most effectively be done? This study tested the usefulness of the Theory of Planned Behavior as a predictive model clarifying what factors impact a student's decision to seek career counseling.