Demonstrating the Impact of Identity-Congruence in Career Intentions: Application of Affect Control Theory

Abstract

The purpose of the dissertation was to demonstrate that identity-congruence contributes to understanding career intentions, using operationalizations of identity-congruence that avoid serious deficiencies in prior attempts at this demonstration. In this research, the operationalization from affect control theory, affective meanings, was adopted. This research also sought to support the distinctive impact of identity-congruence by distinguishing its effects from common predictors in career choice. Further, state-of-the-art statistical methods that have been developed specifically to assess congruence effects were expanded to allow full use of the affective meanings operationalization in demonstrating an effect of identity-congruence.

Two cross-sectional online survey studies were conducted with undergraduate students (n = 520 for Study 1; n = 288 for Study 2), with a focus on entrepreneurship as a potential career or occupation. Findings from Study 1 demonstrated that identity-congruence accounted for unique variance in intent to pursue entrepreneurship when compared with vocational interests and subjectively expected utility. Applying the new statistical methodology, findings from Study 2 showed an effect of identity-congruence in intent to pursue entrepreneurship in a moderated multiple regression model, although not in the polynomial regression model that underpins the present state-of-the-art congruence models.

Overall, the results supported the unique contribution of identity-congruence, as represented by affective meanings, to understand career intention toward entrepreneurship. The results from the two studies were discussed regarding the conceptualization of identity-congruence, the implications of including affect control theory in vocational research and guidance, and the contribution of the newly developed congruence methodology.