Job preferences and preference shifts as functions of job information, familiarity, and prestige level

Abstract

OBTAINED PREFERENCE RATINGS OF 10 FAMILIAR AND 10 UNFAMILIAR PROFESSIONAL, AND 10 FAMILIAR AND 10 UNFAMILIAR SKILLED, LABOR JOBS, PRESENTED AS EITHER TITLES OR DESCRIPTIONS, FROM 100 MALE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. PROFESSIONAL OR FAMILIAR JOBS WERE PREFERRED AS TITLES BUT THESE EFFECTS WERE ABSENT OR REDUCED IN RATINGS OF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SAME JOBS. CHANGES IN JOB PREFERENCES IN A 2ND RATING WERE GREATER WHEN SS WERE SHIFTED FROM TITLES TO DESCRIPTIONS, OR THE REVERSE, THAN WHEN THE IDENTICAL TYPE OF MATERIAL WAS RATED, INDICATING NONEQUIVALENCE BETWEEN STIMULUS MATERIALS IN STUDY OF JOB ATTITUDES. IMPLICATIONS FOR PERSONALITY AND INTEREST TESTS USING JOB TITLES AS ITEMS ARE DISCUSSED. (19 REF.) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)