The roles of between- and within-person self-knowledge in career decision-making

Abstract

While social comparison is likely a common practice in career decision-making, little is known about whether the knowledge products of such comparisons are beneficial and the extent to which they are beneficial. Using a sample of U.S. individuals (n = 296), the current study examined the unique and multiplicative predictions of between-person self-knowledge (i.e., knowledge about the relative standings of attributes in society) and within-person self-knowledge (i.e., knowledge about the dominant areas within psychological profiles) for career decision-making difficulty. The results revealed that between-person self-knowledge negatively predicted choice/commitment anxiety. The results also supported the positive moderation of between-person self-knowledge in the prediction of within-person self-knowledge for choice/commitment anxiety. In general, the present study suggests that between-person self-knowledge is an important assessment and intervention area that is auxiliary to within-person self-exploration in facilitating career decision-making.