Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of viewing a model-reinforced video on career information-seeking behavior (ISB). The treatment video was developed using historical principles of behaviorism and social learning theory with modern career development theories. The video portrayed an undergraduate student seeking career counseling services to assist in his career decision making. The counselor in the video used modeling, verbal and non-verbal reinforcement to encourage the student to use a variety of types of career information resources (e.g., books, websites, informational interviews) through six methods of information-gathering strategies (e.g., reading, writing, listening, speaking, visiting, and observing). Participants were undergraduate students enrolled in a career development course at a large, southeastern university. The researcher hypothesized that the general effort, including amount of time spent engaged in career information-seeking activities (planned and actual), resources used (amount and variety), and information-seeking strategies employed would be significantly higher for participants who viewed the treatment video than for those who did not. The researcher also hypothesized that participants who viewed the treatment video would have fewer negative career thoughts related to career information-deficit than participants who did not view the video. Data was analyzed using multivariate, univariate, and independent t-tests, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and chi-square analyses. Participants who viewed the video did not report putting more planned or general effort into engaging in career information-seeking behaviors. However, they did report spending significantly more time in the specific activities reinforced in the video, and used a significantly wider variety of information-seeking strategies and career resources. There was no significant difference in the number of negative career thoughts between groups. This study extended and supported the findings from previous studies that employed similar treatments and variables. The combination of replication, historical theoretical basis, and implications for modern technology and practice were unique to this study. Implications for future for research and practice based on the results of this study are discussed.
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