Psychological Science ›› 2012, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (2): 472-476.

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The relationship between the junior students’ family social status and career choice motivation under global financial crisis: The mediating effect of social dominance orientation

  

  • Received:2010-06-17 Revised:2011-09-26 Online:2012-03-20 Published:2012-03-20

金融危机背景下家庭社会地位对大三学生择业动机的影响:社会支配倾向的中介作用

徐伦1,林崇德1,刘力1,杨萌2   

  1. 1. 北京师范大学
    2.
  • 通讯作者: 林崇德
  • 基金资助:
    “国际金融危机应对研究”应急课题重点项目

Abstract: The issue of college students' employment is always a hot topic in China and beyond. The global financial crisis since 2008 has made the things worse. However, it is not infrequent that, in order to seek a better job, some of them even prefer not to get employed. Therefore, it is theoretical significance and practical important to explore the career choice motivation of college students as well as its influencing factors. Some researchers found that college students’ career values and motivation were influenced by their family background; meanwhile, other researches indicated that the differences in social status often led to the discrepancies of social dominance orientation, which in turn, affected individuals’ career choice. Based on these findings, the aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between college students’ family social status and their career choice motivation under global financial crisis, and to examine the mediating role of social dominance orientation between the two. We hypothesized that college students’ family social status affected their career choice motivation, and their social dominance orientation played a mediating role in the relationship between the two. The present study tested the hypotheses using the method of questionnaire survey. A total of 504 undergraduates from five universities participated in this survey. The questionnaires used in the study were: subjective family social status measure, career choice motivation measure, and social dominance orientation scale. Correlation analysis showed that: (1) Family social status was significantly positively related to intrinsic career choice motivation (r =.097, p<.05). (2) Family social status was significantly positively related to social dominance orientation (r =.119, p <.01). A regression analysis showed that family social status predicted intrinsic career choice motivation (beta =.097, p<.05) and social dominance orientation (beta=.119, p<.01), in the first and second step. Social dominance orientation acted as a mediator between family social status and intrinsic career choice motivation (Z=-2.05, p=.040 in Sobel test), when social dominance orientation entered in the third step. However, the results also showed that extrinsic career choice motivation had no significant correlation with either family social status or social dominance orientation. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings from the study were discussed. It was argued that family social status not only predicted intrinsic career choice motivation directly, but also produced a compensatory negative effect on intrinsic career choice motivation through social dominance orientation. It suggests, based on the findings, that both the family background and the personality factors affected by it should be considered in college students’ employment guidance.

Key words: family social status, social dominance orientation, career choice motivation, intrinsic career choice motivation, extrinsic career choice motivation

摘要: 以504名来自5所高校三年级大学本科生为被试,采用问卷法收集数据,探讨了家庭社会地位对大学生择业动机的影响。结果表明:(1)家庭社会地位对大学生内部择业动机具有显著的预测作用,家庭社会地位越高,内部择业动机越强;(2)社会支配倾向对家庭社会地位与内部择业动机之间的关系起中介作用,家庭社会地位通过社会支配倾向对内部择业动机产生间接影响;(3)未发现家庭社会地位、社会支配倾向与外部择业动机之间的显著相关。

关键词: 家庭社会地位,社会支配倾向,择业动机,内部择业动机,外部择业动机