THE EFFECTS OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED GUIDANCE AND INFORMATION ON THE VOCATIONAL MATURITY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS WHEN USED ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WITH A CAREER PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING COURSE

This study examined the effects of a System of Interactive Guidance and Information (SIGI) on the vocational maturity of college students who requested assistance in career planning and decision-making. A total of 70 undergraduate students, divided into three treatment groups, participated in the research. The first group took a six-session course on career planning and decision-making offered by two Counseling Center psychologists. The second group took a similar course that included the use of SIGI as a course requirement. The third group did not participate in a course, but did use SIGI. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to test the null hypothesis that there were no differences in the profile of posttest mean scores on the Career Development Inventory (CDI) scales across the three treatment groups. The pretest CDI scores were used as the covariates. This test revealed no differences in the profile of posttest CDI scores among the three groups. A secondary hypothesis stating that there would be no change in the profile of mean scores on the CDI from the pretest to the posttest for the students as a whole or for any of the three groups was tested with a two-way multivariate analysis of variance using treatment group as one factor and testing occasion as the second factor. The analysis showed that there were significant differences between the pretest and postest on the Career Planning and Career Exploration scales of the CDI, but not on the Decision-making, World of Work, or Knowledge of Preferred Occupation scales. The background information revealed that the three groups used in the study were comparable in most respects, providing little basis for questioning the validity of the hypothesis testing results. The questionnaire did show that the use of SIGI was more complete in the class group than in the group that used SIGI without being in a class