STUDY: SELF- cONFIDENCE PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN FORGING YOUR CAREER PATH
SELF-CONFIDENCE
DOESN'T JUST COME FROM WITHIN.
Once in a while, it is
healthy to doubt yourself, to ooze a tiny bit of self-awareness. But a new psychology
study from Ohio State University found evidence that an individual's career paths is
influenced by their own levels of self-confidence and, to some degree, the
amount of social validation they receive along the way.
The study, published
in the journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology, concerned
itself with a concept called "upward self-revision" of our
"possible selves." Basically, if you can picture a future version of
yourself succeeding at a goal—say, becoming a doctor or a lawyer—you're more
likely to actually achieve it. Of course, we're constantly revising these
"possible selves" until reality sets in. (I, for instance, was
certain I was going to become a paleontologist who happened to moonlight as a
professional wrestler in the WWE. But that didn't end up happening.)
For this
experiment, Patrick
J. Carroll, an assistant
professor of psychology at OSU-Lima, set out to evaluate how social pressure
can affect how qualified we feel for a certain job. He invited 67 undergraduate
students majoring in business or psychology to meet with a career adviser, who
handed them a brochure about an exciting new master's degree program in
"business psychology." The catch—which students were debriefed on
after the fact—was that such a program didn't really exist. Carroll wanted to
see who applied anyway.
Students were divided
into four test groups. Everyone was asked to submit their GPA and to rate their
confidence of successfully becoming a "business psychologist" in an
initial evaluation. The groups were set up as follows:
·
A
control group that was told there were no GPA requirements for the program.
·
A
group that was told the GPA requirement was 10% below what they submitted as
their GPA.
·
The
advisor told another group the GPA requirement was 10% below what they
submitted, and that these students were unlikely to be
rejected by the program.
·
The
advisor told the last group the GPA requirement was 10% below what they submitted
as their GPA, and that they were a perfect fit for the
program. In addition to encouraging these students to apply, the advisor said
there was a strong likelihood they would graduate with many business psychology
job offers.
The results, while not
entirely surprising, were rather lopsided. Students who were encouraged to
apply for the program—and remember, they are no more qualified than
the students in the other three groups—were far more likely to
apply for the non-existent program of their dreams. They were told they could
do it. And so they did.
"Self-confidence
played a key role here," said Carroll in a statement. "Students felt
more confident that they could really be successful as a business psychologist
when they received a detailed picture from their adviser… Sometimes students
have the grades, the motivation, and the ability but simply lack the necessary
self-confidence to whole-heartedly invest in the pursuit of a realistic new
goal."
While self-confidence
is often fortified from within, it's worth remembering that teachers, parents,
and other mentors can leave a lasting mark on a young person's career path. A
few encouraging words can go a long way—something to keep in the mind the next
time a child tells you he or she wants to study dinosaurs and become the
heavyweight champion of the world.
BY CHRIS GAYOMALI
http://www.fastcompany.com/3036534/how-i-get-it-done/study-self-confidence-plays-a-crucial-role-in-forging-your-career-path?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fast-company-daily-manual-newsletter&position=anjali&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=01202015
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