The Relationship between the Career Decision State and Ambiguity Tolerance: Implications for Career Decision-Making Readiness
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Ambiguity, Uncertainty, Decision-making, Career, Readiness
Abstract
We undertook an exploratory study of the career decision state and the state of ambiguity tolerance with 107 university students enrolled in a career development class. Our purpose was to examine ways in which the concept of ambiguity tolerance might inform our understanding of the career decision state and career decision-making readiness. More specifically, we wanted to examine the relationships among four measures in the Career State Inventory (CSI), a measure of readiness for career decision-making, and the Ambiguity Aversion Scale score on the Career Decision Ambiguity Tolerance Scale (CDATS). We found that measures of the career decision state (i.e., career certainty, satisfaction, and clarity) were significantly related to career decision ambiguity tolerance with respect to the emotional discomfort or anxiety individuals feel when focused with unclear, complex, or unpredictable choices. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.
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Copyright (c) 2026 V. Casey Dozier, Stephen J. Leierer, Qiong Li, Robert C. Reardon (Author)
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