Level of occupational aspiration (LOA) as a special instance of level-of-aspiration theory with expression levels and goal periods¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article develops LOA as a special instance of the general level-of-aspiration concept, taking the occupational prestige hierarchy as its continuum of difficulty. It distinguishes two equally important aspects: expression levels, where "Estimates of the lower and upper boundaries will be called the 'realistic and idealistic expression levels, respectively", and goal periods, where "Estimates for future times that are near or. distant will be called'short-range and long-range.goal-periodsrespectively." This framework specifies the operations required for measuring LOA and grounds the design of the OAS.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Measurement operations must specify both an expression level and a time-dimension period in each stimulus question, since respondents otherwise impute their own

Constraints¶

• The writers restrict differential level of aspiration to variations among persons, not within a person across times
• The success-failure dimension of the resultant weighted valence model is set aside as not yet demonstrated useful for occupational behavior

Target Learners¶

• secondary school students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• occupational choice and vocational counseling

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• A six-concept bipolar classification system for LOA measurement techniques
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Examples¶

• The Occupational Aspiration Scale (OAS) instrument
• Use a structured, multiple-item, complete LOA instrument such as the OAS for research and vocational counseling on occupational aspiration

Key Sources¶

• Haller, Archibald O. and Miller, Irwin W. (1963). The Occupational Aspiration Scale: Theory, Structure and Correlates. Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED016712