Forgone identity dwelling and career exploration: A self-regulatory perspective

Abstract

This research aims to explain whether and how dwelling on the past decision to forgo a certain academic major and corresponding professional identity (i.e., forgone identity dwelling) affects young adults' career exploration during the school-to-work transition. We draw on a self-regulatory perspective to theorize that forgone identity dwelling may result in a cognitive self-regulatory pathway (i.e., career insight) and an affective self-regulatory pathway (i.e., occupational regret) that affect career exploration in opposite directions. We further propose that young adults' affective disposition (i.e., positive affectivity) may act as a differentiating factor that determines whether forgone identity dwelling triggers a cognitive or affective self-regulatory process. In a three-wave survey study with a sample of Chinese university students, we found that for young adults high in positive affectivity, forgone identity dwelling was more likely to lead to cognitive self-regulation that increased career insight, which further positively affected career exploration. Conversely, for those low in positive affectivity, forgone identity dwelling was more likely to induce occupational regret. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.