MECHANISMS UNDERLYING SEX-DIFFERENCES IN CAREER SELF-EFFICACY EXPECTATIONS OF UNIVERSITY-STUDENTS

Instrumentality, expressiveness, perceived same-gender dominance, and self-efficacy in 10 male-dominated and 10 female-dominated occupations were assessed for Japanese university students (176 males and 210 females). Females reported significantly higher levels of self-efficacy for female-dominated occupations, but significantly lower levels of self-efficacy for male-dominated occupations than did males. However, multiple regressions did not indicate a substantial contribution of sex to the predictions of self-efficacy for the two types of occupations. Self-efficacy for male-dominated occupations was associated significantly with instrumentality, whereas self-efficacy for female-dominated occupations was associated significantly with both instrumentality and expressiveness. The implications for women's career development are discussed. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.