Career Compromises: Framings and Their Implications

The authors investigated the effects of 3 framings of career compromise (I. Gati, 1993): in terms of alternatives, aspect importance, and within-aspect preferences. Three groups of Israeli young adults (ns = 95, 108, and 154) and 71 school counselors were presented with hypothetical stories about individuals whose career decision involved a compromise. The results of 4 studies, using both between-subjects and within-subject designs, and both rating scales and forced choices, supported the hypothesis: The alternatives framing was associated with a greater extent of compromise and greater difficulty in making a career decision than were the 2 aspect framings. No differences were found between aspect importance and the within-aspect preference framings. The implications for research and counseling are discussed.