Abstract:

Career decision-making is an important part of university students’ professional and personal development; therefore, this study focused on examining the factors that contribute to career decidedness. Specifically, we focused on students’ disposition toward critical thinking, career locus of control, and career self-efficacy. Critical thinking is reflective thinking used during the decision-making process, involving the application of prior knowledge to problem-solving, decision-making, and evaluation. Locus of control plays an important role in the decision-making process, with individuals characterized by an internal locus of control being more likely to use a rational style and to confront problems rather than avoid them. Career decision-making self-efficacy is defined as an individual’s belief in their ability to successfully carry out the steps necessary to make important career decisions. Research findings suggest that students with high self-efficacy are more likely to use critical thinking than students with low self-efficacy. Based on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the aim of the study was to test a sequential mediation model in which we assumed that critical thinking would predict career decidedness indirectly through career locus of control and career self-efficacy. Our research sample consisted of 116 respondents, university students with a mean age of M = 22.3 (SD = 2.3), including 62 women and 54 men. To measure the examined constructs, we used the following instruments: the Career Locus of Control Scale, the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale – Short Form, and the Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale. The results confirmed that a higher level of critical thinking is associated with a stronger belief in personal control over one’s career, which in turn supports higher career self-efficacy, and this subsequently leads to career decidedness. In line with SCCT, the results may be interpreted as a sequential mediation mechanism in which critical thinking first promotes an internal career locus of control, that is, an individual’s belief in their ability to influence their career path through their own actions. This belief subsequently strengthens confidence in one’s ability to successfully manage tasks associated with career decision-making. Career self-efficacy then translates into a higher level of career decidedness and, at the same time, emerges as a key factor in the model. These findings highlight the importance of identifying the psychological determinants of career decidedness, as they may contribute to a more precise understanding of the factors shaping university students’ career trajectories and to the development of targeted support in their career development process.

Acknowledgement:
This work was supported by the national grant agency (VEGA no. 1/0336/24: Critical thinking in relation to academic success and decision-making in specific areas of students’ lives) and the university grant agency (UGA no. IX/3/2025: Critical thinking in the context of career counseling and work psychology).

Keywords:

Critical thinking, career locus of control, career self-efficacy, career decidedness, university students.