Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI)

Author(s): James P. Sampson, Gary W. Peterson, Janet G. Lenz,

Publisher: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1996

Purpose: To measure negative career thinking

Candidates: 18+ years of age

Administration: 7-15 minutes - Individual and group

Scoring: By hand

Features: Assists in career problem solving and decision making

Content:

The CTI is a 48-item self-administered and objectively scored assessment designed to improve the effectiveness of career counselling and guidance for adults, university students, and high school students.

Clients complete the CTI Test Booklet, which yields a CTI Total score (single global indicator of negative thinking in career problem solving and decision making) and scores on 3 construct scales:

• Decision Making Confusion - inability to initiate or sustain the decision making process as a result of disabling emotions and/or a lack of understanding about the decision-making process itself
• Commitment Anxiety - inability to make a commitment to a specific career choice, accompanied by generalised anxiety about the outcome of the decision-making process that perpetuates the indecision
• External Conflict - inability to balance the importance of one's own self-perceptions with the importance of input from significant others, resulting in a reluctance to assume responsibility for decision making

The CTI can be used to identify an individual who is likely to need counselling assistance, to identify the nature of an individual's career problems, and to help an individual identify, challenge, and alter negative career thoughts that interfere with effective career decision making.

The CTI Workbook helps clients to understand the nature of their negative thoughts as well as how much help they are likely to need in order to make effective use of career services.