Work values system development during adolescence

Work values stability, change, and development can be appreciably reduced to a living system model [Ford, D. H. (1994). Humans as self-constructing living systems: A developmental perspective on behavior and personality (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates]. This theoretical model includes discrepancy-reducing and cohesion-amplifying mechanisms that interact to govern the change in standard- and goal-oriented work values over time [Boldero, J., & Francis, J. (2002). Goals, standards, and the self: reference values serving different functions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6(3), 232–241]. Employing longitudinal data from a sample of adolescents (n = 1010) spanning the 9th through the 12th grades, the results demonstrate that the value system develops in a theoretically predictable fashion during the adolescent period. Discrepancy reduction and cohesion mechanisms interact to either maintain or increase the integrity of and harmony between standard-oriented values associated with high school part-time work experiences and goal-oriented work values related to anticipated career-oriented work during adulthood. Exploratory analyses suggest that adolescents’ educational expectations influence the relative salience of standard- and goal-oriented work values and the discrepancy reduction process linking the two over time.