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Career Assessment

Social Cognitive Career Theory and Subjective Well-Being in the Context of Work
Robert W. Lent and Steve D. Brown
Journal of Career Assessment 2008 16: 6
DOI: 10.1177/1069072707305769

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Social Cognitive Career Theory
and Subjective Well-Being in
the Context of Work
Robert W. Lent
University of Maryland
Steve D. Brown
Loyola University Chicago

Subjective well-being has often been studied as a context-free construct, reflecting

overall life satisfaction and characteristic levels of positive affect and negative affect.
But there has also been much interest in domain-specific aspects of subjective well-
being, such as job satisfaction. The authors provide a brief overview of the two pri-
mary conceptual approaches to the study of well-being in psychology and consider
job satisfaction in relation to one of them (the hedonic approach). They then
describe a newly developed social cognitive model that is designed to capture the
interplay among multiple (e.g., affective, cognitive, behavioral, social) sources of
job satisfaction. The model’s potential implications for career assessment and inter-
vention are also considered.

Keywords: social cognitive career theory, subjective well-being, job satis-

faction, career assessment, career intervention

Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of interest in positive psychological

processes, such as resilience, coping, and optimal human functioning. This focus
on mental health, and consequent de-emphasis of dysfunction and the illness
metaphor, has been labeled by some advocates as “positive psychology” (Seligman,
2002) and has inspired a spate of conferences, journal articles and special issues, and
books (e.g., Snyder & Lopez, 2002; Walsh, 2003). One prominent thrust of this work
on positive functioning has been research on various facets of emotional or psycho-
logical well-being.
Study of well-being is, in fact, not a new trend in psychology, though it has
enjoyed a heightened profile in recent years (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith,
1999; Ryff & Singer, 1998). Much of the inquiry on well-being has appeared in
personality and social psychology journals, where well-being has typically been

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Robert W. Lent, Department of Counseling
and Personnel Services, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; e-mail: boblent@umd.edu.

JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT, Vol. 16 No. 1, February 2008 6–21

DOI: 10.1177/1069072707305769
© 2008 Sage Publications

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 Lent, Brown / WORK SATISFACTION 7

conceptualized in relatively global or trait-like terms. That is, interest has often
been on the stability of well-being over time and context. Counseling and voca-
tional researchers have, however, also long been interested in well-being and
related adaptive processes. Super (1955), for instance, noted counseling psy-
chology’s concern with “locating and developing personal and social resources”
(p. 5) and the field’s mission statement continues to emphasize “practices that
help people improve their well-being . . . and increase their ability to live more
highly functioning lives” (Society of Counseling Psychology, 2006). Major
reviews of well-being research have appeared in the recent counseling psychol-
ogy literature (e.g., Lent, 2004; Robbins & Kliewer, 2000).
Implicit in the counseling psychology perspective is an assumption that well-
being is changeable (i.e., not entirely static) and that people can affect their own
emotional and psychological functioning, though there is certainly an acknowl-
edgement of personal and environmental factors that also contribute to well-being
and other aspects of adaptation. Consistent with the field’s interests in developing
capacities, preventing problems, and remediating difficulties, research in the coun-
seling context has been more likely to focus on domain-specific or state-like aspects
of well-being—that is, features of well-being that may be relatively susceptible to
change via psychosocial intervention.
Our goals in this article are fourfold. First, we consider the two major ways in
which well-being has been conceptualized in psychology, along with their under-
lying philosophical roots. Second, we focus on work satisfaction as a key mani-
festation of domain-specific well-being in vocational psychology, highlighting
selected conceptual and measurement issues. Third, we describe a new model of
work satisfaction, one that is based in social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and
that draws on inquiry on general and domain-specific well-being. Like our earlier
SCCT models of vocational interest development, choice making, and perfor-
mance (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), the current model uses the core social
cognitive person variables of self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, and
goals as basic building blocks and incorporates other person, behavior, and con-
textual variables to provide an integrative, social cognitively based approach.
Although some variables in the model (e.g., personality) point to relatively stable
aspects of well-being, others (e.g., goals, social support) suggest targets and methods
for modifying the more dynamic features of work-related well-being. In the final
part of the article, we consider selected implications of the model for career
assessment and intervention.

TWO VIEWS OF WELL-BEING

Ryan and Deci (2001) observed that “well-being is a complex construct that
concerns optimal experience and functioning” (p. 141) and that has been

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8 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2008

approached from two relatively distinct perspectives in psychology. The hedonic

view equates well-being with pleasure, happiness, or the balance between posi-
tive and negative affect. The eudaimonic view, by contrast, defines well-being in
terms of individuals’ strivings to actualize their potential, make meaning, and
seek purpose in their lives. Consistent with their differing philosophical roots, the
hedonic position views “feeling good” as the key criterion of well-being, whereas
the eudaimonic position is more concerned with aspects of thinking and doing
that allow one to lead “the good life.”

Subjective Well-Being (SWB) and Psychological Well-Being (PWB)

The hedonic position has spawned the study of subjective emotional well-being,
or, more simply, SWB. SWB is often defined as consisting of three distinct but
related components: life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect (Diener
et al., 1999). Life satisfaction entails a global evaluation of one’s life (e.g., “I am sat-
isfied with my life”); positive and negative affect involve the extent to which one
generally experiences positive (e.g., excited) and negative (e.g., nervous) feelings,
respectively. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffen,
1985) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen,
1988) are examples of scales that have been used to assess these constructs. Despite
the popularity of the three-component conception of SWB, it has been argued that
there is value in disaggregating the components by studying how they interrelate and
the possibly unique ways in which they may relate to other variables (e.g., Andrews
& Robinson, 1991; Diener et al., 1999).
The eudaimonic position is exemplified by the study of PWB. Drawing on the
views of a variety of mental health, clinical, and developmental theorists, Ryff (1989,
1995) defined PWB in terms of six ideal characteristics (autonomy, personal growth,
self-acceptance, purpose in life, environmental mastery, positive social relations) and
developed a multidimensional instrument to assess them. Ryff argued that the SWB
approach lacks theoretical grounding and neglects aspects of well-being other than
happiness. One problem with Ryff’s approach, however, is that her PWB variables are
sometimes discussed as predictors, and at other times as criteria, of well-being
(Robbins & Kliewer, 2000). Although other eudaimonically oriented theories (Ryan
& Deci, 2000) and measures (e.g., meaning, vitality, self-actualization) also exist,
there appears to be somewhat less consensus at present regarding how PWB should
be assessed than is the case with SWB.

Relation of the Two Types of Well-Being

Despite their separate conceptual underpinnings, SWB and PWB measures
have been found to interrelate. For example, Ryff (1989) reported that several of
her scales strongly correlate with measures of life satisfaction. Factor analyses of
diverse well-being measures have, however, found support for two latent factors,
one labeled SWB or happiness (i.e., a hedonic dimension) and the other labeled

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 Lent, Brown / WORK SATISFACTION 9

personal growth or meaning (a eudaimonic dimension encompassing such vari-

ables as self-actualization, openness to experience, and purpose in life; Compton,
Smith, Cornish, & Qualls, 1996; McGregor & Little, 1998). The two dimensions
are moderately interrelated (Compton et al., 1996). These and other findings
raise interesting questions about the nature of the relations among hedonic or
SWB and eudaimonic (PWB) mechanisms.
Lent (2004) recently proposed a unifying theoretical perspective on SWB and
PWB. In this framework, eudaimonic processes serve as key routes by which people
achieve and sustain hedonic well-being. For instance, by setting and progressing
toward personal goals, engaging in valued activities, and interacting with those in
their social support system, people contribute to their own growth and sense of pur-
pose, organize and make meaning of their lives, and, in turn, are able to enhance
their own SWB. This model “unpacks” the three-component view of SWB, con-
ceptualizing personality or affective variables, especially positive and negative affect,
as precursors of life satisfaction. It also portrays overall life satisfaction as being open
to other influences, such as the sense of satisfaction that people experience within
the central domains of their lives, including work (see Figure 1).

WORK SATISFACTION AS DOMAIN-SPECIFIC WELL-BEING

Paralleling the study of general well-being has been a resurgence of inquiry on

work or job satisfaction, which has been a mainstay of the literatures in voca-
tional and, especially, industrial-organizational psychology for many years (Brief,
1998; Locke, 1976; Spector, 1997). Increasingly, research on global SWB has
come to contribute to, and profit from, research on domain-specific job satisfac-
tion. Indeed, much of the recent research on job satisfaction may be seen as a sub-
set of inquiry on SWB, particularly as both lines of inquiry have tended to converge
on a common set of dispositional precursors of life and domain satisfaction out-
comes (Heller, Judge, & Watson, 2002; Judge, Heller, & Mount, 2002).

Defining and Measuring Job or Work Satisfaction

According to Locke’s (1976) classic definition, job satisfaction refers to “a plea-
surable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job
experiences” (p. 1300). Spector (1997) offered an even simpler definition: “The
extent to which people like . . . their jobs” (p. 2). Because individuals are usually
considered to be the best experts on their own affective experience, most assessments
of job satisfaction involve self-report. However, measures may vary in terms of their
globality or specificity and temporal frame of reference. Global measures, such as
the Job in General Scale (Ironson, Smith, Brannick, Gibson, & Paul, 1989), index
“general overall feelings about the job” (p. 194); items include affectively (e.g.,
“enjoyable”) and evaluatively oriented (e.g., “good”) content. By contrast, facet mea-
sures focus on satisfaction with specific aspects of one’s job or working conditions,

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 10
5 Personality/Affective Traits
------------------------------------

PA/extraversion,
4
NA/neuroticism,
conscientiousness
Self-Efficacy
Expectations
13 2 3
10
Goal and Efficacy-Relevant 8
Environmental Supports,
15 Participation in/ Work Satisfaction, 1 Overall
Resources, and Obstacles 6
Progress at Goal- Situational Affect Life
(e.g., social and material
Directed Activity (e.g., mood, stress) Satisfaction
support for personal goals)
9
11
14
Expected & 7
Received
Work
Conditions &
Outcomes

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12

Figure 1. A Process Model of Work Satisfaction that Highlights Theorized Interrelations

Among Personality, Affective, Cognitive, Behavioral, and Environmental Variables.
 Lent, Brown / WORK SATISFACTION 11

such as the work itself, rewards, context, and people (Locke, 1976). Popular
examples include the Job Descriptive Index (Smith, Kendall, & Hulin, 1969) and
the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (D. J. Weiss, Dawis, England, & Lofquist,
1967).
In terms of temporal frame, job satisfaction can be measured in terms of how peo-
ple feel about their jobs over nonspecific intervals (e.g., “most of the time”; Ironson
et al., 1989) or over specific periods (e.g., the past week, today, this moment). Job
satisfaction ratings tend to be somewhat stable over time, though stability coeffi-
cients are not so high as to suggest that job satisfaction is immutable. For example,
Staw and Ross (1985) reported stability coefficients over 3- and 5-year intervals,
respectively, of .32 and .29. Coefficients tended to be lower when workers changed
employers or occupations than when they remained in stable positions, suggesting
that satisfaction ratings are responsive to situational and dispositional factors.
In presenting the integrative social cognitive model below, we will use the terms
job satisfaction and work satisfaction as synonymous. Consistent with SCCT’s view
of school and work as interrelated developmental spheres, we also intend for the
model to be inclusive of educational satisfaction (i.e., enjoyment of one’s role or
experiences as a student). Although primarily aimed at explaining overall, or global,
work satisfaction, the model can be adapted to the understanding of facet satisfac-
tion. It can also accommodate differing temporal frames (e.g., satisfaction over an
unspecified period vs. right now). However, in keeping with social cognitive mea-
surement guidelines, it is important for predictors and criterion variables to appro-
priately match one another in terms of their globality or specificity, temporal
proximity, content, and context (Lent & Brown, 2006b). For example, a measure of
support for a particular work-related goal should more highly relate to progress at
that goal than should a measure of general social support. Similarly, a measure of
work-related self-efficacy beliefs should more strongly relate to relatively proximal
(e.g., next week) versus distal (e.g., next year) levels of job satisfaction.

A SOCIAL COGNITIVE MODEL OF WORK SATISFACTION

The model attempts to account for the interplay among seven sets of vari-
ables: (a) work satisfaction, (b) overall life satisfaction, (c) personality and affec-
tive traits, (d) goal-directed activity, (e) self-efficacy, (f) work conditions and
outcomes, and (g) goal- and efficacy-relevant environmental supports and obsta-
cles. We should note that the satisfaction model features many of the central con-
structs that appear in our earlier SCCT models, such as self-efficacy beliefs,
outcome expectations, goals, other-person inputs (e.g., personality), and contex-
tual affordances. The differences among the models center primarily on the pre-
dictive criteria and the content and operationalization of the predictor variables.
For example, in the current model, outcome expectations are subsumed under
perceived working conditions and outcomes and include the match between

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12 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2008

what one wants and what one receives from work (e.g., needs–supplies fit,
value–reinforcer correspondence). Similarly, the notion of contextual affor-
dances exists in all of our models, with the current model emphasizing environ-
mental factors that support or impede one’s work goals. Our presentation of the
model will focus on the hypothesized paths among the variables displayed in
Figure 1. Readers wishing a more in-depth discussion of particular variables in
the model might consult Lent (2004) or Lent and Brown (2006a).

Central Pathways to Work Satisfaction

Life satisfaction. As noted earlier, job satisfaction is often studied in the con-
text of life satisfaction, one of the central components of general SWB (Brief,
1998; Heller et al., 2002; Heller, Watson, & Ilies, 2004). Writers have long noted
the conceptual connection between work and overall life satisfaction, observing,
for instance, the “part-whole” relationship between work and the rest of life
(Judge & Locke, 1993). That is, work is an important part of life for most adults,
and the boundaries between work and other life domains are often permeable;
for example, social ties (Rain, Lane, & Steiner, 1991) or satisfaction and moods
at work (Judge & Ilies, 2004) may extend into one’s nonwork hours.
An enduring question has been whether job satisfaction leads to overall life
satisfaction or vice versa (i.e., whether people who are generally happy are also
likely to find happiness in their specific life domains, including work). In the
“top-down” or dispositional view, job satisfaction is seen as a consequence of
more general affective or personality tendencies; the causal arrow is drawn from
life satisfaction (itself a trait-like entity) and other traits to job satisfaction. In the
“bottom-up” or situational view, however, work satisfaction (and satisfaction in
other central life domains) has the potential to affect general life happiness.
Available evidence from cross-sectional research suggests support for both direc-
tional paths (e.g., Heller et al., 2004), although some longitudinal findings suggest
that the path from life satisfaction to job satisfaction may be the more potent of the
two (Judge & Watanabe, 1993). Our model incorporates the view that work and life
satisfaction bidirectionally influence one another, as reflected by the reciprocal
paths (1) between the two variables in Figure 1 (note that the numbers given in
parentheses in this section refer to particular numbered paths in Figure 1). We fur-
ther assume that the strength and primary direction of the causal arrows may depend
on particular moderator variables, such as the personal importance of work relative
to one’s other life roles (cf. Rain et al., 1991). A stronger path from work to life sat-
isfaction may exist in conditions where work is a particularly central life domain; the
reverse may hold where work is of less salience to one’s identity.

Personality and affective traits. Although job and life satisfaction may affect one
another, it is also important to consider the other sources of influence on each of
them. Our reading of the literature indicates that both forms of satisfaction have

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 Lent, Brown / WORK SATISFACTION 13

been linked to a variety of additional trait, cognitive, behavioral, and environmental

variables. On the trait front, a good deal of research shows that job and life satisfac-
tion are each reliably related to positive and negative affectivity (Connolly &
Viswesvaran, 2000; Thoresen, Kaplan, Barsky, Warren, & de Chermont, 2003) and
to several Big Five factors (neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness; Heller
et al., 2004; Judge et al., 2002). Based on such findings, advocates of a strong trait
view of well-being argue that measures of satisfaction or happiness are essentially
reflections of affective dispositions (McCrae & Costa, 1991), which, in turn, are
largely heritable (Lykken & Tellegen, 1996). Such a view is not sanguine about
prospects for modifying domain or life satisfaction. In the words of Lykken and
Tellegen (1996), “It may be that trying to be happier is as futile as trying to be taller”
(p. 189). It is important to note, however, that traits do not fully explain life or job
satisfaction and that the mere demonstration of trait–satisfaction relations does not
account for the mechanisms whereby traits are linked to satisfaction.
Our model assumes that personality or affective traits relate to job and life sat-
isfaction via several (cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social) paths. As one
example, certain traits, such as negative affect or neuroticism, may influence
work satisfaction indirectly by coloring perceptions of self-efficacy (4) and envi-
ronmental resources (5). Thus, those who tend to experience high negative affect
may be inclined to view their personal capabilities and social supports less favor-
ably than do those with high trait positive affect. Such linkages are suggested by
findings that self-efficacy (Judge & Ilies, 2002) and perceptions of the work envi-
ronment (Warr, 1999) each relate to Big Five or affective traits. As described,
below, self-efficacy and environmental percepts may, in turn, affect domain sat-
isfaction both directly and through intervening variables. We also assume that
there is a more direct affective path from traits to domain (2) and life satisfaction
(3); that is, characteristic levels of affect may well enhance the degree to which
people experience their work (and nonwork) lives as enjoyable, a sort of “things
go better with positive affect” (or, conversely, worse with negative affect) path.

Goals and goal-directed behavior. In addition to affective traits, our model

posits that satisfaction is partly determined by cognitive and behavioral processes.
Goal-directed behavior may be a key element in the experience of both domain
and overall life satisfaction. Goals have been defined as “consciously articulated,
personally relevant objectives” that lend a sense of purpose and direction to peo-
ple’s behavior (Elliot, Sheldon, & Church, 1997, p. 915). Goals are an idio-
graphic matter, and individuals differ in terms of the types of goals they have, how
salient they are, and the effort invested in their pursuit. A variety of goal proper-
ties have been found to be related to well-being (e.g., simply having goals, hav-
ing valued goals, being committed to one’s goals; Ryan & Deci, 2001). The
perception that one is making progress toward personal goals has received par-
ticular support as a precursor of well-being in several longitudinal studies (e.g.,
Brunstein, 1993; Eliot et al., 1997).

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14 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2008

Among the many advantages of goal-directed behavior are that it enables peo-
ple to participate in personally and culturally valued activities, may bring them
into contact with others for mutual social support, and helps provide life struc-
ture and meaning, all of which can promote domain and life satisfaction.
Moreover, by framing and pursuing personal goals, people are able to assert a
measure of agency in their own well-being (Cantor & Sanderson, 1999). This is
not to say that goal pursuit entirely transcends trait influences on satisfaction, but
it does offer a viable pathway for affective self-regulation. Heller et al. (2004) sug-
gest that traits define a characteristic range of satisfaction for each individual, but
“within this broad range, changes in people’s environments, perceptions, feel-
ings, and behaviors can increase or decrease their level of satisfaction” (p. 593).
As shown in Figure 1, we maintain that goals, and goal-directed behavior, form
an important core of the perceptions and behaviors that affect work and life satis-
faction. In particular, setting, being committed to, and making progress at person-
ally valued work goals (especially proximal, intrinsic, and challenging but
attainable goals) are likely to lead to job (6) and life satisfaction (7). Conversely, the
absence of goals, weak goal commitment, or perceived failures at goal pursuit may
occasion job and life dissatisfaction. Goal–satisfaction relations may, however, be
moderated by the perceived importance of the work domain, or work role salience.
For instance, success at achieving a valued work goal may be especially satisfying
for one who holds the work role as central to his or her identity. On the other hand,
an absence of work-related goals or a lack of progress at work goals may have less
impact on the work satisfaction of those for whom the work role is less salient.

Self-efficacy and expected or received work outcomes. Drawing on social cognitive

theory (Bandura, 1997) and its extension to the context of well-being (Lent, 2004),
domain satisfaction may also be partly determined by people’s self-efficacy beliefs
and outcome expectations. In the present context, self-efficacy refers to personal
beliefs about one’s ability to perform the behaviors necessary to achieve one’s work-
related goals (i.e., goal self-efficacy) or, more generally, to perform tasks required
for success in one’s work environment (task self-efficacy). Outcome expectations
are the anticipated consequences of pursuing one’s goals or, more generally, of per-
forming one’s work role. As in SCCT’s interest, choice, and performance models,
self-efficacy is seen as a partial determinant of outcome expectations. For instance,
those with stronger self-efficacy beliefs are likely to hold more optimistic expecta-
tions about obtaining the work outcomes they value.
For the purposes of our model, the concept of outcome expectations may be
expanded to include the conditions and outcomes that people perceive they have
actually received or are currently receiving and those they anticipate receiving in
the future. An abundance of theory and research suggests that generally favorable
(e.g., Hackman & Oldham, 1976) or value-correspondent (Dawis, 2005) work
conditions are associated with job satisfaction. For instance, meta-analytic find-
ings demonstrate that perceived fit between individuals’ needs or values and the

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 Lent, Brown / WORK SATISFACTION 15

reinforcers provided by their jobs (i.e., person-job fit) is strongly related to job
satisfaction (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005). A variety of specific
work characteristics or conditions, such as role stressors (Beehr & Glazer, 2005),
organizational support (Shore & Shore, 1995), and affectively relevant work
events (H. M. Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996), have also been linked to job satisfac-
tion. In an attempt to be inclusive, we cluster such factors under the broader
heading of (expected or received) work conditions and outcomes.
We posit that self-efficacy (10) and work conditions or outcomes (11), whether
expected or received, directly affect work satisfaction; that is, perceiving that one
is efficacious at valued tasks and perceiving that one has received (or will receive)
favorable work conditions or outcomes are, themselves, sources of satisfaction.
These predictions are consistent with findings that both self-efficacy (Caprara,
Barbaranelli, Borgogni, & Steca, 2003) and positive outcome expectations (Singer
& Coffin, 1996) are associated with job satisfaction. In addition to this direct path to
job satisfaction, self-efficacy (8) and perceptions of work conditions or outcomes (9)
may indirectly affect satisfaction by motivating goal-directed behavior. For instance,
higher self-efficacy and favorable work percepts are likely to promote and sustain
efforts to achieve one’s work goals; the outcomes of goal pursuit (e.g., progress or
lack thereof), in turn, affect satisfaction.

Goal- and efficacy-relevant environmental supports and obstacles. As noted above,

the perceived and actual responsiveness of the environment to the individual (e.g.,
perceived organizational support, provision of valued conditions) can be an impor-
tant source of job satisfaction. A special class of environmental variables worth high-
lighting here are those that specifically facilitate or hinder pursuit of one’s personal
goals or that foster self-efficacy. Theory and research suggest that goal-relevant sup-
ports and resources, such as social or material support for one’s central goals, are
likely to promote satisfaction (Cantor & Sanderson, 1999; Diener & Fujita, 1995).
Conversely, obstacles that impede goal progress may diminish satisfaction.
As shown in Figure 1, in addition to a direct link to work satisfaction (12), goal-
relevant supports and barriers are seen as having an indirect effect on satisfaction
by aiding or hindering goal pursuit and progress (15). Certain environmental
resources, such as modeling, encouragement, and performance feedback, also
indirectly affect satisfaction by helping to inform self-efficacy (13) and outcome
expectations (14), which, in turn, affect goal pursuit.

TENTATIVE IMPLICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT

AND INTERVENTION

We have briefly presented a model that is intended to use social cognitive theory
as a framework for incorporating much prior theory and research on the multiple
sources of work satisfaction. Given space considerations, we focused on the model’s
basic predictions without elaborating additional theoretical possibilities that could

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16 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2008

be derived from the model (e.g., cognitive and behavioral routes through which
traits, such as conscientiousness or extraversion, may relate to satisfaction). Although
we cited examples of theory and research supportive of particular paths in the
model, we should note that there have, to date, been relatively few studies specifi-
cally designed to test the full model or subsets of it (Lent et al., 2005; Lent, Singley,
Sheu, Schmidt, & Schmidt, 2007; Lent, Taviera, Sheu, Singley, & Hennessy, 2006).
These few studies have focused on the educational satisfaction or adjustment of
college students.
Given the nascent status of its research base, we are cautious in touting the
model as a platform for assessment of, or intervention on, satisfaction or other
aspects of work adjustment. Indeed, much additional research, particularly
involving employed adults, is needed to empirically justify the extension of the
model to practice. However, we will speculate here on some ways in which,
pending further research, the model might be used to conceptualize and orga-
nize methods for promoting work satisfaction.
As Lent (2005) has suggested, a social cognitive approach would consider the
many possible sources of work satisfaction as potential targets of intervention for
those who are currently experiencing dissatisfaction with their jobs. From the
perspective of the model, some of the more common bases for dissatisfaction
(and promising targets for intervention) include (a) blocked goal progress (e.g.,
not meeting self-set work goals), (b) failure to attain the outcomes that are
expected from work (e.g., poor match between work needs and reinforcers), (c)
exposure to harsh or unacceptable work conditions (e.g., harassment), (d) low
self-efficacy regarding one’s ability to accomplish important work tasks, attain val-
ued goals, or cope with goal-inhibiting or negative work conditions, and (e) insuf-
ficient environmental supports (e.g., perceived lack of supervisor support for
one’s goal and career progress) or personal resources (work ability deficiencies).
Given that work dissatisfaction can be caused by multiple factors, the social
cognitive model implies the utility of assessing workers along the above dimen-
sions and using the resulting data as the basis for preventive, developmental, or
remedial efforts. For instance, interventions could be designed that assist indi-
viduals to (a) enable their own goal progress (e.g., by learning to set and monitor
progress toward clear, valued, proximal, intrinsic, and challenging yet attainable
goals), (b) develop strategies to attain valued work outcomes or identify alterna-
tive (e.g., nonwork) routes to value fulfillment, (c) prepare coping methods or
identify advocacy options to manage or modify distressing work conditions, (d)
cultivate realistic but optimistic self-efficacy beliefs regarding work- and goal-
related skills and coping capabilities, and (e) marshal needed supports and
resources to achieve work goals, enhance self-efficacy, and maximize work skills.
The social cognitive literature suggests a variety of strategies for fostering more
robust self-efficacy beliefs, such as providing models, preferably ones similar to
the client along salient dimensions (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, age), who can
convey information about successful goal attainment, environmental change,
and coping strategies; arranging exposure to incrementally graded success expe-
riences; encouraging internal attributions for performance success; and, where

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 Lent, Brown / WORK SATISFACTION 17

appropriate, attending to the management of performance anxiety. SCCT’s perfor-

mance model may also be usefully applied in situations in which dissatisfaction is
linked to deficient performance (Lent, 2005). Finally, Dawis (2005) provides sug-
gestions for how self-change and environmental change can be accomplished, and
a large body of literature can be called on to assist in goal-setting and facilitation
efforts (e.g., Locke & Latham, 2002).
Beyond these basic strategies, the social cognitive model of work satisfaction
suggests some other important targets for assessment that may fine-tune efforts to
assist job-dissatisfied individuals. For instance, the assessment of role salience may
help to identify targets for intervention and ascertain the degree to which job dis-
satisfaction may be affecting satisfaction in other areas of a person’s life. We had
hypothesized that work role salience may moderate the relation of goals to satis-
faction, such that not having goals or not making progress toward valued goals may
be a particularly salient source of job dissatisfaction for persons who hold the work
role as central to their identities, but may be of less consequence to job dissatisfac-
tion among people with lower work role salience. Thus, we suggest that setting, and
making progress toward, valued goals may be a particularly useful target for inter-
ventions for people with high versus low levels of work role salience. For the latter,
assessment efforts might turn to the other sources of job dissatisfaction.
We also believe it is important to consider potential trait influences on work
dissatisfaction. The most well-established relations of personality or affective trait
variables to work satisfaction involve positive affect or extraversion, negative affect
or neuroticism, and conscientiousness (Judge et al., 2002; Thoresen et al., 2003).
Although the above intervention elements may be useful for persons across most
levels of these traits, additional steps may be indicated for those with high levels
of negative affectivity and low levels of positive affectivity. High trait levels of neg-
ative affectivity may exacerbate feelings of dissatisfaction both directly and indi-
rectly, for instance, via their negative influences on self-efficacy beliefs and
perceptions of support. Low trait positive affectivity, which is characterized by
dispositional feelings of boredom, lethargy, and sluggishness (and other trait
adjectives denoting a general lack of enthusiasm and interest), may also affect
feelings of work satisfaction in several ways, for instance, by muting responsive-
ness to favorable work conditions.
Brown, Ryan, and McPartland (1996) have suggested that although personal-
ity change may not be a realistic intervention goal, it may be realistic to help
people understand and manage the behavioral and cognitive concomitants of
their affective tendencies. For those high in negative affectivity, this may involve
helping them to become aware of their tendencies to focus on and magnify the
negative aspects of their job and life experiences and to learn how to challenge
or otherwise counter these tendencies as they occur in everyday life. The nega-
tive consequences of low positive affectivity have not received the same attention
in the literature as have the consequences of high negative affectivity, but possi-
bly useful intervention options in such cases might include focusing on other,

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18 JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT / February 2008

less affective aspects of work satisfaction that are suggested by our social cognitive
model (e.g., identifying valued goals and facilitating progress toward them) or
turning to more eudaimonic objectives (e.g., enhancing the personal growth or
meaning-making potential of one’s work).
Interestingly, some recent data suggest that traits may be more malleable
than previously assumed, especially during young adulthood. For example, in a
longitudinal study of young adults, Roberts, Caspi, and Moffitt (2003) found that
there was a general decline in negative emotionality between ages 18 and 26.
More importantly, the amount of individual change was related to the nature of
the work experiences that participants had acquired by age 26. In particular,
those who had achieved greater versus lesser financial security exhibited a steeper
decline in negative emotionality. In addition, the attainment of high-status jobs
was associated with an increase in positive emotionality, whereas low job status
attainment was related to a decrease in positive emotionality.
If replicated and extended to a fuller range of work experiences, such findings
could have useful implications for practice. For instance, promotion of favorable
work experiences may serve to change basic affective dispositions that have been
consistently related to job satisfaction. On the other hand, the bidirectionality of
work experience–affect relations could pose interesting chicken-and-egg dilem-
mas. Roberts et al. (2003) also found that early (i.e., age 18) levels of positive and
negative emotionality predicted age 26 financial security and occupational
attainment and job satisfaction. Thus, somewhat ironically, it may be more diffi-
cult to achieve the financial stability that might induce changes in negative emo-
tionality if one is starting out at higher levels of negative emotionality. In other
words, changes in traits seem possible, but the extent of change may, to a certain
degree, be circumscribed depending on one’s baseline level of a particular trait
(cf. Heller et al., 2004).
We reiterate that the above assessment and intervention ideas are speculative,
but they do hint at the social cognitive model’s potential practical utility and also
suggest intervention targets and methods that can be examined in future
research. The social cognitive approach acknowledges that work satisfaction and
dissatisfaction can have multiple sources, some of which may prove relatively
resistant to change efforts (e.g., personality, contextual constraints). Yet it also
highlights ways in which individuals may be empowered to help regulate their
own work affect (e.g., via the goals they set, how they pursue them, and the envi-
ronmental resources they are able to access). Thus, although it may be true that
some people are born with a predisposition toward happiness at work (or gener-
ally; Lykken & Tellegen, 1996) and that some find themselves in environmental
circumstances that are antithetical to work satisfaction, it seems likely that many,
if not most, also have the capacity to assert a measure of agency over their expe-
rience of work satisfaction.

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 Lent, Brown / WORK SATISFACTION 19

CONCLUSION

Vocational psychology has, for some time, been more invested in studying
career entry (e.g., occupational choice) than work adjustment issues, such as job
satisfaction (Hackett, Lent, & Greenhaus, 1991). The latter has become the near-
exclusive province of organizational psychology, which has made enormously
valuable contributions to the understanding of job satisfaction. The time may be
ripe, however, for revitalizing the study of work well-being from a vocational psy-
chology perspective, and we believe that work satisfaction offers a valuable focal
point for such research. Given vocational psychologists’ concern with facilitating
individuals’ work-related outcomes, we presented a model focusing on aspects of
work satisfaction that are susceptible to affective self-regulation, even as it acknowl-
edges that some sources of satisfaction are linked to traits and environmental condi-
tions. We hope the model will find utility as a basis for the design of career
assessment and interventions and for future research.

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