Career Exploratory Behavior Scale

Abstract

The Career Exploratory Behavior Scale (CEB Scale), developed by Hung-Bin Sheu in 2023, is a five-item psychometric instrument designed to measure the recent level of engagement in career exploratory behaviors (CEB) among students. Specifically, it quantifies behaviors undertaken during the preceding week.

The theoretical foundation for the CEB Scale is drawn from key principles of vocational psychology, primarily relying on Super’s developmental perspective—focusing on tasks typical of the Exploration stage—and social cognitive career theory (SCCT). Practical input from instructors and team members familiar with the target population was also integrated into item development. Validation studies were conducted using longitudinal data collected across five time points (T1 to T5) from first-year, undeclared college students in the United States. Statistical analysis, including a robust Exploratory Factor Analysis, confirmed a single-factor structure, and comprehensive reporting of internal consistency demonstrated the scale’s reliability.

Keywords

Career Exploratory Behaviors, College Majors, Educational Choices, Occupational Choices, Student Engagement, Vocational Development, Psychometrics

Authors

Sheu, Hung-Bin

Purpose

The primary purpose of the CEB Scale is to serve as a focused assessment tool for evaluating the recent intensity and frequency of career exploratory behaviors among students who are in the process of making educational choices or declaring their academic majors.

Due to its brief, five-item structure and focus on the preceding week, the scale is particularly useful for longitudinal research or intervention studies aimed at tracking short-term changes in Career Exploratory Behavior engagement over time among young adults navigating their initial professional development stages.

Construct

The CEB Scale measures Career Exploratory Behavior (CEB), which is defined within the context of vocational development as the deliberate actions students take to learn about themselves (abilities, interests) and the external environment (majors, occupations, career paths).

The five items specifically capture active, observable behaviors such as seeking information, talking to advisors or peers, and committing time to self-assessment, aligning the construct closely with the “Exploration stage” outlined in Donald Super’s career theory. The scale’s unidimensional structure confirms that these five items measure a singular, cohesive construct of active exploration.

Validity

Specific validity data, such as concurrent, predictive, or criterion validity, was not explicitly detailed in the source documentation.

However, the strong theoretical grounding in established frameworks like Super’s theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory provides initial conceptual support for the scale’s construct validity. The development process, which included integrating practical insights from field experts, also contributes to the face validity of the instrument for use with first-year college students.

Reliability

The CEB Scale demonstrated strong and consistent internal consistency across both pilot and primary samples, confirming its dependability as a measurement tool.

• Pilot Sample: The initial Cronbach’s alpha was reported at 0.89.

• Primary Sample (Longitudinal Data): Internal consistency, measured by both Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, remained high and stable across five distinct time points (T1–T5):

  1. Time 1 (T1): 0.79

  2. Time 2 (T2): 0.81

  3. Time 3 (T3): 0.88

  4. Time 4 (T4): 0.85

  5. Time 5 (T5): 0.89

Factor Analysis

An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed using the principal axis factoring method to determine the underlying structure of the CEB Scale among the first-year college student sample.

The analysis yielded compelling evidence for a unidimensional structure, meaning the five items measure a single underlying construct. This one-factor solution was consistently supported by the high eigenvalue of the first factor (3.47), the visual representation in the scree plot, and the results of a parallel analysis. Crucially, this robust single factor successfully accounted for 69.34% of the total variance observed in the scale.

Instrument

Test Type: Original psychometric scale

Format: The CEB Scale consists of five items rated on a 1 to 5 metric. Higher scores on these items indicate a greater level of engagement in Career Exploratory Behavior (CEB).

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human (Male and Female)

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older), specifically Young Adulthood (18–29 years).

Population Details: The scale was validated on first-year college students located in the United States, particularly those who were exploratory or undeclared regarding their academic majors.

Test Methodology: The development and validation process included Test Reliability assessment, Internal Consistency analysis, Factor Analysis, and specifically Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Keywords

Career Exploratory Behaviors, College Majors, Educational Choices, Occupational Choices, Student Engagement, Psychometric Scale, Vocational Guidance

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Sheu, Hung-Bin: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1269-7514

Affiliation Email addresses: Sheu, Hung-Bin: SUNY, University at Albany, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology. Email: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Sheu, Hung-Bin: State University of New York, University at Albany, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York, United States, 12222.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The CEB Scale is available for non-commercial use, facilitating its adoption in academic and counseling settings.

• Permissions: The scale may be used freely for Research and Teaching purposes.

• Commercial Use: Commercial application is strictly prohibited.

• Fee: No fee is required for academic or research use.

• Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Sheu, H.-B. (2023). Temporal precedence between and mediating effects of career decision self-efficacy and career exploratory behavior among first-year college students: Within-person and between-person analyses by race/ethnicity and gender. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 144, 1–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2023.103882

Items of the Career Exploratory Behavior Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The CEB Scale is a 5-item measure. The prompt for the items is:

Within the past week, I have:

• spent more time than usual learning about college majors and careers that I am interested in.

• talked to lots of people about college majors and careers.

• committed to learning more about my abilities and interests.

• gathered the information I need for choosing a college major or career.

• talked with advisors/counselors in my school about career opportunities for different majors.

Note: Items are rated using a 1 to 5 metric.