CTI Total includes the answers to all 48 items and it is a global indicator of dysfunctional
career-oriented thinking, decision-making and problem solving.
A smaller CTI Total reflects a rather low level of problems in this area; a more analytic
interpretation involves the analysis of answers to certain items.
A higher CTI Total indicates serious career-related problems (unclear image of one’s
personal career, low self-confidence, lack of interest, indecision, information gap,
negative experiences, depression, irrational ideas on occupations, etc.) and which call for
urgent and personalized intervention; total high scores render the construct scores
increasingly distinct and significant.
CTI Total also offers the objective justification for starting a process of assistance /
intervention based on:
- analysis (scores below 40);
- cognitive restructuring (scores of 40-50);
- cognitive restructuring, repetition and practice (scores of 51-60);
- cognitive restructuring, repetition and practice, progressive relaxation,
thematically oriented imagery (scores over 60).
We wish to bring to attention the fact that construct scores refer to: decision making
confusion – DMC; commitment anxiety – CA; external conflict – EC.
DMC gives clues with respect to a client’s reduced capacity to start and finish the
career-oriented decision-making process, for emotional reasons or unclear understanding
of the meaning and utility of the information held.
CA highlights a client’s inability to engage in a certain direction of career development,
due to anxiety of making a wrong decision, hesitation in front of comparable alternatives,
impossibility of compiling a “list of personal priorities”, etc.
EC shows the oscillation between self-perception and the significant facts making up real
life and career development, the other’s image of the world of occupations, etc.
All the categories of construct scores are defining parts of the cognitive processes
involved in career-oriented problem solving and decision-making.
Interpreting the answers to certain items (marked with SA – strongly agree) may prove
productive (especially with a low total CTI), identifying thus certain special categories of
career-related dysfunctional thinking.
In measuring thought dysfunctionalities, the authors (Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon,
Saunders, 1996) build on the following hypotheses and theoretical grounds:
- “Dysfunctional thinking in the realm of career-related problem solving
cannot be directly measured, but accepting certain statements placed as items
in a questionnaire can offer some image of this process.