Integrating Intuition and Rationality: Development of a Post-Engagement Reflection to Enhance Career Decision-Making

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Post-Engagement Reflection (PER; a mindfulness-based intervention) was developed for use after an occupational engagement activity with the purpose of enhancing awareness of intuitive data and facilitating the integration of System 1 (intuition) and System 2 (rationality) in career decision-making. Sixteen graduate students who were enrolled in a graduate course on career development participated in an experimental study that explored the effectiveness of the PER when employed after an informational interview. Students were divided into treatment and control groups and were matched based on their tendency to rely on experiential information when making decisions as measured by the Rational Experiential Inventory. After conducting informational interviews with individuals in the community, participants in the treatment group completed the PER while members of the control group completed a brief analog-type item where they rated how positively or negatively the informational interview went. Follow-up interviews were conducted by the researcher with all 16 participants to explore the impact of the intervention. Analysis of follow-up interviews revealed that individuals who completed the PER in conjunction with the interview mentioned more intuition-related information in response to open-ended questions than did controls. The results also revealed that individuals in the treatment group mentioned feeling excited about their future careers and talked about physical sensations and specific emotions considerably more often than did individuals in the control group. Finally, participants’ responses suggested additional ways that the PER may be beneficial which merit future study, including improved memory of the informational interview, enhanced motivation to remain occupationally engaged, and the perception that the PER served as a physical reminder of long-term career goals as well as a tool for alleviating self-doubt. Key words: mindfulness, intuition, career decision-making, informational interviews