Special Section: Motivational Self Regulation Across the Life-Span For better or worse: Young adults’ opportunity beliefs and motivational self-regulation during career entry

Individuals’ motivational self-regulatory system is challenged as they cross the transition from school to work. Using data from a longitudinal study of participants approaching and crossing university graduation (n 1⁄4 140), we examine the ways in which individuals’ motivational strategies reflect and direct their career-related opportunity field. Our findings indicate that participants’ beliefs about how socioeconomic status (SES) is attained in society and how they themselves believe their own SES will be attained, are related with the degree to which they engage with or disengage from their career goals. These SES-related beliefs can be broadly organized into two patterns: the first emphasizing personal control over attaining career goals and the second emphasizing non-action-contingent control. Regarding the former, participants who viewed career goal attainment as being determined by merit (e.g., effort and ability) were more likely to engage with their career goals, and in so doing reported more rapid progress toward attaining their career goals. Conversely, participants who believed that career attainment is due to factors outside of their direct control (e.g., privilege and luck), were more likely to disengage from their career goals, and in so doing devalued the importance of attaining their career goals.