COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Remember when you wanted to be an astronaut, a rock star or a professional athlete? Some career dreams are realized, while others must be abandoned in pursuit of a realistic and attainable job. Now, a study from Ohio State University psychology professor Patrick Connell finds that merely telling somebody they are not qualified for a job is not a serious dissuasion.
"Students are really struggling to try to identify not only who they are now, but who they see themselves becoming in the future," Connell said.
Connell said hope and optimism lead some students down career paths they are not qualified to pursue. And while there is nothing wrong with believing in yourself, at some point career dreams need to be grounded in reality.
"It wasn't enough just to tell them that they didn't have the qualifications," Connell said of the study of students on Ohio State University's Lima and main campuses. "It's happening on American Idol when Simon Cowell gives feedback to a contestant saying, 'I don't think you have what it takes to sing'."
In the study, the students were pitched a new career path to pursue. Some were given harsher criticism than others. But the tipping point came when students were given a graphic, detailed picture of what failure looked like, and how their life would be altered. Connell says that is when anxiety overtook doubt, killing expectations for success.
"We want to plan to succeed, but it can sometimes get us into trouble because we can over commit to things that we're not qualified to pursue. And then we're caught completely off guard by the potential negative consequences of taking that course of action."
For parents and educators, Connell said the study also points to the value in being cautious with words of discouragement. If students are pursuing a career passion that is doubtful, but not impossible, it can be better to let it play out. And to motivate students suffering from depression, painting a positive picture of what success would look like.
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