title: Relativity of chronological age and level of awareness in crystallization of choice of career among Nigerian undergraduates.
abstract: This study attempts to assess the relative influence of chronological age and level of awareness on the crystallization of choice of discipline or career among Nigerian University undergraduates. Crystallization is defined as the ability to know or choose a discipline or vocational environment with characteristics congruent with one's personality or implementing one's vocational self-concept in the appropriate vocational environment. Level of awareness is the amount of information or data one has about a discipline. Seventy-six freshers of the University of Jos, Nigeria in two categories of disciplines--old/professional disciplines (medicine and law) and new disciplines (sociology and psychology) with different levels of awareness about them in Nigerian society were used. It was hypothesized that students in the old/professional disciplines of law and medicine would have better crystallization about their disciplines than students in the newer disciplines of psychology and sociology. This hypothesis was supported at P less than 0.01. Also supported was the hypothesis that crystallization would not increase with chronological age. In conclusion, it is suggested that level of awareness as against chronological age is a more potent determiner of crystallization of career choice in Nigeria.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002321:Career Choice; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009549:Nigeria; D011584:Psychology; D012107:Research Design; D012961:Sociology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology