TY - JOUR
T1 - Differing Pathways to Decision-Making
T2 - Untangling the Relationships Among Metacognitive Reflection, Emotional Regulation, and Career Decision-Making Patterns
AU - Merkebu, Jerusalem
AU - Lee, Angelica
AU - Kitsantas, Anastasia
AU - Durning, Steven J.
AU - Ma, Ting Lan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
PY - 2026/1
Y1 - 2026/1
N2 - This research examines the complex connections between metacognition, reflection, and emotional regulation and how they affect different kinds of career decisions. By integrating these cognitive, emotional, and reflective dimensions, we employed structural equation modeling to investigate their mediation effects on career decisions, an area previously under-researched. Our findings from undergraduate populations reveal that metacognition mediates the relationship between reflection and vigilant decision-making, while emotional regulation plays both a mediating and direct role in influencing career decisions. Specifically, our results substantiate the assertion that emotionally regulated decisions wield greater influence on career decisions than those primarily based on cognitive factors. This comprehensive model of decision-making offers valuable insights for educators and counselors to better support individuals in making more informed and sustainable career choices.
AB - This research examines the complex connections between metacognition, reflection, and emotional regulation and how they affect different kinds of career decisions. By integrating these cognitive, emotional, and reflective dimensions, we employed structural equation modeling to investigate their mediation effects on career decisions, an area previously under-researched. Our findings from undergraduate populations reveal that metacognition mediates the relationship between reflection and vigilant decision-making, while emotional regulation plays both a mediating and direct role in influencing career decisions. Specifically, our results substantiate the assertion that emotionally regulated decisions wield greater influence on career decisions than those primarily based on cognitive factors. This comprehensive model of decision-making offers valuable insights for educators and counselors to better support individuals in making more informed and sustainable career choices.
KW - career indecision
KW - emotional regulation
KW - metacognition
KW - reflection
KW - vigilant decision-making
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/9bf83a30-8aa6-342c-ba36-52395c710149/
U2 - 10.1177/21582440261433181
DO - 10.1177/21582440261433181
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105039667392
SN - 2158-2440
VL - 16
JO - SAGE Open
JF - SAGE Open
IS - 2
ER -