Irrational beliefs, dysfunctional myths and their effect on decision-making process: An empirical research with student teachers

This paper explores the irrational beliefs and dysfunctional myths which are found to influence students" career decision-making process. Results from an empirical research conducted with students (N = 496) majoring in education and pedagogy are presented. The data analysis by implementing the General Linear Model showed that, contrary to previous research reports, the measured dysfunctional myths have a positive effect on the "certainty for the chosen professional career", a finding that can be interpreted based on the cultural peculiarities of Greek students. In addition, Latent Class Analysis was implemented using the dysfunctional-myths items, and the ensued students" profiles were associated with the "certainty of choice". The results were in line with preceding analysis and showed that dysfunctional myths can affect positively the decision-making process. Moreover, LCA revealed that even one strong irrational belief, may lead to large unexpected changes of the dependent measure under investigation. The findings raise new questions for further research in the educational research.