Mechanism of career choice among high school students under the interaction of cultural environment and social cognition: A Social psychological perspective

Based on a social psychological perspective, this study employed a mixed-methods approach to explore the mechanisms underlying high school students' career choice under the interaction of cultural environment and social cognition. Through quantitative surveys of 1,200 high school students and in-depth interviews with 36 students, data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, multilevel linear modeling, and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that: (1) Cultural environment exerted significant direct effects on career choice, with family, school, and societal cultural environments collectively explaining 28.5%-41.3% of the variance in career choice behaviors; (2) Social cognitive variables played important mediating roles, with the total mediating effects of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and career values accounting for 39.2%-45.8% of the total effects; (3) Cultural adaptability, cognitive flexibility, and social support demonstrated moderating, facilitating, and buffering-amplifying effects respectively in the cultural environment-cognitive process relationship; (4) The high adaptability group showed stronger cultural environmental influence effects (β=0.234), individuals with high cognitive flexibility exhibited better environmental adaptation capabilities (r=0.612), and social support demonstrated buffering effects under stressful situations (β=-0.245) while showing amplifying effects in positive environments (β=0.318). This study constructed an integrative theoretical model of cultural environment-social cognition interaction, extended the cross-cultural applicability of social cognitive theory, provided a new analytical framework for understanding adolescent career development patterns in complex cultural contexts, and offered scientific evidence for career guidance practice and educational policy formulation.