The Impact of Priming Free Will Beliefs on Career Decision-Making Self Efcacy: An Experimental Study

Abstract: Belief or disbelief in free will has been widely researched recently, not only as a philosophical notion but as an influence on other beliefs and behaviour. Previous literature has shown strengthening or weakening belief in free will to be an uncomplicated feat but the present paper calls attention to this fallacy. Using an experimental design, we aimed to investigate if priming notions about free will would alter beliefs in free will and if that alteration would then influence career decision making self-efficacy among a sample of 72 Indian college students. The participants were randomly assigned to two conditions and were administered priming materials: research that supported either the existence of free will or opposed it. Free will beliefs and career decision-making self efficacy were measured a week before and immediately after priming treatment using standardised measures. Data were analysed by comparing the participants' scores before and after the treatment. Results revealed that beliefs about free will remained unaltered in both conditions despite the priming, indicating their strength and pervasiveness. Consequently, career decision-making self-efficacy also remained unaffected. Several reasons for this have been elaborated. Our findings imply that beliefs about free will and determinism are robust and not easy to manipulate.