Ahleah Miles Awarded APF Lowman-Richardson Consulting and I-O Psychology Research Grant

Ahleah Miles

Ahleah Miles, College of Social Science Dean's Research Associate, has been selected to receive the 2025 American Psychological Foundation (APF) Lowman-Richardson Consulting and I-O Psychology Research Grant. This highly competitive grant supports research related to professional ethics in organizational, consulting, and industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology; the interaction of occupational interests, abilities, and personality in career outcomes; and occupational mental health.

Miles' project, titled "Ethical Administration of Online Career Assessments: The Role of Feedback Specificity and Sign in the Absence of a Counselor," explores critical ethical questions surrounding the use of self-administered online career assessments. Although career assessments aim to match individuals with suitable occupations based on interest congruence, these assessments can be susceptible to bias and may not always be reliable. Paired with an increase in self-administered online assessments in the absence of a counselor, this raises concerns about misleading feedback potentially hindering career decision-making. The proposed study uses an experimental design to investigate how both the specificity of assessment reports and whether they affirm current career goals interact to influence individuals' perceptions including feedback acceptance, behavioral intentions for career exploration, and career goal (dis)engagement.

Congratulations to Ahleah Miles on this outstanding achievement. We look forward to the important contributions her research will make to the fields of I-O psychology, career development, and occupational ethics.