The Effect of an Intrinsic Motivation-Based Mock Interview Workshop on Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy in Nursing Students

The Effect of an Intrinsic Motivation-Based Mock Interview Workshop on Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy in Nursing Students: A Single-Group Pretest-Posttest Pilot

This single-group pretest-posttest pilot study evaluates the effect of a mock interview workshop, grounded in Self-Determination Theory, on career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE) and interview performance among first-year undergraduate nursing students in China. The 6-hour workshop consisted of four stages designed to support autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Participants (N=155) completed validated CDMSE scales and mock interview evaluations before and after the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Nursing Students; Career Preparation
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Intrinsic Motivation-Based Mock Interview Workshop

Detailed Description

The intervention was developed based on the intrinsic motivation component of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). It was delivered over two weeks, totaling 6 class-hours (45 minutes per class-hour), divided into four stages: (1) Activating Autonomy in Career Decision-Making (interactive lecture on interview skills); (2) Demonstrating Competence in Career Decision-Making (live mock interview with structured questions); (3) Fostering Peer Support in Career Decision-Making (small-group role-playing and peer discussion); (4) Reflective Rehearsal (recorded video self-introduction). Outcomes were assessed using the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale (CDMSE), Job Search Self-Efficacy Scale (JSSE), and a researcher-developed Mock Interview Evaluation Scale. The study was conducted between March and June 2025 at a university in China.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 155
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Liaoning
    • Shenyang, Liaoning, China, 110122
      • School of Nursing, China Medical University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. First-year undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a full-time program at the participating university
2. Willing to participate in the study and provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Failure to complete all four stages of the mock interview workshop
2. Failure to complete either pre-intervention or post-intervention questionnaires within the stipulated timeframe

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Intrinsic Motivation-Based Mock Interview Workshop Group; This single-arm study consists of a structured mock interview workshop grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), targeting three psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The intervention is delivered over two weeks, totaling 6 class-hours (45 minutes per class-hour), divided into four stages: (1) Activating Autonomy in Career Decision-Making: interactive lecture on interview skills, resume preparation, and simulated job postings; (2) Demonstrating Competence in Career Decision-Making: live mock interview with structured questions and immediate feedback from interviewers; (3) Fostering Peer Support in Career Decision-Making: small-group role-playing (6 students per group) with peer discussion and experience sharing; (4) Reflective Rehearsal: recorded video self-introduction submitted for independent evaluation. All participants receive the same intervention.

Behavioral: Intrinsic Motivation-Based Mock Interview Workshop; This behavioral intervention is a structured mock interview workshop grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), designed to enhance nursing students' career decision-making self-efficacy by supporting three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The intervention is delivered over two consecutive weeks, totaling 6 class-hours (45 minutes per class-hour). The workshop consists of four stages: Stage 1 (45 min) - Activating Autonomy in Career Decision-Making: Interactive lecture covering interview attire, resume writing, and pre-interview preparation; simulated job postings are distributed. Stage 2 (90 min) - Demonstrating Competence in Career Decision-Making: Live mock interviews where students respond to structured questions from two interviewers; performance is evaluated using the Mock Interview Evaluation Scale. Stage 3 (90 min) - Fostering Peer Support in Career Decision-Making: Small-group role-playing (6 students per group) where students rotate roles; Other Names: SDT-Based Career Preparation Workshop

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy (CDMSE)	Career decision-making self-efficacy is assessed using the Chinese version of the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale (Peng & Long, 2001). This 39-item scale measures confidence in completing career-related tasks across five subscales: Self-Appraisal (6 items), Occupational Information Gathering (9 items), Goal Selection (9 items), Planning (8 items), and Problem-Solving (7 items). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("no confidence at all") to 5 ("complete confidence"). Total scores range from 39 to 195, with higher scores indicating greater career decision-making self-efficacy. The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency in this study (Cronbach's α = 0.912).	Baseline; Week 2

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Job Search Self-Efficacy (JSSE)	Job search self-efficacy is assessed using the 3-item Job Search Self-Efficacy Scale (Trougakos et al., 2007; Chinese version by Zhang, 2018). Items evaluate confidence in looking for job vacancies, identifying appropriate positions, and preparing a resume. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree"). Total scores range from 3 to 15, with higher scores indicating greater job search self-efficacy. The scale showed good internal consistency in this study (Cronbach's α = 0.83).	Baseline; Week 2
Mock Interview Performance	Mock interview performance is assessed using a researcher-developed 10-item Mock Interview Evaluation Scale. The scale evaluates three domains: Professional Demeanor (1 item), Verbal Communication (2 items), and Self-Recommendation Content (7 items). Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 ("poor") to 5 ("excellent"), with weighted scores based on expert-assigned coefficients. Total scores range from 10 to 50, with higher scores indicating better interview performance. Content validity was established with a Scale-level Content Validity Index of 0.824, and internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach's α = 0.795).	Baseline; Week 2

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: China Medical University, China

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 21, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 6, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): June 6, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 20, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 25, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 31, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 31, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 25, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Nursing Students; Mock Interview; Career Preparation
• Other Study ID Numbers: Mock Interview Workshop

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Individual participant data will not be shared due to privacy and ethical restrictions. The study involved nursing students from a single university, and the informed consent obtained did not include provisions for data sharing beyond the scope of this study. Additionally, the dataset contains potentially identifiable information (e.g., age, gender, educational background), and sharing such data without explicit consent would not comply with the institutional ethics committee approval (China Medical University Ethics Committee, Approval No: [2025]173).

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No