James Sampson, Jr.
Professor
Mode L. Stone Distinguished Professor
Associate Dean for Faculty Development
& Administration
Jim Sampson is the Mode L. Stone Distinguished Professor of Counseling and Career Development in the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems at Florida State University where he has taught courses in career development and computer applications in counseling since 1982. In 1986 he was appointed Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Technology in Counseling and Career Development, a research center established at FSU to improve the design and use of computer applications in counseling and guidance. Since 2008 he has served as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Administration in the College of Education. He has presented or consulted in 24 countries and is currently a Visiting Professor of Career Development and Management at the International Centre for Guidance Studies at the University of Derby in England, a Visiting Professor of Educational Psychology at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research at the University of Jyväskylä, an Overseas Fellow of the National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling in Cambridge England.
Sampson’s research focuses on analyzing the content and process of career decision making using a cognitive information processing approach, and then applying the knowledge gained to design and deliver cost-effective career resources and services. He is also interested in examining the design and appropriate use of information and communication technology in the delivery of assessment and information resources as well as counseling and guidance services.
Sampson is a member of a Florida State University research and development team that authored the Career Thoughts Inventory (CIT), an instrument of intervention workbook used to measure and alter negative thinking that impedes career decision making. The team has also authored several books including “Career Development and Services: A Cognitive Approach" (1991), "Career Development and Planning: A Cognitive Approach” (2000), and "Career Counseling and Services: A Cognitive Information Processing Approach” (2004).
In accordance with his long-term interest in standards of practice and ethical codes related to the design and use of computer applications in counseling, Sampson has been a contributing author to codes of ethics and handbooks of standards for such organizations as the American Counseling Association, the Association of Computer-Based Systems for Career Information, the National Board for Certified Counselors and the National Career Development Association.
Over the course of his career, Sampson has been honored with several awards, most notably, the American Counseling Association Extended Research Award (with R. Reardon, 1999), and the Eminent Career award from the National Career Development Association (2001). In 2009, he was named Fellow of the American Counseling Association.
Sampson received his Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of Florida in 1977. He is a nationally certified counselor and career counselor and is a licensed psychologist in the state of Florida.