Career Counseling & Guidance CSL Winter /15/11 Overview of Main Theories

Holland’s Theory Theory of Vocational Personalities

Personality Types Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional describes personalities characteristic set of attitudes and skills preferences for vocational and leisure activities, life goals and values, beliefs about oneself, and problem-solving style also describes environments

Holland’s Types Realistic Investigative Artistic Social Enterprising Conventional

Leslie- from Holland’s perspective What would her “type” be? What environment has she been in, and what’s the congruence? How does Holland’s theory help understand Leslie and her choices? What hypotheses would you make from this perspective?

Developmental Theory-Super Chapter 5

Central Premise vocational development is a process of making several decisions process culminates in vocational choices Vocational choice is an implementation of the self-concept

Assumptions of Stage Theories Behavior develops continuously Stages are irreversible (though contemporary theorists are less definite about this) There are characteristic patterns to each stage There are tasks that must be accomplished at each stage to go to next stage Increasing levels of maturity and independence

Developmental vs. Trait Factor Theories Process oriented Inclusive of roles outside career focus Longitudinal Multidisciplinary Self concept is critical

Self Concept Is formed by vocational preferences and competencies, changes and evolves over time in interaction with situations, Is a product of social learning, is increasingly stable over the life span

Career Maturity Is the readiness of the individual to cope with the demands of the environment Predicts successful coping with the requirements of each stage Involves both attitudinal factors and cognitive factors. In adults, term is career adaptability, “readiness to cope with changing work and work conditions”

Developmental Stages Growth (ages 4 to 13) Exploration (ages 14 to 24) Establishment (ages 25 to 44) Maintenance (ages 45 to 65) Disengagement (over age 65). Individuals do not necessarily go through these stages at these ages, may recycle through

Growth Ages 4-13 Tasks include: ◦ becoming concerned about the future, ◦ increasing personal control over one’s own life, ◦ convincing oneself to achieve in school and at work, ◦ acquiring competent work habits and attitudes

Exploration ages tasks are: ◦ crystallizing- focusing in on a broad occupational area ◦ specifying-narrowing down to a specific choice ◦ implementing career choice

Establishment ages entering and becoming established in one’s career and work life tasks include: ◦ stabilizing-- settling in and learning about job requirements ◦ Consolidating- feeling secure in job ◦ Advancing--assuming greater responsibility

Maintenance Ages Tasks include: ◦ Acceleration- continuing to grow and change ◦ Stagnation

Decline Ages 65 and older Tasks include: ◦ Specialization ◦ disengagement

Life Roles Child Student Homemaker Worker Citizen Leisurite Roles interact and vary in intensity over life-span

Goals of Counseling Develop and accept an integrated and adequate picture of themselves and their life roles, Test the concept against reality Convert it into reality by making choices that implement the self-concept and lead to job success and satisfaction as well as benefit to society

C-DAC Model Assesses Life structure and work-role salience, Career development status and resources, Vocational identity, including values, interests, abilities, Occupational self-concepts and life themes.

Gottfredson’s theory Explains why individuals’ vocational expectations vary by sex, race, and social class. Views vocational choice first as an implementation of the social self and then implementation of self concept Choices circumscribed by social variables such as gender or social class

Vocational Aspirations product of accessibility (choices that are most realistic), and compatibility (person-environment fit).

Stages Stage One (ages 3 to 5)- orientation to size and power Stage Two (ages 6 to 8) - orientation to sex roles Stage Three (ages 9 to 13) -orientation to prestige and status Stage Four (ages 14 and older)- orientation to the internal self

Gottfredson’s theory Explains why individuals’ vocational expectations vary by sex, race, and social class. Views vocational choice first as an implementation of the social self and then implementation of self concept Choices circumscribed by social variables such as gender or social class

Vocational Aspirations product of accessibility (choices that are most realistic), and compatibility (person-environment fit).

Stages Stage One (ages 3 to 5)- orientation to size and power Stage Two (ages 6 to 8) - orientation to sex roles Stage Three (ages 9 to 13) -orientation to prestige and status Stage Four (ages 14 and older)- orientation to the internal self

Self efficacy theory: Chapter 7

Background individuals’ perceptions of reality are greater determinants of their behavior than objective reality behavior changes and decisions are mediated by expectations of self-efficacy Self efficacy is the confidence one has to accomplish tasks in a specific situation

Level and Strength of Self-efficacy Will Determine: Whether or not a coping behavior will be initiated How much effort will result How long the effort will be obtained in the face of obstacles

Sources of Self Efficacy: Sources of Self Efficacy: Performance accomplishments Vicarious experience Verbal persuasion Emotional arousal

Outcome Expectancy Outcome Expectancy Lead to an expected outcome Successfully execute behavior to produce outcome Effort varies in magnitude, generality, and strength based on outcome expected

Development of Interests Outcome expectancies and self-efficacy beliefs both predict interests Interests (together with self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancies) predict goals Goals lead to choosing and practicing activities, which then Lead to performance attainments

Choice Model Person inputs and background context influence learning experiences, which influence self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancies, which influence interests, which influence choice goals, which influence actions, which influence performance attainments

Performance Model predicts the level of performance as well as the persistence past performance accomplishments influence self-efficacy and outcome expectancies, which influence performance goals, which lead to performance attainment level.

Career Counseling Identify those options that clients have foreclosed because they have unrealistic or faulty self-efficacy beliefs or outcome expectancies. Identify and evaluate barriers to various career choices Modify and counteract faulty efficacy beliefs and faulty occupational information.

Interventions Increasing individuals’ self-efficacy Fostering positive and realistic outcome expectations Setting specific goals Increasing coping self-efficacy and strong performance skills Expanding vocational interests, Increasing decision-making skills and exploratory behavior, Increasing consideration of non-traditional careers

Goal of Career Counseling Help clients find a career that matches their interests, values, and skills. Help clients explore possibilities that are a good match, but were discarded from consideration due to poor self-efficacy perceptions or inaccurate outcome expectations

Identifying Foreclosed Options Focus on the results from an interest inventory, using both high and lower scoring scales. Analyze discrepancies between occupations identified on various inventories Use a card sort

Modifying Faulty Self-efficacy Beliefs help clients create opportunities to experience successful performance accomplishments Help clients develop accurate view of abilities to raise efficacy beliefs Reanalyze previous experiences that led to faulty efficacy beliefs

Identifying Barriers Identify barriers Determine if realistic Brainstorm ways to overcome them

Theory of Work Adjustment

Central Premise Can predict satisfaction in a job from knowing the fit between the individual and the environment. Correspondence is a good fit. Environments require individuals to have abilities Individuals require environments to reinforce their needs.

Satisfactoriness How well an individual’s abilities and skills meet what the job or organization requires. Result is a satisfactory employee. Satisfactory employees are retained, promoted or transferred. Unsatisfactory employees are fired. Abilities are assessed and compared to occupational aptitude patterns for jobs.

Satisfaction How well the organization meets the needs of an individual. Individuals have needs and values that are met by the job (e.g., need to be autonomous or challenged). If the job meets these needs, result is satisfication. Satisfied employees stay, if not quit.

Needs and values Six basic values: autonomy, achievement, comfort, status, altruism, and safety. Needs are assessed, and compared to the occupational reinforcer patterns of occupations (e.g., jobs are assessed to determine the pattern of needs in the environment).

Personality Styles Determines how an individual interacts with the environment. Celerity: speed to interact. Pace: intensity or activity level. Rhythm: pattern of pace (steady, cyclical or erratic). Endurance: sustaining interaction.

Adjustment If an employee’s needs are not perfectly correspondent (I.e., if not all needs are met), employee is dissatisfied, and begins to adjust to increase correspondence. Flexibility is the ability to tolerate the correspondence. This is the threshold before adjustment begins to occur. (see chart on p. 66).

Adjustment (cont). Once threshold of adjustment is reached, dissatisfaction is too great, and individual moves into adjustment mode- to increase satisfaction (i.e., correspondence). Reactive adjustment - change self, such as reduce level of needs Active adjustment- change work environment to increase rewards

Adjustment (cont.) Perseverance: Continuing in the environment after adjustment begins. Perseverance continues until the discorrespondence is too great, and individual quits. Perseverance and flexibility are fluctuating- may tolerate discorrespondence one day, but not next.

Development Stages Differentiation: First 20 years of formation of abilities, values and personality style. Stability: Adulthood, relative constancy of abilities and values. Decline: Physiological changes that alter abilities and values.

Goals of Counseling Purposes: identifying a career choice, clarifying decision-making, helping a client identify opportunities for adjustment, and helping a client decide on various ways to change an environment. Self-knowledge is critical. May help client adjust to environment or find new job.

Counseling Hypotheses Inadequate Performance due to: ◦ Actual discorrespondence between the clients’ actual abilities and the job requirements. ◦ Inaccurate perception by client of his/her abilities. ◦ Client may be able to do the job task, but is not able to perform tasks in other life roles. ◦ Abilities and requirements correspond, but inadequate performance is a result of discorrespondence in the need-reward discorrespondence.

Counseling Hypotheses (cont) Dissatisfaction due to: ◦ Actual mismatch between needs and rewards ◦ Needs are met vicariously rather than is a true psychological need. ◦ Client is satisfied in job, but needs are not met in other domains.

Stages of Counseling Establishing a working relationship. Exploring client’s problem. Assess client’s work personality and self- image—identify needs and abilities. Assess the environment in similar terms. Assess the effect of counseling on the problem.

Chapter 10 Theory Integration

Person Environment Fit Theories Holland: how vocational personalities and work environments fit together. Outcomes include vocational choice and adjustment; predicted by congruence with the environment. TWA highlights individuals’ abilities and needs. Focuses on how individuals decrease job dissatisfaction. outcomes include vocational choice and adjustment.

Developmental Theories Super: life long development Gottfredson: emphasis on childhood and adolescence. Both explain how choices are made and implemented. Both predict vocational choice and development; Super’s outcomes also include implementation of the self-concept, and delineation of work as one of many life roles.

Social Learning Focuses on learning experiences, both in the past and in the future. Emphasis is on ways that individuals learn characteristic ways of approaching tasks and general observations about themselves and their world. Individuals’ learning histories, their genetic endowments, and their task approach skills interact with environmental conditions to predict vocational choice.

Social Cognitive Focuses on the personal construction individuals place on what they have learned. Highlights how interests develop and how choices develop. Emphasis on an individual’s beliefs about his or her competence in the related abilities and the outcomes expected of pursuing that field. With social learning theory, consideration is given to environmental conditions and events.

Theories help counselors Holland identifies what happens, Developmental theories describe how it happens, TWA depicts how it happens and the outcome, Social learning theory changes how it will happen. Social cognitive career theory describes how an individual’s perceptions of reality help to make it happen.