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International Handbook of Career Guidance: Chapter 6 -The Big Five…
International Handbook of Career Guidance:
Chapter 6
-The Big Five Career Theories
The evolution of career guidance and counseling and globalization
Career guidance and counseling in the western world, most notably in the United States, has developed a comprehensive (complete and including everything that is necessary) system of theories and intervention (the action of becoming intentionally involved in a difficult situation, in order to improve it or prevent it from getting worse) strategies in its more than 100 years of history. It began in the year of Frank Parson as a trait-factor approach in the early twentieth century (Betz, Fitzgerald, & Hill, 1989; Zunker, 2002), and slowly evolved to become a rather mature discipline (a particular area of study, especially a subject studied at a college or university) today in the twenty-first century with a strong theoretical and empirical base, with the potential to further develop into a more ‘’global’’ discipline in the years ahead. Indeed, vocational (job) and career related issues are salient (something that you pay attention to) across different cultures and nationalities (Hesketh & Rounds, 1995; Leung, 2004). In an age of economic globalization, all individuals are affected by an array (a large number) of work related concerns, some of these concerns are unique to certain cultures, but others are common to many cultural groups. The search for life purposes and meanings, the journey to actualise (achievements) oneself through various life and work-related roles, and the efforts by nations to deal with problems of employment and unemployment, are examples of universal issues that seem to affect many individuals from diverse cultures. Under the theme of career development, there are experiences, concerns, and issues that we could share, explore, and discuss at a global stage. (Richardson, 1993; Lips-Wiersma & McMorland, 2006).
The three objectives or goals of this chapter
The development of career guidance and development into a global discipline requires a set of theoretical frameworks with universal validity and applications (usage), as well as culture-specific models that could be used to explain career development issues and phenomenon at a local level. The focus of this chapter is on the five theories of career development that have guided career guidance and counseling practice and research in the past few decades in the USA as well as internationally. Given that the ‘‘big-five’’ theoretical models were developed by scholars in the USA, most of the existing reviews and summaries covering these frameworks have drawn from the literature in the USA. To augment (to enlarge or to enhance) the literature, this chapter will adopt an ‘’international’’ perspective and will seek to selectively review studies conducted in regions around the world. With that as a backdrop, this chapter aims to achieve three objectives. First, to review the core conceptual propositions and the evolvement of the ‘’big five’’ career development models, and discuss specific components of these models that are attractive to international career guidance professionals. Second, to review recent international empirical work (that is, studies conducted outside of the USA) that has been done in relation to the ‘’big five’’ career development models. Third, to discuss directions that researchers and practitioners could take to advance and ‘’indigenous’’ (referring to people who are born in that place) the big five career theories in their own cultural regions.
Theory of Work Adjustment
The theory of work adjustment (TWA) and the person-environment correspondence theory
The Theory of Work Adjustment
(TWA) is a class of theory in career development that is anchored (har stöd i eller sitt fäste i) on the individual difference tradition of vocational behavior (the difference between individuals in regards to vocational behvior) called person-environment correspondence (agreement) theory, viewing career choice and development as continual processes of adjustment and accommodation (adaptation) in which: (a) the person (P) looks for work organizations and environments (E) that would match his/her ‘’requirements’’ in terms of needs, and (b) E in turn in turn looks för individuals who have the capabilities to meeting the ‘’requirements’’ of the organisaiton. The term satisfaction is used to indicate (send signals) the degree that P is satisfied with E, and satifactoriness is used to denote (represent something) the degree that E is satisfied with P. To P, the most central requirements to meet from E are his/her needs (or reinforcers), which could be further dissected (cut open) into categories of psychological and physical needs that are termed values. To E, however, the most central requirements are abilities, which are operationalised (defined) as dimensions of skills that P possesses that are considered necessary in a given E. Overall, the degree of P’s satisfaction and E’s satisfactoriness would jointly (in a way that belongs to or is shared between two or more people) predict P’s tenure (the period of time when someone holds a job, esp. an official position, or the right to keep a job permanently) in that work environment.
How to achieve and maintain a correspondence: Four adjustment style variables
Recent formulations of TWA speculated on the effects of diverse adjustment styles that could be used to explain how P and E continuously achieve and maintain their correspondence (agreement) (Dawis, 2005). Four adjustment style variables are identified, which are flexibility, activeness, reactiveness, and perseverance.
Flexibility
refers to P’s level of tolerance to P-E dis-correspondence (disagreement) and whether he/she has a tendency to become easily dissatisfied with E.
Activeness
refers to whether P has a tendency to actively change or act on E to reduce dis-correspondence and dis-satisfaction.
Reactiveness
, conversely (the opposite of activeness), refers to whether P would resort to self-adjustment in order to deal with dis-correspondence without actively changing or acting on E. Meanwhile,
perseverance
refers to P’s degree of resolve and persistence to adjust and accommodate before choosing to exit E. Similar adjustment styles also influence E’s approach to deal with dis-correspondence and dis-satisfactoriness. Career choice and development is thus conceptualised as a continual process or cycles of work adjustment initiated (started by) by dis-satisfaction and dis-satisfactoriness
Strength: TWA and a battery of measures
A major strength of TWA is that a battery of measures has been developed to measure the various variables associated with the theory, including measures on satisfaction, needs and values, skills and abilities, satisfactoriness, and indexes of correspondence (Dawis, 2005). A large number of research studies have been conducted in the last few decades to examine the propositions (an offer or suggestion, usually in business) derived from TWA, especially on the linkage between needs/abilities and satisfaction/satisfactoriness, and between work adjustment and tenure (Dawis, 2005)
Congruence measurements
International studies examining the TWA propositions yielded mostly mixed results. In a study by Tziner, Meir, and Segal (2002), Israeli military officers were administered measures of personality, general ability, and vocational interest. Measures of congruence (the quality of being similar to or in agreement with something) were also computed (to calculate an answer or amount by using a machine) based on the degree of match between interest and participants field of job in the military. Rating (a measurement of how good or popular someone or something is) of performance from supervisors and peers were obtained and used as dependent variables. Overall, it was found that extroverted personality style and congruence were related to a higher level of performance ratings, which was consistent with TWA predictions. Contrary to expectation, general ability was not found to be a significant predictor of performance ratings. In another study by Feij, van der Velde, Tatis and Taris (1999), data were collected from Dutch young adults (ages ranged from 18-26) in two time points. Findings supported the linkage between congruence (defined as the match between vocational interest and perceived skills) and job satisfaction. However, contrary to TWA prediction, there was no significant difference between persons experiencing incongruence, and persons experiencing congruence in their tendency to change jobs. Finally, consistent with TWA’s assertion (a statement that you strongly believe is true) that vocational interest would become stable dispositions in adulthood, it was found that the congruence between interest and perceived skills among participants increased over time to become a stable pattern of interest.
The role of the adjustment styles in moderating work adjustment
As an important direction for future research on TWA is the role of the adjustment styles in moderating (tampering or lessening) work adjustment (Dawis, 2005). This was done in a study by Griffin and Hesketh (2003) with research participants from two organizations in Australia. Exploratory analysis (an analysis that explores) was performed on two sets of items related to (a) supervisor’s ratings (evaluation) of employee’s adaptive performance, and (b) employee’s ratings of work requirements biodata (i.e., perceptions of required adaptive behavior at work) and self-efficacy for behaving adaptively. The results yielded a clear proactive factor and a reactive factor, according to TWA propositions, but a tolerant factor did not clearly emerge from the data. It was also found that adaptive performance was related to self-efficacy for adaptive behavior. In one of the organizations, work requirements biodata and adaptability-related personality were predictive of adaptive performance, consistent with the prediction from TWA.
The wholenessness of TWA
Taken as a whole, TWA seeks to explain career development and satisfaction in terms of a person-environment correspondence, and it offers career guidance professionals a template (a pattern or model) to late entry points to assist individuals with career choice and adjustment concerns. (problems with adjusting) Meanwhile, the TWA propositions (suggestions) are testable in crosscultural settings, even though many of the instruments developed to operationalise the TWA variables were developed in the USA and should be validated in other cultures before being used for hypothesis testing.
Holland's Theory of Vocational Personalities in Work Environment
The six typologies of Holland theory
In the past few decades, the theory by Holland (1985, 199/) has guided career interest assessment (the act of judging or deciding the amount, value, quality, or importance of something, or the judgment or decision that is made) both in the USA and internationally. The theory by Holland offers a simple and easy-to-understand typology (the study of types, or a system of dividing things into types) framework on career interest and environments that could be used in career counseling and guidance. Holland postulated (to suggest a theory, idea, etc. as a basic principle from which a further idea is formed or developed) that vocational interest (the job one is interested in) is an expression of one’s personality, and that vocational interests could be conceptualised into six typologies, which are Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Artistic (A), Social (S), Enterprising (E), and Conventional (C). If a persons’ degree ((an) amount or level of something) of resemblance to the six vocational personality and interest types could be assessed, then it is possible to generate a three-letter code (e.g., SIA, RIA) to denote (to represent something) and summarize one’s career interest. The first letter of the code is a person's primary interest type, which would likely play a major role in career choice and satisfaction. The second and third letters are secondary interest themes, and they would likely play a lesser but still significant role in the career choice process.
The classification of vocational environments (typologies)
Parallel to the classification of vocational interest types, Holland (1985, 1997) postulated (to suggest a theory, idea, etc. as a basic principle from which a further idea is formed or developed) that vocational environments could be aranged into similar typologies. In the career choice and development process, people search for environments that would allow them to exercise their skills and abilities, and to express their attitudes and values. In any given vocational environment, there is a tendency to shape its composition (the parts, substances, etc. that something is made of) so that its characteristics are like the dominant persons in there, and those who are dissimilar to the dominant types are likely to feel unfulfilled and dissatisfied. The concept of ‘’congruence’’ is used by Holland to denote (to represent something) the status of person-environment interaction. A high degree of match between a persons’s personality and interest types and the dominant work environmental types (that is, high degree of congruence) is likely to result in vocational satisfaction and stability, and a low degree of match (that is, low congruence) is likely to result in vocational dissatisfaction and instability. The person-environment congruence perspective in Holland’s theory is quite similar to TWA’s concept of correspondence.
How to measure similarities and dissimilarities of the interest typologies (RIASEC)
The six Holland interest typologies are arranged in a hexagon in the order of RIASEC, and the relationship between the types in terms of similarities and similarities are portrayed by the distance between corresponding types in the hexagon. The concept of consistency is used as ‘’a measure of the internal harmony or coherence (the situation when the parts of something fit together in a natural or reasonable way) of an individual’s type scores’’ (Spokane & Cruza-Guet, 2005, p 24). Accordingly, types that are adjacent (very near, next to, or touching) to each other in the hegahon have the highest degree of similarity in terms of their personality characteristics and vocational orientations. Types that are opposite in the hexagon have the least degree of similarity, and types that are separated by one interval have a moderate degree of similarity. A simple way to determine the consistency of an interest code is to look at the distance between the first two letters of the code in the Holland hexagon (high, moderate, or low consistency).
What is differentiation between high and low interest?
In addition to congruence and consistency, another major concept in Holland's theory is differentiation. Differentiation refers to whether high interest and low interest types are clearly distinguishable in a person’s interest profile. An interest profile that is low in differentiation resembles a relatively flat line in which high and low interest types are not distinctive. In contrast, a differentiated interest profile has clearly high and low scores, suggesting that the crystallisation (it becomes clear) of interest might have occurred,and readiness for career choice specification (a detailed description of how something should be done, made, etc) and implementation.
An international application of Holland’s Theory of Vocational Personalities in Work Environment
Holland’s theory has an enormous impact on career interest assessment (evaluation) research. In the 40 years since Holland’s theory was proposed, hundreds of research studies have been published to examine Holland’s propositions and the validity of interest instruments that were based on his theory, including some studies using international samples. A major area of investigation among cross-cultural studies was whether Holland’s proposed structure of vocational (work) interests was valid across cultures (e.g., Rounds & Tracey, 1996). For example, Tak (2004) administered the Strong Interest Inventory to Korean college students, and findings from multi-dimensional scaling and test of randomisation suggested a good fit with Holland’s circular model of interest, even though the shape of interest arrangement was not clearly hexagonal. In another study by Sverko and Bararovic (2006), a Croatian version of Holland’s Self-Directed Search (SDS) was administered to 15-19 years old Croatian adolescents. The general findings using randomisation tests and factor-analytic techniques were supportive of Holland’s circular model, even though the degree of fit was higher for older age groups. However, findings from some other international studies suggested that the six interest types tended to cluster (get together to form a group) in forms that reflect idiosyncratic (having strange or unusual habits, ways of behaving, or features) cultural values and occupational/educational perceptions within a cultural context. For example, Leung and Hou (2005) administered the SDS to Chinese high school students in Hong Kong and findings from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested that there were six first-order factors clustered into three groups, which were Realistic-Investigative, Artistic-Social, and Social-Enterprising-Conventional. Leung and Hou (2005) suggested that the clustering might reflect characteristics of high school curriculum (the subjects studied in a school, college, etc. and what each subject includes) in Hong Kong (that is, the assignment (task) of students into science, arts, and business curriculum), as well as the centrality of social relationships in Chinese culture. In summary, there was mixed support for Holland’s structure of vocational interests across cultures. The clustering of the types was affected by specific cultural values and perceptions.
More research need to be done on Holland’s theory in regards to cultural contexts
Given the increasing need for vocational interest assessment in different cultural contexts, there is a need to conduct more research studies to examine the cross-cultural validity of Holland’s theory and the various interest assessment instruments developed. In addition to studies on vocational interest structure, research studies should examine other aspects of Holland’s propositions, such as those related to type characteristics, work environment, and the predictive validity of career interest.
International practitioners need to adjust Holland’s theory to their local occupational and educational characteristics
Most important of all, the utility (the usefulness of something, especially in a practical way) of an interest assessment tool is dependent on whether interest test scores obtained could help a test taker identify directions for occupational and educational exploration. In the USA; occupations and educational opportunities (e.g., college majors) have been translate into Holland coded (e.g., Holland, 1996), and test takers can conveniently (in a way that is suitable for your purposes and needs and causes the least difficulty) locate these codes from readily available printed or internet sources. However, occupational and educational classification resources developed in the USA cannot be adopted in full in another region without adaptation to match with local occupational and educational characteristics. Hence, the challenge for international scholars is not only to develop and adapt instruments so that they are consistent with their cultural contexts, but also to develop occupational and educational codes and resources that could benefit local users (Leung, 2004).
Self-concept Theory of Career Development
What is the theory of Self-Concept?
Among the many theories of career choice and development, the theory by Super has received much attention in the USA as well as in other parts of the world. Super (1969, 1980, 1990) suggested that career choice and development is essentially a process of developing and implementing a person’s self-concept (självuppfattning på svenska). According to Super (1990), self-concept is a product of complex interactions among a number of factors, including physical and mental growth, personal experiences, and environmental characteristics and stimulation. Whereas SUper presumed that there is an organic mechanism acting behind the process of development and maturation, recent articulations (e.g., Herr, 1997; Savickas, 2002) of Super’s theory have called for a stronger emphasis on the effects of social context and the reciprocal (A reciprocal action or arrangement involves two people or groups of people who behave in the same way or agree to help each other and give each other advantages) influence between the person and the environment. Building on Super’s notion that self-concept theory was essentially a personal construct theory, Savickas (2002) took a constructivist perspective and postulated (to suggest a theory, idea, etc. as a basic principle from which a further idea is formed or developed) that ‘’the process of career construction is essentially that of developing and implementing vocational self-concepts in work roles’’ (p.155). A relatively stable self-concept should emerge in late adolescence to serve as a guide to career choice and adjustment. However, self-concept is not a static entity and it would continue to evolve as the person encounters new experience and progresses through the developmental stages. Life and work satisfaction is a continual process of implementing the evolving self-concept through work and other life roles.
The life stage developmental framework: Growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance (or management) and disengagement
Super (1990) proposed a life stage developmental framework with the following stages: growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance (or management), and disengagement. In each stage one has to successfully manage the vocational (working) developmental tasks that are socially expected of persons in the given chronological age range. For example, in the stage of exploration (ages around 15-24), an adolescent has to cope with the vocational developmental tasks of crysallisation (a cognitive process involving an understanding of one’s interests, skills, and values, and to pursue career goals consistent with that understanding), specification (making tentative (careful because of uncertainty) and specific career choices), and implementation (taking steps to actualise career choices through engaging in training and job positions). Examples of vocational developmental tasks in each of the developmental life stages are described in Super (1990). Accordingly, the concept of ‘’career maturity’’ was used to denote (to represent something) the degree that a person was able to fulfill the vocational developmental tasks required in each developmental stage. Partially due to the mixed results obtained in empirical research studies on career maturity, there have been suggestions to replace career maturity with the concept of adaptability.
The maxi-cycles and mini-cycles of vocational developmental stages
To reflect on the previous part, vocational developmental stages are likely to progress as maxi-cycles in a person's life journey, Super (1990) postulated that a mini-cycle consisting of the same stages from growth to disengagement would likely take place within each of the stages, particularly when a person makes transition from one stage to the next. In addition, individuals would go through a mini-cycle of the stages whenever they have to make expected and unexpected career transitions such as loss of employment or due to personal or socioeconomic circumstances (Savickas, 2002).
Super’s idea of life roles and life space
The contextual emphasis of Super’s (1980,1990) theory is most clearly depicted through his postulation (to suggest a theory, idea, etc. as a basic principle from which a further idea is formed or developed) of life roles and life space. Life at any moment is an aggregate (something formed by adding together several amounts or things) of roles that one is assuming, such as child, student, leisurite, citizen, worker, parent and homemaker. The salience (the appearance) of different life roles changes as one progresses through life stages, yet at each single moment, two or three roles might take a more central place, while other roles remain on the peripheral. Life space is the constellation (a group together in one place) of different life roles that one is playing at a given time in different contexts or cultural ‘’theatres’’, including home, community, school, and workplace. Role conflicts, role interference and role confusions would likely happen when individuals are constrained in their ability to cope with the demands associated with their multiple roles.
The Work Importance Study: An international collaborative research
Super was instrumental in developing the international collaborative research work called Work Importance Study (WIS) aiming to study work role salience and work values across different cultures. The WIS involved multiple nations in North America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia, and resulted in measures of work roles and work values with similar structure and constructs.
The attraction of Super’s many theoretical aspects in guidance
Many aspects of Super’s theory are attractive to international career guidance professional and researchers, including concepts such as vocational developmental tasks, developmental stages, career maturity and life roles. It offers a comprehensive (complete) framework to describe and explain the process of vocational development that could guide career interventions (the action of becoming intentionally involved in a difficult situation, in order to improve it or prevent it from getting worse) and research. The recent anchoring of the theory on developmental contextualism takes into consideration and the reciprocal influence between the person and his/her social ecology (a branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their environments), including one’s culture. Likewise, the conceptualisation of career choice and development as a process of personal and career construction recognises the effects of subjective cultural values and beliefs in shaping vocational self-concepts and preferences.
An examination of the Career Maturity aspect or variable
A good portion of the international research studies on Super’s theory have used career maturity as one of the major variables. Career maturity was examined in two recent studies conducted in Australia. Patton, Creed and Muller (2002) administered to Grade 12 students the Australian version of the Career Development Inventory (CDI-A) (Lokan, 1984) and a measure of psychological well-being. These students were surveyed on their educational and occupational status 9 months after they graduated. Findings supported the hypotheses that students who proceeded to full-time study would have higher levels of career maturity (operationally defined as having high CDI-A scores), school achievement and psychological well-being while still at school, in compared to students who did not make a smooth transition to work or education after high school. The authors suggested that there was a strong need for school-based-intervention to assist students who might not be transitioning to full-time study after high school. In a different study by Creed and Patton (2003), CDI-A was administered to high school students from Grade 8 to Grade 12, along with several other career-related measures including career decision-making, self-efficacy, career decidedness, work value, self-esteem and work commitment. Regression (a return to a previous and less advanced or worse state, condition, or way of behaving) analyses were conducted and it was found that self-efficacy, age, career decidedness and work commitment were the main predictors of career maturity attitudes (CDI-A attitude scales), whereas age, gender, career certainty, work commitment, and career indecision were the main predictors of career maturity knowledge (CDI-A knowledge scales). Differences in career maturity scores were also found among students in different grade levels. These findings were consistent with the developmental assumptions of career maturity.
The Spanish version of CDI to measure career maturity and its results
Repetto (2001) reported a study using a Spanish version of the Carrer Development Inventory (CDI) to measure the career maturity of high school students (7th grade to 12th grade) enrolled in a career intervention program called Tu Futuro Professional (TFP, meaning Your Future Career). The intervention was designed according to Super’s conceptualisation of career maturity, with the following components: self-awareness, decision-making, career exploration, and career planning and management. A pretest-posttest design was used, and findings from treatment groups were compared to those from control groups. The results suggested that the invention was highly effective in elevating the career maturity of students in all the grade levels.
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Gottfredson’s Theory of Circumscription and Compromise
Career choice is a process requiring high level of cognitive proficiency
In compared to the more established career development frameworks such as Super’s and Holland’s theories, Gottfredson’s theory of career development is a more recent contribution. Gottfredson (1981, 1996, 2002, 2005) assumed that career choice is a process requiring a high level of cognitive proficiency (the fact of having the skill and experience for doing something). A child’s ability to synthesise and organise complex occupational information is a function of chronological age progression as well as general intelligence. Cognitive growth and development is instrumental to the development of a cognitive map of occupation and conceptions of self that are used to evaluate the appropriateness of various occupational alternatives.
Gottfredsons revisions of her theory in connection to interplay between genetic makeup and the environment
In recent revisions (the act of changing or correcting something, or the thing that has been changed or corrected) of her theory, Goddfredson’s (2002, 2005) elaborated on the dynamic (continuously changing or developing) interplay between genetic makeup and the environment. Genetic characteristics play a crucial role in shaping the basic characteristics of a person, such as interests, skills and values, yet their expression is moderated by the environment that one is exposed to. Even though genetic makeup and environment play a crucial role in shaping the person, Gottfredson maintained that the person is still an active agent who could influence or mould (to try to change or influence someone) their own environment. Hence, career development is viewed as a self-creation process in which individuals looked for avenues (a method or way of doing something) or niches (a job or position that is very suitable for someone, especially one that they like) to express their genetic proclivities (tendencies) within the boundaries of their own cultural environment
The developmental model consisting of four stages of circumscription
In contrast to the established notion that choice is a process of selection, Gottfredson’s
(1981, 1996, 2002) theorised that career choice and development could instead be viewed as a process of elimination or circumscription (to limit something) in which a person progressively eliminates certain occupational alternatives from further consideration. Circumscription is guided by salient aspects of self-concept emerging at different developmental stages. Gottfredson maintained that the career aspirations of children are influenced more by the public (e.g., gender, social class) than private aspects of their self-concept (e.g., skills, interests). A developmental model was proposed consisting of four stages of circumscription. The first is called ‘’orientation so size and power’’ (ages 3-5), and the child perceives occupations as roles taken up by big people (adults). The second stage is called ‘’orientation to sex-roles’’ (ages 6-8), and in this stage sex-role norms and attitudes emerge as defining aspect of a child’s self-concept. The child evaluates occupations according to whether they are appropriate to one’s sex, and eliminates from further consideration alternatives that are perceived to be gender inappropriate (i.e., the wrong sex-type). The third stage is called ‘’orientation to social valuation’’ (ages 9-13) as social class and status become salient to a child’s developing self-concept. Accordingly, the emerging adolescent eliminates from further consideration occupations that are too low (i.e., occupations with unacceptable prestige levels) or too high (i.e., high prestige occupations beyond one’s self efficacy level) in prestige. The fourth state is called ‘’orientation to the internal, unique self’’ (ages 14 and above), in which internal and private aspects of the adolescent’s self-concept, such as personality, interests, skills, and values, become prominent (something that is in a prominent position can easily be seen or noticed). The young adolescent considers occupations from the remaining pool of acceptable occupations according to their suitability or degree of match with one’s internal self.
What is compromise?
Another career development process is compromise. In response to external realities and constraints (to control and limit something) such as changes in the structure of the labour market, economic depression, unfair hiring practices, and family obligations (something that you must do), individuals have to accommodate their occupational preferences so that their eventual choices are achievable in the real world. Compromise is a complex process in which compatibility (the fact of being able to exist, live, or work successfully with something or someone else) with one’s interest is often compromised first so as to maintain a greater degree of correspondence with one’s preference for prestige and sex-type.
Gottfredson’s theory has received limited attention in the empirical literature
Since it’s inception in 1981, Gottfredson’s theory has only received limited attention in the empirical literature. Almost all the published research studies examining Gottfredson’s theory have used samples in the USA, and a search of the literature using PSYINFO yielded no research studies with international samples. Gottfredson’s theory is difficult to test empirically mainly because (a) most of the hypothesised variables, such as sex-type, prestige, circumscription, and compromise, are difficult to operationalise (define), and (b) the hypothesised developmental process should ideally be tested via longitudinal research design requiring substantial (large in size, value, or importance) time and resources. In a review article of major career development theories, Swanson and Gore (2000) commented that Gottfredson theory ‘’is one of the few attempts to stud specifically the period corresponding to Super’s growth stage. However, it essentially remains quite difficult to test the theoretical propositions, and unfortunately, an untestable theory is not particularly useful’’ (p.243).
Gottfredson’s Theory of Circumscription and Compromise still has it’s advantages nonetheless
Nevertheless, the theory by Gottfredson still offers unique perspectives to career guidance professionals internationally. For instance, in many cultures life accomplishment is measured by successes in education and public examinations and attainment in career positions that have high social status and influence. Likewise, gender stereotype is also a part of many cultures (e.g., Asian cultures), and individuals are encouraged to pursue occupations that are perceived to be compatible to their gender (Leung, 2002). Hence, Gottfredson’s theory offers a framework in which the influence of prestige and sex-type could be understood in diverse cultural contexts.
Social Cognitive Career Theory
Three segmental models
Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) is anchored in Bandura’s self-efficacy theory (1977, 1997), which postulated (to suggest a theory, idea, etc. as a basic principle from which a further idea is formed or developed) a mutually influencing relationship between people and the environment. SCCT offers three segmental (divided), yet interlocking (to join together firmly, esp. by fitting one part into another) process models of career development seeking to explain (a) the development of academic and vocational interest, (b) how individuals make educational and career choices, and (C) educational and career performance and stability. The three segmental models have different emphasis centering around three core variables, which are self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and personal goals.
The interest, choice and performance models of SCCT
Self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and personal goals served as core variables in the interest, choice, and performance models of SCCT.
The Advantage of SCCT for career interest, career choice and performance
SCCT offers a comprehensive (complete) framework to understand the development of career interest, career choice, and performance that is grounded in self-efficacy theory. In the past decade, SCCT has generated a large number of research studies, including some studies conducted with international samples. For example, a study by Nota, Ferrari, Solberg, and Soresi (2007) used a SCCT framework to examine the career development of Italian youths attending a university preparation program in Padua Province. The authors found a positive relationship between the career search self-efficacy of participants and family support, and a negative relationship between career search self-efficacy and career indecision (the state of being unable to make a choice). For male students, the relationship between family support and career indecision was partially mediated (to talk to two separate people or groups involved in a disagreement to try to help them to agree or find a solution to their problems) by career search self-efficacy. These findings were consistent with the general SCCT career choice models, and illustrated the importance of social support to career decision and efficacy.
The SCCT choice model
The SCCT choice model view the development of career goals and choices as functions of the interaction among self-efficacy, outcome expectations and interest over time. Career choice is an unfolding process in which the person and his/her environment mutually influence each other. It involves the specification of primary career choice or goal, actions aiming to achieve one’s goal, and performance experience providing feedback to the individual on the suitability of goal. In addition, SCCT posited (to suggest something as a basic fact or principle from which a further idea is formed or developed) that compromises in personal interests might required in the career choice process due to contextual immediate to the person (e.g., cultural beliefs, social barriers, lack of support).
The SCCT performance model
An ‘’ability’’ factor, defined as one’s achievement, aptitude (a natural ability or skill), and past performance, was highlighted in the performance model of SCCT. Ability serves as feedback from reality to inform one’s self-efficacy and outcome expectations, which in turn would influence performance goals and levels. Lent (2005) suggested that incongruence between efficacy and objective ability (e.g., over-confidence, under-confidence) would likely lead to undesirable performance (e.g., ill-prepared for task, performance anxiety). An optimal point is a slightly overshot (to go past or beyond a limit or stopping place) self-efficacy which would promote further skills utilization (the act of using something in an effective way) and development.
The SCCT interest model
The interest model specifies that individuals would likely develop interest in activities that (a) they feel efficacious and (b) anticipate that there would be positive outcomes associated with the activities. The dynamic interaction among interest, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations would lead to the formation of goals and intentions that serve to sustain behavior over time, leading to the formation of a stable pattern of interest in adolescence or early adulthood.
What are outcome expectations?
Lent, Brown, and Hackett (2002) defined outcome expectations as ‘’personal beliefs about the consequences or outcomes of performing particular behavior’’ (p.262). Outcome expectations include beliefs about extrinsic reward accociating with performing the target behavior, self-directed consequences, and outcomes derived from task performance. Overall, it is hypothesised that an individual’s outcome expectations are formed by the same information or learning experiences shaping self-efficacy beliefs.
What are personal goals?
Personal goals refer to one’s intention to engage in certain activity or to generate a particular outcome (Lent, 2005). SCCT distinguished between choice content goals, referring to the choice of activities to pursue, and performance goals, referring to the level of accomplishment or performance one aims to attain. Through setting personal goals, individuals could persist in tasks and sustain their behaviour for a long time in the absence of tangible (real; able to be shown, touched, or experienced) external rewards or reinforcement (something added to provide more strength or support).
What is self-efficacy?
Lent (2005) defined self-efficacy as ‘’a dynamic set of beliefs that are linked to particular performance domains and activities’’ (p.104). Self-efficacy expectations influence the initiation (an occasion when something starts) of specific behavior and the maintenance of behavior in response to barriers (something that stops people from going somewhere) and difficulties. Consistent with early formulation by Bandura (1977) and others, SCCT theorised that self-efficacy expectations are shaped by four primary information sources or learning experiences, which are personal performance accomplishments, vicarious learning (second hand learning), social persuasion, and physiological and affective states. Lent (2005) suggested that of the four sources of information or learning experience, personal performance accomplishments have the most powerful influence on the status of self-efficacy.