Linda Gottfredson

Linda Gottfredson

Gottfredson developed a career development theory for children and adolescents known as Circumscription, Compromise, & Self Creation that was published in 2002.

Gottfredson argues that individuals' occupational choices are made in an attempt to fit into the broader social order.  Specifically she notes that choices are made in relation to gender role and fit with a job (most important), the prestige of the career (second most important), and lastly how the job matches one's personality and preferences.  Gottfredson further states that circumscription is the eliminating of possible careers based upon gender and prestige and that this begins at a fairly young age.

Circumscription has 5 guiding values:

1.       Children are trying to understand and organize complex information about the world & themselves.

2.       Occupation is about enhancing self-concept.

3.       Children begin wrestling with societal views of individuals, with views on gender first, prestige second, and later, both simultaneously.

4.       Occupational choices/options are continually restricted further and further as children and their understandings/views grow more complex.  The process of adding occupations back into consideration only takes place when considerable changes in social environment or a significant learning experience alters one's view of the world.

5.       Circumscription is gradual and may go unnoticed by us as individuals.

Compromise is what Gottfredson says that we do, as individuals, by setting aside (or not) our preferences in our career pursuits to instead focus on occupations that are more easily achievable or socially acceptable.

Four stages of child cognitive development according to Gottfredson:

1.       Size and Power (age 3-5): kids realize the difference between themselves and adults

2.       Orientation to Gender Roles (age 6-8): children begin to observe, learn, and therefore apply, in their own views, what is acceptable for males and females (both generally as well as possible career considerations).

3.       Orientation to Social Value (age 9-13): Children begin to understand and consider views of others based upon socioeconomic status and societal approval, or lack thereof, because of their place/role in society.  This begins to impact individuals perceived occupational possibilities based upon where they see themselves in society and what type of work (effort) they are willing to put forth in their career/job.

4.       Orientation to the Internal, Unique Self (age 14 and above): individuals begin to develop their own sense of individuality and their own view of themselves comes into view.  As a result, individuals begin thinking about which careers match who they see themselves as and what they see themselves doing.

Gottfredson says that in the past, career development instruction and assistance for young people has happened in stage 4.  She thinks all stages should be involved in the development process, keeping the following things in mind:

1.       Should be age appropriate.

2.       Don’t overwhelm kids but expose them to full breadth of career options.

3.       Help kids understand circumscription and alternatives so that they can put into words the reason(s) why they are making the choices they are.

4.       Factors in circumscription process (gender, socioeconomic status, abilities, and preferences) should be named and understood.

A blogger has summarized Gottfredson's theory pretty well at the following website:
http://www.sidewaysthoughts.com/blog/2013/06/did-you-inherit-your-career-gottfredsons-theory-of-circumscription-and-compromise/

Tiedeman

Tiedeman

The married couple David V. Tiedman and Anna Miller-Tiedman worked together and separately in their careers in the area of career development. Their research and writing focus on career decision making and how individuals make decisions.  Anna-Miller-Tiedman's work specifically focuses on Life Career, or the idea that one's experiences in life in large part shape their personal views, and as a result shape their life and career decisions.  She has published her work in 4 different books during the late 1980's through the late 1990's.  Tiedman and Miller-Tiedman's general argument is that all individuals process both personal reality and common reality as they make decisions and career counselors should be aware of this as they work with clients.

Personal reality is an individual's sense of what is right and common reality is what others say an individuals should do.  Tiedman and Miller-Tiedman suggest that as we anticipate decisions to make and then adjust to the decisions we have made, we draw upon these two realities to inform our decision making. Tiedman and another colleague, O'Hara argue that the anticipation phase of decision making encompasses 4 stages that may or may not be sequential:

Once the decision has been made, the adjusting, or carrying out of the decision involves three components:

A brief personal biography and introduction to Anna Miller-Tiedman's views on career development can be found on the website of her New Careering Institute: http://www.life-is-career.com/pages/bio.html

Liptak

John J. Liptak serves as the Associate Director of Experiential Learning & Career Development and adjunct instructor in the Counselor Education Department at Radford University.  He has worked in counseling since 1990 in different settings (prisons, mental health facilities, higher education).

His contributions to career counseling focus on what he refers to as Emotional Intelligence (EI). Liptak believes that an important component of helping young adults successfully transition from training and educational settings into the workforce is helping them develop the emotional intelligence skills necessary to succeed in the workforce. Some of the emotional intelligence skills Liptak has written on include: coping skills, anger management strategies, social skills, and stress management.  He has also developed a number of job search assessments used by career counselors to assist clients with their occupational planning.  His career development contributions through EI research and publishing have taken place over about the last decade.

The following website gives a brief biography of Liptak and provides a short overview of his contributions to the field: http://www.eiconsortium.org/members/liptak.htm

Schlossberg

Schlossberg Adult Career Development Transition Model

Nancy K. Schlossberg developed a model and theory about adults experiencing transition in her book Counseling Adults in Transition, co-authored by Jane Goodman and Mary Anderson.  The book was originally published in 1984 and has been republished 3 additional times, the most recent being in 2011. Schlossberg and her colleagues developed their transition model which includes three stages that are listed and described below:

1. Approaching the transition (two components)
    a. Identifying the transition
    b, The Process of going through the transition

2. Identifying how to cope with the transition

3. Strategies for taking charge of the transition

1. Approaching transitions: (identifying and going through the transition)
     a. Identifying: Schlossberg suggests there are three types of transitions:

• anticipated
• unanticipated
• nonevent transition (transition anticipated but never occurred)

     b. Going through the transition process typically follows the following phases:

• pervasive and all encompassing in clients's life
• client experiences disbelief
• client experiences sense of betrayal
• client is confused
• client is angry
• the client resolves to move on

2. Identifying how to cope depends on how the client responds to the following three factors:
     a. the situation-include variables such as the trigger, the timing, the source, the role change,
         the duration, previous similar experiences, and the stress(es) associated with the transition
     b. the self-includes personal situation (such as: socioeconomic status, culture/race/ethnicity,                    gender, age/life stage, state of personal health) and psychological state and
         sources of support (such as: ego development, personality, outlook, commitment/values)
      c. support-what types of social support does a client have (examples: intimate partner, family,                 friendships, institutional support) and how does that support function
          (examples: affect, affirm, aid, feedback)

3. Strategies: coping approaches include functions and strategies
    a. functions include controlling the situation, its meaning and the stress associated with the
       situation
    b. strategies include information seeking, direct action, and the reluctance to take action

One easy way to summarize Schlossberg and her colleagues transition theory is to remember the 4 S's of the coping theory: Self, Situation, Strategies, and Support.  A PowerPoint Presentation providing an overview of Schlossberg's 4 S's can be found here:
http://www.slideshare.net/KeciaMcManusEdD/transition-theory-4-s-2013

Anne Roe

Anne Roe (1904-1991)

Roe developed a Personality Development Theory in which she suggests that career choices can be predicted based upon biological, sociological, and psychological differences.  This idea was published in her Psychology of Occupations (1956).

The Personality Development Theory has two major components.  The first component draws upon Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (see pyramid diagram below) to describe the limitations and possibilities of different individuals as it relates to their occupational choices.  Roe argues that for those in unsafe or unstable situations who are unable to access the needs on the bottom of the pyramid, their occupational choices will be severely limited.  Roe suggests that as individuals experience more stability of needs (as one is able to move higher up the hierarchy) , there will be more diversity and variety of career choices.





















The second component of the theory suggests that occupational selections are made in response to and because of the relationship and interactions between parents and children.  Roe suggested that parents are either concentrating on the child, avoiding the child, or accepting the child.  In Roe's views concentrating can lead to over protection of a child or unreachable expectations.  For parents who ignore the child, Roe suggests that children might feel rejected or neglected by the avoiding parent.  And finally, Roe suggests that acceptance of the child encourages the child's independence and supports the child through either a laid back casual acceptance or a more overt loving acceptance. Roe goes on to suggest that these different parenting styles and children's experiences growing up can predict the occupations that one will pursue.  See the diagram below for the application of how the parenting styles may lead to wanting to work with people or avoid working with people.

The Groups on the chart refer to occupational groups that Roe developed.  These 8 groups are:
1. Service
2. Business
3. Organization
4. Technology
5. Outdoor
6. Science
7. General Culture
8. Arts and Entertainment

Roe suggests that individuals find themselves resonating with one of more of these occupational groupings and that various careers in these groupings can be divided into levels based upon the complexity or difficulty of the decisions that are required in the various jobs.  The jobs with the most complexity and difficult decision making are categorized with a # 1 and the least complex have a # 6.  See below for a chart example of the occupational groupings and levels.

The following website gives a very basic overview of Roe's theory and application: http://www.ehow.com/info_8628146_ann-roes-three-parenting-styles.html

Gail Hackett

Gail Hackett

Gail Hackett is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  Hackett's early research and writing draw the work of Albert Bandura; Bandura's theory is know as Social Cognitive Theory. Contemporaries of Hackett who have developed career and behavior theories based upon the Social Cognitive Theory include John Krumboltz, Robert W. Lent, and Steven D. Brown.

Together with Lent and Brown, Hackett developed the Social Cognitive Learning Theory (or what is sometimes referred to as the Social Cognitive Career Theory or Social Cognitive Career Choice) in 1994.  Their research and writing on Social Cognitive Learning Theory has continued to develop over the last two decades since its original publication.

Drawing on Bandura, Lent, Brown, and Hackett argue that individuals unique learning experiences (social learning) are vital components that impact the development of personalities, behaviors and choices. They argue that personal factors such as beliefs, personal experiences, and environmental factors interact in order to impact our human development and behaviors.

Image Source: Hackett presentation at University Missouri-Kansas City found here.

More specifically, the Social Cognitive Learning Theory that Hackett and her colleagues draw on suggests that two types of learning experiences, instrumental and associative, strongly influence career decisions and choices.  Instrumental learning experiences are related to rewards and punishments.  The idea is that individuals are more likely to try something again if they were rewarded the first time they tried it and not as likely to try it again if they were punished upon their first attempt.  Associative learning experiences are lessons that we as individuals internalize based on what we have observed others experience and/or what we perceive society to encourage or discourage.

Hackett and her colleagues suggest that it is important in career counseling to help clients build positive self efficacy expectations so that they can set goals and engage in behaviors that contribute to them believing those goals are achievable.

Image Source: ACM found here.

In her career after publishing the Social Cognitive Learning Theory, Hackett has continued to teach and do research in counseling psychology while increasingly playing a large role in higher education administration at Arizona State University and the University of Misssouri-Kansas City, where she worked before accepting her current role at VCU.

For a simple overview of Social Cognitive Learning Theory look at the Microsoft Word handout provided on the University of South Florida's website here.

Steven D. Brown

Steven D. Brown 

Steven D. Brown is a professor and researcher who teaches at Loyola University, Chicago.  Brown has spent his career in counseling and higher education developing a number of theories with important applications in career counseling. His theories are closely related to and draw on the research and learning theory of Albert Bandura; Bandura's theory is know as Social Cognitive Theory. Contemporaries of Brown who have developed career and behavior theories based upon the Social Cognitive Theory include John Krumboltz, Robert W. Lent, and Gail Hackett.

Together with Lent and Hackett, Brown developed the Social Cognitive Learning Theory (or what is sometimes referred to as the Social Cognitive Career Theory or Social Cognitive Career Choice) in 1994.  Their research and writing on Social Cognitive Learning Theory has continued to develop over the last two decades since its original publication.

Drawing on Bandura, Lent, Brown, and Hackett argue that individuals unique learning experiences (social learning) are vital components that impact the development of personalities, behaviors and choices. They argue that personal factors such as beliefs, personal experiences, and environmental factors interact in order to impact our human development and behaviors.

Image Source: Hackett presentation at University Missouri-Kansas City found here.

More specifically, the Social Cognitive Learning Theory that Brown and his colleagues draw on suggests that two types of learning experiences, instrumental and associative, strongly influence career decisions and choices.  Instrumental learning experiences are related to rewards and punishments.  The idea is that individuals are more likely to try something again if they were rewarded the first time they tried it and not as likely to try it again if they were punished upon their first attempt.  Associative learning experiences are lessons that we as individuals internalize based on what we have observed others experience and/or what we perceive society to encourage or discourage.

Brown and his colleagues suggest that it is important in career counseling to help clients build positive self efficacy expectations so that they can set goals and engage in behaviors that contribute to them believing those goals are achievable.

Image Source: ACM found here.

In his own research and writing, Brown has applied the Social Cognitive Learning Theory as it relates to careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

For a simple overview of Social Cognitive Learning Theory look at the Microsoft Word handout provided on the University of South Florida's website here.

Robert W. Lent

Robert W. Lent

Robert W. Lent is a professor and researcher who teaches at University of Maryland in the Counseling Psychology Program.  Lent has spent his career in counseling developing a number of theories with important applications in career counseling. His theories are closely related to and draw on the research and learning theory of Albert Bandura; Bandura's theory is know as Social Cognitive Theory. Contemporaries of Lent who have developed career and behavior theories based upon the Social Cognitive Theory include John Krumboltz, Steven D. Brown, and Gail Hackett.

Together with Brown and Hackett, Lent developed the Social Cognitive Learning Theory (or what is sometimes referred to as the Social Cognitive Career Theory or Social Cognitive Career Choice) in 1994.  Their research and writing on Social Cognitive Learning Theory has continued to develop over the last two decades since its original publication.

Drawing on Bandura, Lent, Brown, and Hackett argue that individuals unique learning experiences (social learning) are vital components that impact the development of personalities, behaviors and choices. They argue that personal factors such as beliefs, personal experiences, and environmental factors interact in order to impact our human development and behaviors.

Image Source: Hackett presentation at University Missouri-Kansas City found here.

More specifically, the Social Cognitive Learning Theory that Lent and his colleagues draw on suggests that two types of learning experiences, instrumental and associative, strongly influence career decisions and choices.  Instrumental learning experiences are related to rewards and punishments.  The idea is that individuals are more likely to try something again if they were rewarded the first time they tried it and not as likely to try it again if they were punished upon their first attempt.  Associative learning experiences are lessons that we as individuals internalize based on what we have observed others experience and/or what we perceive society to encourage or discourage.

Lent and his colleagues suggest that it is important in career counseling to help clients build positive self efficacy expectations so that they can set goals and engage in behaviors that contribute to them believing those goals are achievable.

Image Source: ACM found here.

In his own research and writing, Lent has applied the Social Cognitive Learning Theory in counselor training and development.

For a simple overview of Social Cognitive Learning Theory look at the Microsoft Word handout provided on the University of South Florida's website here.

John Krumboltz

John Krumboltz (1928-Present)

John Krumboltz has spent his career in counseling developing a number of theories with important applications in career counseling. His theories are closely related to and draw on the research and learning theory of Albert Bandura.  Contemporaries of Krumboltz who have developed social learning theories with similar principles and related applications are Robert W. Lent, Steven D. Brown, and Gail Hackett.  Lent, Brown, and Hackett and their theories will be more fully explored on the next blog posts.

Drawing on Bandura, Krumboltz argues that individuals unique learning experiences (social learning) are vital components that impact the development of personalities, behaviors and choices. Paying attention to general developmental theories can be helpful, but these theories are most useful when viewed alongside or in light of an individual's unique life experiences.

More specifically, the Social Learning Theory (SLT) that Krumboltz draws on suggests that two types of learning experiences, instrumental and associative, strongly influence career decisions and choices.  Instrumental learning experiences are related to rewards and punishments.  The idea is that individuals are more likely to try something again if they were rewarded the first time they tried it and not as likely to try it again if they were punished upon their first attempt.  Associative learning experiences are lessons that we as individuals internalize based on what we have observed others experience and/or what we perceive society to encourage or discourage.

Krumboltz 3 most significant theories are:

I. Social Learning Theory of Career Decision Making (SLTCDM)-1979

II. Learning Theory of Career Counseling (LTCC)

III. Planned Happenstance Theory-1999; 2009
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I. Social Learning Theory of Career Decision Making (SLTCDM)

• seeks to explain why career decisions/changes are made
• names four factors that influence career paths:

1. Genetic Endowment/Special Abilities (talents, abilities, as well as race, gender, etc.)
2. Environmental Conditions/Events (factors outside individual's control ex. social, economic changes)
3. Learning Experiences (instrumental and associative-see above)
4. Task Approach Skills (includes emotional responses, work habits, and performance standards)

     Because of these factors, and skills and observations that individuals make about themselves
     and the world from them, career choices are made.

II. Learning Theory of Career Counseling (LTCC)

• theory observes that constantly changing career work environments have become the norm

      The goal of the LTCC is for counselors to help clients: develop more accurate
      self-observation generalizations, acquire more accurate world view-observation
      generalizations, learn new task approach skills, and, as a result, to take the appropriate
      career related actions.

III. Planned Happenstance Theory

• theory believes chance encounters or events (happenstance) are significant factors in career development
• in contrast with matching strategies of career counseling (ex. Super, Holland)

      Krumboltz and his colleagues argue that we can prepare for and create opportunities to
      take advantage of by developing the following 5 skills:

1. curiosity
2. persistance
3. flexability
4. optimism
5. risk taking

For an introductory 5 minute video on Happenstance theory that includes some Hollywood movie examples visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8UISZtcacA

Holland Matching Theories

John Holland (1919-2008)

Holland was a psychologist, scholar, and counselor. His career focused on the development of his: Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments.  This theory is best described in his book by the same name first published in 1959 with updated editions including the 3rd and final edition published in 1997.

Holland's theory suggests that people can be characterized by their relationship with six personality types. These six personality types are known as the RIASEC model which is an acronym for the following types:
1. Realistic
2. Investigative
3. Artistic
4. Social
5. Enterprising
6. Conventional

Both individuals and their personalities and work environments can be identified on the RIASEC hexagon.  An individual can identify which types they most closely identify with by taking a number of different assessments, one of which is the Self Directed Search (SDS).

After taking one of the assessments, the application of the theory come into play.  Counselors must know the distinguishing features of each type and also the relationship of one type to another.

Table 1 Source: Revitalizing Educational Counseling: How Career Theory Can Inform a Forgotten Practice by Robert C. Reardon and Sara C. Bertoch (http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org/revitalizing-educational-counseling-how-career-theory-can-inform-a-forgotten-practice/)

There are several terms (below) that are important to understand about the relationship between an individual and their resonance with the various types on the RIASEC hexagon.

Calculus-when placing an individual's types on the hexagon in the RIASEC order as depicted above, the closer a letter is to another, the more these types resemble one another.

Consistency refers to individuals who identify with types that are close to one another.

Congruence is the term Holland uses to describe the relationship between one's personality type and one's environment. Counselors are unlikely to be able to strictly match one environment and one personality because we all relate to all types at some level.  There are no pure types of people or environments.

Differentiation refers to how strongly one relates to some types and not others.  Those who relate closely or strongly with some types, or clusters of types and not others are termed differentiated. Those who bear no or some resemblance to all types are undifferentiated.

Identity refers to how clear a picture one has of career goals.  Holland developed an assessment tool known as My Vocational Situation to measure the state of one's identity.

Donald Super's Life Span Theory

Donald Super (1910-1994) developed a Career Development Theory known as Life Span Theory. Super's ideas on career and vocation were developed and refined over the course of his more than five decade career stretching from the late 1930's through the early 1990's.  The development of his Life Span Theory took place during the middle of part of his career (starting in the 1950's and stretching through the 1970's). The basic premise of the theory is that an individual's self concept, or view that one has of oneself and their situation in life, changes over time because of different changing factors.

Some of the factors that Super identifies that contribute to one's changing self concept include:

• our physiological make up
• where we live geographically in the world
• our psychological make up (or personality) as it relates to our needs, values, interests, aptitudes and abilities, etc.
• environmental factors of the age in which we live such as: economic health, the stability of our family, the stability of our neighborhood and the communities in which we live, etc

Because one's self concept changes over time, it is subjective in Super's theory, as opposed to other theorists who try to identify objective measures of 'self'.

Super's Theory is visually depicted on a Life Career Rainbow that shows some of the factors identified above (called "lifestyle factors" in the below diagram) as well as six (6) life roles that Super sees as common to most people.  The life roles he identifies are:

• homemaker
• worker
• citizen
• leisurite
• student
• child

Super argues that individuals experience developmental stages throughout life.  The developmental stages on the above rainbow are: birth, growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance and decline. Super identifies sub-stages that fall under these stages and notes that most individual's experience of moving from one stage to another will not be linear but rather cyclical.  In other words, one might revisit different stages and sub-stages multiple times throughout their life.

Super argues that as individuals go throughout their life, the interplay of the above mentioned factors, life roles, and developmental stages contribute to one's career development, choices, and options.

Michael Schreiner has a short article summarizing Super's Theory and how it relates to career counseling.  The article can be found at the following website: http://evolutioncounseling.com/donald-super-career-counseling-theory/

Aaron Scott