Theories of career decision making

Question 1

Why theories are important?

Answer 1

the theories provide counselors with a framework for designing counseling interventions.

Question 2

Non-psychological theories?

Answer 2

These theories is attributed to factors external to the individual

-theories of chance and the economic, cultural and
sociological theories belong.
-Socio-economic theories attribute the choice of
profession to a system outside the individual, which
can be either the “luck” factor or factors based on the economic principles of supply and demand (Kantas & Hantzi, 1991). The individual chooses a career or a career goal that will maximize his profit and minimize
his losses.
-Socio-cultural theories attribute the choice of profession to the social and cultural influences that the individual receives.
-the cultural atmosphere, in which the young person is
socialized, orients him in order to discount his future
according to the specific value system that he shares
with the other members of the family

Question 3

Critisism on socio-economic theories?

Answer 3

they ignore the role that values, personality, interests and other individual characteristics play in the vocational decisions of individuals (Markoulis 1981, Kantas & Hantzi 1991).

Question 4

Psychological theories?

Answer 4

-their core of analysis the
individual himself, but without excluding the indirect influence of environmental variables in the final decision. Great emphasis is placed on factors related to
the individual for career choice (interests, values, ..).
-Such theories are characteristic-factor theories, psychoanalytic theories, theories of needs and theories of the self, evolutionary theories and theories of decisions.

Question 5

Evoluionary theories?

Answer 5

Is choosing a profession
is a developmental process, which has its own distinct
stages from early childhood to adulthood (Ginzberg
theory).

-Ginzberg (1951) argued that career choice is a long
process characterized, as noted, by a series of
compromises that the individual makes between his desires and the conditions of the world of work.
-Ginzberg’s main critique, however, refers to the
interpretation he gives to professional choice as a closed development process, which ends the moment the individual begins his professional activity (Krivas 1987).

Question 6

An evolutionary theory that we learnt?

Answer 6

Super’s theory

Question 7

Super’s theory?

Answer 7

-includes the Life Career Rainbow
-The breadth and depth of a person’s personal career are determined by his or
her ever-evolving self-concept.
-Career choices are constantly influenced by this self-concept, by other
internal variables (such as values, interests and skills) and external variables (such as internships, labor market conditions and economic
conditions)
-choice is in fact a procedure/route rather than an event. There are a number of choices in our lives. When a person chooses a profession, he is called to define himself. It is an act of self-determination
-Every decision and choice has serious consequences for the whole life and is
definitely related to what will follow in the future.

Question 8

Super’s Life Career Rainbow?

Answer 8

Contains activities in all the interactive roles of life and is part of his career definition

Question 9

What does Super accepts?

Answer 9

that people differ in abilities, interests, personality.
Every person has the ability to succeed in many professions, because he has
diverse and varied structured abilities. This means that there is not a single profession that is suitable for one person but more professions are equally good for each person.

A person’s professional preferences change as he grows older

Question 10

What is the Archway of Determinant (Super)?

Answer 10

An illustration of the process of career development,

Question 11

Archway of Determinant (Super) includes:

Answer 11

At the base of the arch he places the biographical data
and the geographical data.

Bibliographic aspects on the left (personal life history of the person, values, interests and abilities, etc.). internal variables

Geographical data on the ritht (includes national and cultural influences received by the individual)

Question 12

Why columns in Archway of Determinant (Super)?

Answer 12

The two types of data (Bibliographic and geographical) form two equal-sized columns that support and fuel the individual’s personal
career choice, forming the general framework within
which the individual makes his professional choices. The internal variables are located in the left column and the external variables in the right

Question 13

Holland’s theory?

Answer 13

Holland’s theory does not
overlook heredity, the environment, and how these
parameters affect career choices, its emphasis is on the factors that influence choices at a given point in time. In other words, based on Holland’s theoretical approach, the counselor will focus on the “now”, rather than looking back at the counselor’s career or predicting his or her
professional status from the moment he or she makes his
or her next career decision

Question 14

What does Holland’s hexagonal model shows?

Answer 14

the relationship between the personality types and

environments.

Question 15

Baed on Holland’s theory, hoe many personality types do we have?

Answer 15

6!

RIASEC
Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and
Conventional.

Question 16

What does a Realistic person likes based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 16

Likes concrete over abstarct probs, working outdoors with machines, tools, animals or plants; is physical, practical, hands on

Question 17

Sample careers for a Realistic person based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 17

Civil engineer
Museum convservator
Airline pilot
Fish and game warden 
Superyor
Electrician
Referee or sports official
Restaurant cok

Question 18

What does an Investigative person likes based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 18

Likes to observe, research, analyze; is curious, reserved, logical, unconventional, explorative, scholarly, intellectual

Question 19

Sample careers for an Investigative person based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 19

Surgeon
Geneticist
Molecular or cellular biologist
Robotics Engineer
Intelligence analyst
Transportation planner
Archeologist
Historian
Economist

Question 20

What does an Artistic person likes based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 20

Likes unstructured challenges that call for creative solutions; is imaginative, intellectual, original, impulsive, expressive

Question 21

Sample careers for an Artistic person based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 21

Architect
Actor
Singer
Fashion designer
Editor
Video game designer
Interior Designer 
Poet
Private Cook

Question 22

What does a Social person likes based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 22

Likes helping others, using interpersonal skills; is friendly, patient, responsible, caring, generous, cooperative

Question 23

Sample careers for a Social person based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 23

Nurse practitioner
Teacher
Dental hygienist
Midwife
Cleric
Athletic Trainer
Substance abuse counselor
Acupuncturist 
Arbitrator

Question 24

What does an Enterprising person likes based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 24

Likes to lead, manage, or influence others; is competitive, assertive, confident, outgoing, energetic, optimistic, ambitious

Question 25

Sample careers for an Enterprising person based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 25

Chief executive
Sales manager
Real estate agent
Securities and commodities trader
Air traffic controller
Sheriff 
Shool administrator
Lawyer
Chef

Question 26

What does a Conventional person likes based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 26

Likes well-structured tasks, working with data; is reponsible, detail-oriented, conscientious, compliant, careful, organized

Question 27

Sample careers for a Conventional person based on Holland’s theory?

Answer 27

Accountant
Archivist
Librarian
Financial Analyst
Statistician
Database Administrator
Auditor
Web administrator 
Loan officer

Question 28

Bandura’s Social learning theory?

Answer 28

Albert Bandura proposed that people learn new

knowledge and skills by observation and watching other people (role modelling).

Question 29

What does observational learning include?

Answer 29

• listening to a podcast
• reading
• hearing or watching the actions of characters in books, films or websites.

Question 30

Which are the four requiremennts needed for Bandura’s observational learning?

Answer 30

-Paying attention: You’re interested enough in the model
to focus attention.
-Retention: You’re able to store and remember
information.
-Reproduction: You practice the observed behavior to
improve and grow your skills.
-Motivation: You copy the behavior because you’ve been rewarded by your own sense of achievement, or you’ve watched someone else being rewarded.

Question 31

What is Bandura recognising?

Answer 31

that self-efficacy, our belief in our own abilities, plays a major role in how we learn and whether we achieve our goals.
Low self-efficacy leads to an inability to grow and
expand our skills.

Question 32

How can you help your clients develop their self-efficacy and increase their motivation (Bandura’s theory)?

Answer 32

By:
-understanding their situation by asking open-ended questions
-finding role models in their family they identify with who
can support their dreams and goals
-identifying mentors who will provide a positive experience, for example, through job shadowing and
work experience
-looking for ways to increase their learning through
different media such as podcasts
-directing them to experiences where they believe they’ll succeed
-showing them how to replace negativity with positive self-talk, for example, using techniques such as

Question 33

Which are the basic bulding blocks of Bandura’s model?

Answer 33

Goals

Outcome Self
experience efficacy
beliefs

Question 34

Self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura’s theory)?

Answer 34

people’s beliefs about their own capabilities to plan and execute steps to attain certain personal goals – also central to Bandura’s theory. These self beliefs are dynamic and relate to the environment linked to a task or the nature of the task itself (eg.: playing piano in front of an audience) and are not selfesteem, which is more universal.

Question 35

According to Bandura, self-efficacy beliefs are acquired through 4 primary informational sources

Answer 35

-personal performance accomplishments
-vicarious learning – learning derived from independent
sources such as through hearing or observation, rather than doing and experimenting.
-social persuasion
-physiological and affective states – eg.: depression can
surpress our belief in our abilities

Question 36

Outcome expectations (Bandura’s theory)?

Answer 36

refers to the perceived outcomes ,effects or consequences of certain behaviours. People
tend to favour positive outcome expectations and tend to avoid those that are expected to have a negative
outcome, even if their self-efficacy about the action
required is high.

Question 37

Goals (Bandura’s theory)?

Answer 37

or personal goals address the question about how
much and how well a person wants to do something
(Lent, 2013, p. 119). They help organise, direct and
sustain certain behaviours through the amount of
progress people believe they are making towards
achieving that goal. Goals are affected by a person’s
self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations. A
perception of strong or weak progress can have an effect on a person’s self-efficacy beliefs and outcome
expectations and vice-versa.

Question 38

Which are the three central variables that Social Cognitive Career Therapy (Bnadura) incorporates?

Answer 38

(1) self-efficacy,
(2) outcome expectations,
and (3) personal goals.

These three variables are seen as basic “building
blocks” of career development.

Question 39

Which are the two aspects of Chaos theory?

Answer 39

What you can control:
Know yourself
Set goals
Watch the job market
Upskill 

Learn to live at the edge of chaos:
Accept change
Learn from mistakes
Welcome uncertainty 
Take planned risks

Question 40

What chaos theory of career recognises?

Answer 40

Different factors influence our career development, such as economic conditions and the job market, and our own values, family and culture

Change is a part of life

Certainty about the future is impossible

Setbacks are opportunitites to learn

It’s OK to make decisions with limited information

Question 41

Chaos theory is especially useful for people who are..?

Answer 41

• Facing redundancy or unexpected life changes
• Worried about choosing the “right” career
• Struggling to get a job in their field
• Facing changes in their job due to automation.
• Help your clients live at the edge of chaos
• You can put the chaos theory of careers into practice by helping clients plan and set goals but stay curious and open.
• Encourage them to tap into their imagination when exploring options for their career.

Question 42

How can you help clients through the chaos in their career development (chaos theory)?

Answer 42

• Understand their personality, skills and where can be fit in the job market
• Recognise their transferable skills
• Use setbacks as an opportunity to learn new skills or explore new career options
• Develop optimism
• Be open to taking calculated risks
• See the value of backup plans, ie, a Plan B and C
• Become aware of job market changes and know how to keep their skills up to date