Career Development Theories Vocabulary ch 2

Flashcards covering the vocabulary and key theoretical constructs of career development as presented in Chapter 2 of the textbook notes.

Career Development Theory

A set of concepts, propositions, and ideas providing insights into the process of career development, offering clues on what to study and how results address counseling concerns.

Trait-and-Factor Theory

An approach based on Parsons ($1909$) that focuses on matching an individual's unique patterns of ability or traits with the requirements of specific jobs.

Person-Environment-Correspondence (PEC) Counseling

Formerly known as the Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA), this theory emphasizes that individuals seek to maintain a positive relationship (congruence) with their work environments.

Occupational Reinforcers

Factors in the work environment vital to an individual's work adjustment, including achievement, advancement, authority, coworkers, security, and variety.

John Holland’s Typology

A theory suggesting individuals are attracted to careers that extend their personality into the world of work, categorized into six modal occupational environments.

RIASEC Theory

Holland’s coded system of personality types: $R$ (Realistic), $I$ (Investigative), $A$ (Artistic), $S$ (Social), $E$ (Enterprising), and $C$ (Conventional).

Consistency

A concept in Holland's hexagonal model suggesting that personality and environmental types share common elements if they are closer on the hexagon (e.g., $E$, $S$, and $A$).

Differentiation

The degree to which an individual fits a pure personality type versus having a poorly defined or undifferentiated personality style.

Learning Theory of Career Counseling (LTCC)

Krumboltz’s theory identifying four factors in career development: genetic endowments, environmental conditions, learning experiences, and task approach skills.

Instrumental Learning Experiences

Learning that occurs through reactions to consequences, direct observable results of actions, and the reactions of others.

Happenstance Approach Theory

A theory developed by Mitchell, Levin, and Krumboltz ($1999$) suggesting that chance events over the life span have both positive and negative consequences and serve as opportunities for learning.

Zeteophobia

A specific fear of the decision-making process itself.

Cognitive Information Processing (CIP)

A theory focusing on how individuals use information in career problem solving and decision making, often represented by the CASVE cycle.

CASVE Cycle

A sequential procedure for career problem solving involving Communication, Analysis, Synthesis, Valuing, and Execution.

Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT)

A theory building on Bandura’s work that emphasizes the triadic reciprocal model involving physical attributes, external factors, and overt behavior.

Self-Efficacy

A set of beliefs about a specific performance domain that can influence career choice and implementation.

Personal Agency

A term reflecting how and why individuals exert power to achieve a career outcome or adapt to career changes.

Life-Span, Life-Space Approach

Donald Super’s multisided approach viewing career development as a process that unfolds gradually over the life span through multiple life roles.

Self-Concept (Super)

The centerpiece of Super’s theory, suggesting vocational self-concept develops through growth, observations of work, and identification with working adults.

Career Maturity

The completion of appropriate vocational developmental tasks at each stage of development, including planning, accepting responsibility, and occupational awareness.

Maxicycle

The longitudinal dimension of the life span in Super’s life-stage model, corresponding to major life stages.

Archway Model

Super’s model used to clarify how biographical, psychological, and socioeconomic determinants influence career development.

Circumscription

The process in Gottfredson’s theory where individuals narrow occupational aspirations during developmental stages (ages $3-5$, $6-8$, $9-13$, and $14+$).

Compromise (Gottfredson)

The process of adjusting career aspirations to accommodate external realities such as accessibility, hiring practices, and family obligations.

Constructivism

A postmodern psychological approach where individuals define themselves as they participate in events and personal constructs modified over the life span.

Career Construction Theory

Savickas's theory which uses constructivism to explain how individuals construct their own reality and adapt to environments through inner structures.

Contextualism

A perspective focusing on the interplay of forces between person and environment (viewed as a single unit or dyad) and the social meaning of actions.

Ecological System

A perspective proposed by Bronfenbrenner ($1979$) involving the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem.