Module 2: Trait Theories

Trait Approach to career development is otherwise called Person-Environment approach


Parson 1909 - father of vocational guidance

Parson wrote a book called “Choosing a Vocation”. Prior to his work, occupation was considered to be ‘calling from god‘. Parson was very socially active defending the exploited during the great industrialisation of America.

Parsonian approach focuses on the importance of the interview process to understand the person in order to offer a match to a suitable occupation. He pointed out the importance of scientific assessment of person’s aptitudes, abilities, ambitions, resources, and limitations. Parson suggested that an occupation in harmony with the nature of the man means enjoyment, superior product, and good pay


3 key steps to career selection according to Parson:

Step 1: Understand self (the person)

  • Assessed with questionnaires, tests, and measures

  • Aim is to classify/categorise the client

  • Counsellor’s role is giving accurate feedback on a person’s strengths and weaknesses.

Step 2: Understand the world of work (the environment)

  • Requirements, opportunities, how to succeed, work conditions

  • Provide clients with job lists, industry descriptions, information on courses, salary, and other economic information

Step 3: Apply true reasoning to maximise person-environment fit.

  • Rational decision making

  • Judgement of how self and occupation are related


Basic Assumptions of Trait Based Career Theories

  • Each person is best fitted to a specific type of work based on their characteristics

  • Workers in different occupations have different psychological characteristics

  • Career development is mostly cognitive, and relies on rational decision-making

  • Occupational choice is a ‘here-and-now’ event

  • Adjustment depends on the degree of ‘fit’ between worker’s characteristics and work demands


Edward Strong developed the first interest inventory to assess traits for career development (Strong Vocational Interest Bank/Inventory) - Inspired Holland’s theory


Holland’s Theory Assumptions:

  • Person has individual differences

  • Environments have individual differences

  • People choose ‘environmental personalities‘ that satisfy their ‘personality - personality drives career choice’

  • Interests considered stronger expression of personality than abilities


RIASEC: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional


Interpreting Holland Codes

Congruence

  • Level of fit between the person type and the occupation type

  • Better fit leads to satisfaction and productivity

Consistency

  • Relatedness or harmony between the top types - higher consistency is desirable

  • The higher the consistency, the more occupations with matching codes because the skills underlying the codes are similar and the environments are similar

  • Where the first two codes are opposites, the interests, skills, and environments associated with them are opposite, so few matching occupations

Differentiation

  • Extent to which the profile varies across the 6 types - numerical distance between the highest and lowest scores

  • Reflects crystallisation of interests - clarity of interests


High-Flat profile: high level of interest as well as perceived skills in all areas; need to narrow down - values apprehension, paid-unpaid roles

Low-Flat profile: often young people with limited engagement in exploration of self/world of work; to tackle - encouragement to gain work experience as well as theoretical understanding of working world

Identity

  • Career decision making is generally a major task for adolescence/early adulthood

  • Establishing an Identity is the major developmental task for adolescence