Career Choice & Development Theories

Question 1

Theories of Career Choice & Development

this career development theory views career choice as a life-long process and predicts that a job that fits a person’s self-concept leads to greater job satisfaction & successd

Answer 1

Super’s life-span, life-space theory

Question 2

Theories of Career Choice & Development

according to Super, this central concept referring to how people perceive themselves and their situation develops over the lifespan, is the result of interactions between internal (personal) factors & external (situational) factors, is influenced by a person’s career development process, and is the major determinant of a person’s career decisions

Answer 2

self-concept

Question 3

Theories of Career Choice & Development

list the 5 stages of Super’s life-span, lif-space theory & associated age ranges

Answer 3

1) growth (birth to 14)
2) exploration (15 to 24)
3) establishment (25 to 44)
4) maintenance (45 to 64)
5) disengagement (65+)

Question 4

Career Choice & Development

according to Super’s theory, this term for adults refers to a person’s ability to successfully complete the tasks of their stage

Answer 4

career adaptability

Question 5

Theories of Career Choice & Development

this refers to the various roles a person assumes at different times and in different contexts (e.g., child, student, worker, parent) according to Super’s career development theory

Answer 5

life-space

Question 6

in Super’s career development theory, this is used to assist with career counseling and depicts the relationship between a person’s life stages and major life roles over their lifespan

Answer 6

life-career rainbow

Question 7

Theories of Career Choice & Development

this theory of career choice distinguishes between 6 personality & work enviornment types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, & conventional (“RIASEC”)

Answer 7

Holland’s theory

Question 8

Theories of Career Choice & Development

a concept Holland proposed referring to the idea that people are most productive & satisfied at work when there’s a high degree of congruence between a person’s personality & the characteristics of the work environment.

Answer 8

goodness-of-fit

Question 9

Theories of Career Choice & Development

Holland proposed that a personality/work environment match is most predictive of job outcomes when the person’s score profile on the Self-Directed Search indicates a degree of…

Answer 9

differentiation
* or when a person obtains a high score on one personality type & low scores on the other 5 types

Question 10

Theories of Career Choice & Development

according to Holland, this is the clear & stable picture of one’s goals, interests, & talents

Answer 10

vocational identity

Question 11

Theories of Career Choice & Development

Holland argued that people with ____ ____ (versus diffuse) vocational identities feel more confident about making career decisions

Answer 11

well-formed

Question 12

Theories of Career Choice & Development

according to Holland, congruence between a person’s personality type and the nature of the work leads to what?

Answer 12

job satisfaction, persistence, & productivity

especially for people whose scores on his Self-Directed Search indicate a high degree of differentiation (i.e., high score on ONE type & low scores on all other types)

Question 13

Holland’s theory of career choice depicts the 6 personality & work environment types in a hexagon with types closes to each other being most similar and those farthest from each other being most dissimilar. According to his hexagon, someone who scores high on the social type is likely to be most similar to what other type(s)? Most dissimilar to what other type(s)?

Answer 13

enterprising & artistic; realistic

Question 14

Theories of Career Choice & Development

according to Holland’s theory of career choice, a person who scores high on the social scale is likely to be most satisfied and productive if her job involves which of the following:

A) working with data
B) helping or training people
C) hands-on work with tangible objects
D) working with ideas and problem-solving

Answer 14

B) helping or training people

Question 15

match the 5 descrptions with the correct personality & work environment type: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, or Conventional

A) The “Helpers”
B) The “Do-ers”
C) The “Organizers”
D) The “Thinkers”
E) The “Creators”
F) The “Persuadors”

Holland’s theory of career choice

Answer 15

A) Social
B) Realistic
C) Conventional
D) Investigative
E) Artistic
F) Enterprising

Question 16

people who obtained the highest score on this scale of Holland’s Self-Directed Search prefer jobs that involve hands-on work with objects, machines, tools, plants, or animals, or working outdoors (e.g., electrician, surveyor, veterinary assistant)

Answer 16

Realistic

Question 17

people who obtained the highest score on this scale of Holland’s Self-Directed Search prefer jobs that involve observing, learning, analyzing, & solving problems (e.g., biologist, mathematiciain, computer programmer)

Answer 17

Investigative

Question 18

people who obtained the highest score on this scale of Holland’s Self-Directed Search prefer jobs that involve unstructured work using creative abilities and intuition (e.g., graphic designer, photographer, cosmotologist)

Answer 18

Artistic

Question 19

people who obtained the highest score on this scale of Holland’s Self-Directed Search prefer jobs that involve informing, inspiring, helping, training, & curing people (e.g., childcare worker, mental health counselor, tour-guide)

Answer 19

Social

Question 20

people who obtained the highest score on this scale of Holland’s Self-Directed Search prefer jobs that involve influencing, persudaing, leading, or managing people to achieve organizational goals or economic gains (e.g., entrepreneur, personnel recruiter, lawyer, marketing manager)

Answer 20

Enterprising

Question 21

people who obtained the highest score on this scale of Holland’s Self-Directed Search prefer jobs that involve explicit, systematic manipulation of data, attention to detail, and orderly routines (e.g., accountant, statistician, librarian)

Answer 21

Conventional

Question 22

Theories of Career Choice & Development

this career development theory proposes that congruence between certain characteristics of an employee and the employee’s work environment predict the person’s job tenure, which they identify as the primary indicator of work adjustment

Answer 22

Dawis & Lofquist’s theory of work adjustment

Question 23

Theories of Career Choice & Development

according to Dawis & Lofquist’s theory of work adjustment, this term associated with tenure refers to the employee’s satisfaction with the job, which depends on the correspondence between the employee’s needs & the reinforcers (or rewards) provided by the job and determines whether an employee decides to stay on the job

Answer 23

satisfaction

Question 24

Theories of Career Choice & Development

according to Dawis & Lofquist’s theory of work adjustment, this term refers to the employer’s satisfaction with the employee, which is affected by how well the employee’s skills match the skill requirements of the job and determines whether the employee retains or fires the employee

Answer 24

satisfactoriness

Question 25

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** this **career decision-making model** views vocational identity development as on on-going decision-making process that's linked to Eriksons psychosocial stages of ego identitfy development & distinguishes between 2 phases of career decision-making: initial anticipation phase & implementation phase

Answer 25

Tiedeman's career decision-making model

Question 26

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** this phase of Tiedeman's career decision-making model includes the exploration, crystallization, choice, & clarification stages during which the person becomes familiar with different jobs, makes a tentative job choice, and prepares to implement that choice

Answer 26

anticipation phase

Question 27

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** this phase of Tiedeman's career decision-making model includes the induction, reformation, and integration stages during which the person begins their chosen job, becomes proficient at it, and achieves a balance between their needs & the organization's demands

Answer 27

implementation phase

Question 28

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** according to Tiedeman et al. (1990), career decision-making is not always a linear process; instead, stages may be...

Answer 28

repeated, skipped, or occur in a different order

Question 29

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** this **career development theory** combines elements of classical behaviorism, Bandura's social learning theory, and Ellis' & Beck's cognitive behavior therapies and identifies 4 factors that contribute to career decisions: 1) **genetic endowment & special abilities** (may enable or limit a person's career choices) 2) **environmental conditions & events** (may be beyond the person's control) 3) **instrumental & associative learning experiences** 4) **task approach skills** (e.g., performance standards, problem-solving skills, work habits that result from interactions among the other 3 factors)

Answer 29

Krumboltz's social learning theory of career decision-making

Question 30

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** Krumboltz's theory also proposes that interactions among the 4 factos contribute to these 2 types of generalizations that guide a person's career decisions & behaviors

Answer 30

self-observational & worldview generalizations

Question 31

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** according to Krumboltz, this type of generalization refers to beliefs that people have about their own attitudes, values, interests, & skills

Answer 31

**self-observation** generalizations

Question 32

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** according to Krumboltz, this type of generalization refers to beliefs that people have about the world and are used to predict future events

Answer 32

**worldview** generalizations

Question 33

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** Krumboltz argued that to promote their own career development, individuals must have opportunities to what?

Answer 33

be exposed to the widest array of **learning experiences**

Question 34

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** which career choice & development theory proposes that people are most likely to choose a particular occupation when they have a history of succeeding at tasks they believe are relevant to that occupation, have observed an important person being reinforced for performing tasks similar to those that are relevant to the occupation, and have developed positive associations with the occupation through direct or indirect messages

Answer 34

Krumboltz's social learning theory of career decision-making

Question 35

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** which career development theory contends that optimal career decision-making requires that individuals have opportunities to be exposed to a variety of career-related experiences regardless of their race, ethnicity, or gender

Answer 35

Krumboltz's social learning theory of career decision-making

Question 36

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** A person who received the highest score on the realistic scale on Holland's Self-Directed Search will most likely be satisfied with her job if she's working as a: A. geographer, biologist, or historian. B. forester, laboratory technician, or furniture finisher. C. financial analyst, insurance underwriter, or police dispatcher. D. personnel recruiter, lawyer, or sales manager.

Answer 36

B. forester, laboratory technician, or furniture finisher.

Question 37

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** The importance of correspondence between certain characteristics of a person and his or her work environment for work-related outcomes is least emphasized by which of the following theorists? A. Super B. Dawis and Lofquist C. Holland D. Krumboltz

Answer 37

D. Krumboltz

Question 38

# **Career Choice & Development** list the 4 factors contributing to career choice & development becoming increasingly important in organizations

Answer 38

1) increasing **globaliztion & competition** 2) changes in **workforce demographics** 3) rapid **changes in technology** 4) **shifts in the typical career path** from traditional linear path to multidirectional path

Question 39

# **Career Choice & Development** list the 3 theories that incorporate some form of self-identity

Answer 39

1) Super 2) Holland 3) Krumboltz

Question 40

# **Career Choice & Development** list the 2 theories that incorporate person-environment congruence

Answer 40

1) Holland 2) Dawis & Lofquist

Question 41

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** this career model distinguishes between 4 career concepts that differ in terms of **key motives, direction of career movement, & frequency of career change** and include linear career concept, expert career concept, spiral career concept, and transitory career concept

Answer 41

Driver & Brousseau's Career Concept Model

Question 42

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** according to Driver & Brousseau's Caree Concept Model, people with this concept are **motivated primarily by a desire for power & achievement** and view careers as involving upward movement with infrequent career changes

Answer 42

linear

Question 43

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** according to Driver & Brousseau's Caree Concept Model, people with this concept are are **motivated by a desire to have job security & develop expertise** and view careers as involving a lifelong commitment, with the mastery of skills being more important than upward advancement

Answer 43

expert

Question 44

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** according to Driver & Brousseau's Caree Concept Model, people with this concept are **motivated by a need for personal growth & opportunities to be creative** and view careers as involving lateral movements across similar occupations that occur every 5 to 10 years

Answer 44

spiral

Question 45

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** according to Driver & Brousseau's Caree Concept Model, people with this concept are **motivated by a desire for variety & independence** and view careers as involving lateral movements across different occupations that occur every 2 to 4 years

Answer 45

transitory

Question 46

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** according to Driver & Brousseau, situations favorable to traditional linear & expert concepts are being replaced by situations more consistent with what 2 career concepts?

Answer 46

spiral & transitory

Question 47

# **Theories of Career Choice & Development** Driver & Brousseau recommend that organizations adopt what approach, which provides opportunities for diverse career experience... and allows organizations to meet changing business conditions more effectively

Answer 47

**pluralistic** approach

Question 48

Tiedeman’s career decision-making model links vocational identity development to: A. cognitive maturation. B. ego identity development. C. career maturity. D. life roles.

Answer 48

ego identity development ## Footnote Tiedeman’s career decision-making model views vocational identity development as an ongoing decision-making process that’s linked to Erikson’s stages of ego identity development.