Foundations of Career Development Theories Flashcards

Mark Savickas's Career Construction Theory directs counselors to help clients identify:

Answer: Life themes through narrative analysis of recurring stories and interests

Career Construction Theory uses narrative methods to surface life themes — the subjective meanings clients have constructed — as the foundation for career direction.

Donald Super argued that the primary driver underlying all career development activity is:

Answer: The implementation and development of the self-concept

Super's central proposition is that people seek to implement their self-concept through occupational choices, continually developing and refining that self-concept across the lifespan.

Tiedeman and O'Hara's career decision-making model divides the process into two major phases of:

Answer: Anticipation and implementation/adjustment

Tiedeman and O'Hara identified Anticipation (including exploration, crystallization, choice, and clarification) and Implementation/Adjustment as the two overarching phases.

In Super's Life Career Rainbow, which of the following is NOT depicted as one of the major life roles?

Answer: Competitor

Super's Life Career Rainbow depicts the roles of Child, Student, Leisurite, Citizen, Worker, and Homemaker — 'Competitor' is not one of them.

The Chaos Theory of Careers (CTC) developed by Pryor and Bright characterizes career development as:

Answer: A complex, non-linear, emergent process in which chance plays a significant role

CTC draws on complexity science to argue that careers are shaped by dynamic, non-linear systems where small changes, attractors, and chance events produce unpredictable outcomes.

In Savickas's Career Construction Theory, the four dimensions of career adaptability are referred to as the '4Cs.' Which option correctly lists all four?

Answer: Concern, Curiosity, Confidence, Control

The 4Cs of career adaptability are Concern (future orientation), Curiosity (exploring possibilities), Confidence (belief in ability), and Control (taking responsibility for one's future).

Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, applied to career development, most strongly emphasizes that career choices are shaped by:

Answer: Multiple nested environmental systems ranging from immediate settings to broad societal forces

Bronfenbrenner's model situates the individual within microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, and macrosystems, all of which interact to influence career development.