CEP Career Counseling and Development 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to Gottfredson's theory of circumscription and compromise, children first eliminate career options based on:
- Perceived difficulty and required intelligence
- Sex-type (gender-role stereotypes) (Correct answer)
- Prestige and social class
- Accessibility and geographic location
Correct answer: Sex-type (gender-role stereotypes)
Gottfredson found that sex-typing is the first dimension children use to eliminate careers, beginning around ages 6–8, before they consider prestige or field of work.
Question 2: A student with high academic ability consistently underestimates her career options, citing family pressure to stay local. Which intervention is MOST appropriate?
- Administer a new ability test to confirm her aptitude
- Explore values, family dynamics, and expand awareness of remote or flexible career options (Correct answer)
- Refer her to a therapist for family systems work
- Advise her to relocate for career advancement
Correct answer: Explore values, family dynamics, and expand awareness of remote or flexible career options
Effective career counseling addresses both ability and contextual barriers; exploring values and broadening options respects the client's situation while expanding her perspective.
Question 3: The O*NET database is BEST used by educational planners for:
- Finding salary negotiation scripts for students
- Researching occupational characteristics, tasks, and required skills (Correct answer)
- Matching students with college financial aid opportunities
- Storing student career portfolio documents
Correct answer: Researching occupational characteristics, tasks, and required skills
O*NET (Occupational Information Network) provides comprehensive, regularly updated information on job tasks, skills, knowledge, and wages across hundreds of occupations.
Question 4: Which statement BEST describes the role of self-efficacy in career development, according to Bandura?
- Self-efficacy determines a person's innate intelligence for a given field
- Beliefs about one's capability to perform tasks influence career choices and persistence (Correct answer)
- High self-efficacy guarantees career success regardless of external barriers
- Self-efficacy is fixed at birth and remains stable throughout life
Correct answer: Beliefs about one's capability to perform tasks influence career choices and persistence
Bandura's social cognitive theory holds that self-efficacy beliefs—not actual ability—strongly influence which careers people consider and whether they persist when challenges arise.
Question 5: During a career counseling session, a student says, 'My parents want me to be a doctor, but I love writing.' The counselor's BEST initial response is:
- Point out that medicine pays far better than writing careers
- Reflect the conflict and invite the student to explore both interests and family expectations (Correct answer)
- Suggest pre-med with a journalism minor as a compromise
- Contact the parents to discuss the student's career goals
Correct answer: Reflect the conflict and invite the student to explore both interests and family expectations
Reflecting the tension and inviting exploration is a client-centered approach that honors the student's autonomy while acknowledging the real influence of family expectations.
Question 6: Which career development theory is most explicitly grounded in social cognitive principles, including outcome expectations and personal goals?
- Holland's Typology Theory
- Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) (Correct answer)
- Trait-and-Factor Theory
- Developmental Self-Concept Theory
Correct answer: Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT)
Lent, Brown, and Hackett's SCCT directly applies Bandura's social cognitive framework to career development, emphasizing self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and personal goals.
Question 7: A client pursuing a non-traditional career for their gender reports feeling like an outsider in their chosen field. The counselor should FIRST:
- Suggest the client consider a more conventional career path
- Validate the experience and explore coping strategies and support resources (Correct answer)
- Administer a gender-bias scale to quantify the problem
- Refer the client to a legal aid organization
Correct answer: Validate the experience and explore coping strategies and support resources
Validation followed by collaborative exploration of coping strategies and support networks is the appropriate counseling response to gender-based workplace marginalization.
CEP Career Counseling and Development 3
According to Gottfredson's theory of circumscription and compromise, children first eliminate career options based on: