Career Development Theories Flashcards

A CVE client with a disability reports avoiding jobs requiring public speaking despite being qualified. Which concept from SCCT BEST explains this barrier?

Answer: Contextual barrier and low self-efficacy

SCCT explains that perceived contextual barriers combined with low self-efficacy can suppress interests and restrict career options even when ability is present.

In Gottfredson's theory, when a person must choose between an occupation that fits their interest but violates sex-type norms vs. one that fits sex-type norms but not interest, which does the theory predict they will typically compromise to retain?

Answer: Sex-type, sacrificing interest

Gottfredson's theory predicts that people compromise interests before sex-type boundaries because sex-type is established earlier and is more central to self-concept.

Which career theory uses the metaphor of a 'narrative' or 'life story' as the primary tool for career counseling?

Answer: Savickas's Career Construction Theory

Savickas's Career Construction Theory uses autobiographical narratives and life themes to help clients construct meaningful career identities.

A vocational evaluator is working with a client in the 'exploration' stage per Super's model. Which task is MOST appropriate to emphasize?

Answer: Crystallizing, specifying, and implementing occupational preferences

Super's exploration stage (roughly ages 15-24) involves crystallizing a vocational preference, specifying a choice, and beginning implementation.

According to Holland, a person whose top three RIASEC codes are spread across non-adjacent hexagon sections (e.g., R, A, S) has which characteristic?

Answer: Low consistency

Consistency refers to the relatedness of the top two Holland types; non-adjacent types indicate low consistency and predict less stable vocational behavior.

The concept of 'flexibility' in the Theory of Work Adjustment refers to which individual characteristic?

Answer: Tolerance for discorrespondence between needs/abilities and the work environment

In TWA, flexibility is an individual style variable representing how long a person can tolerate discorrespondence before acting to restore correspondence.

Which of the following is the MOST accurate description of 'career maturity' as defined by Super?

Answer: Readiness to make appropriate career decisions relative to one's life stage

Super defined career maturity as the degree to which an individual's vocational behavior matches what is developmentally expected for their life-career stage.