Blog 6: Learning Theory

Happenstance Learning Theory:  This is the most recent career development theory by John Krumboltz --- stated it “is an attempt to explain how and why individuals follow different paths through life and to describe how counselors can facilitate that process.” 

Based this theory on the works of Bandura, Betsworth and Hansen, and Cabral and Salomone.

Nine factors that influence individuals’ behavior:

1.       Genetics

2.       Learning experiences

3.       Instrumental learning experiences

4.       Associate learning experiences

5.       Environmental conditions and events

6.       Parents and caretakers

7.       Peer groups

8.       Structured educational settings

9.       Imperfect world

Four fundamental propositions that undergird the HLT

Proposition 1:  The goal of career counseling is to help clients learn to take actions to achieve more satisfying career and personal lives – not to make a single career decision.

Proposition 2:  Career Assessments are used to stimulate learning, not to match personal characteristics with occupational characteristics.

Proposition 3:  Clients learn to engage in exploratory actions as a way of generating beneficial unplanned events.

Proposition 4:  The success of counseling is assessed by what the client accomplishes in the real world outside the counseling session.

Five actions to take when you use HLT with clients:

1.     Orient client expectations and help them understand that any possible anxiety they may have is normal.

2.     Identify the clients’ concerns as a starting point.

3.     Use clients’ successful past experiences with planned events as a basis of current actions and ask them to describe how unplanned events may have influenced their behavior.

4.     Sensitize clients to recognize potential opportunities and help them reframe unplanned events into positive opportunities.

5.     Help clients overcome blocks to action by using such leads as “What is stopping you from taking action?” and “What can you do now to take action to reach your goal?”

Evaluation should take place based on what happens after counseling, NOT during counseling.  

 

Video on Krumboltz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vYZqXks9OE

Blog 5 - Social Cognitive

Robert Lent

Steven Brown

Gail Hackett

Three aspects of career development:

1.     The development of interests

2.     The choice of educational and career options

3.     Performance and persistence in educational and vocational realms

Self –efficacy beliefs – defined as people’s judgements of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performance.

Outcome expectancies – defined as personal beliefs about probable response outcomes.

Implications of Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s Social Cognitive Career Theory for the Practice of Career Counseling:

1.     Counselors should help clients examine the importance of the learning process and the specific learning experiences they have had that have helped to shape their current career path.

2.     Specifically, the theory suggests an investigation of both how previous learning has helped to shape clients’ confidence or self-efficacy about their career plans and how these experiences may have shaped clients’ outcome expectations and eventual career interests.

3.     It maybe be very useful to examine how career-related self-efficacy beliefs developed and what barriers the clients experience in the development of their confidence around various career-related experiences.

4.     The theory emphasizes the need to carefully examine person inputs such as gender, race, sexual orientation, level of ability or disability, an social class in the formation of self-efficacy beliefs.

5.     It may also be helpful to examine past performance attainment and the clients’’ perceptions of future performance goals.

6.     According to this theory, an important role for counselors is in helping clients examine positive and realistic expectations for themselves and helping them develop specific goal sto meet these expectations.

A short overview of Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s social cognitive theory:

https://prezi.com/jxdiryll7mg8/lent-brown-and-hacketts/

SCCT Overview Slideshow

http://slideplayer.com/slide/6017706/ 

Blog 4: Holland

Holland’s Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments

Theory answers three common and fundamental questions:

1.     What personal and environmental characteristics lead to satisfying career decisions, involvement, and achievement, and what characteristics lead to indecision, dissatisfying, decisions, or lack of accomplishment?

2.     What personal and environmental characteristics lead to stability or change in the kind and level of work a person performs over a lifetime?

3.     What are the most effective methods for providing assistance to people with career problems?

People can be characterized into six personality types: (the RIASEC model)

1.       Realistic

2.       Investigative

3.       Artistic

4.       Social

5.       Enterprising

6.       Conventional

These six personality types have corresponding environments. These six types differ in interests, vocational and avocational preferences, goals, beliefs, values, and skills. 

Here are helpful links to Holland’s personality matches to occupations:

http://depscarlett.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/HOLLAND-PERSONALITY-TYPES.pdf

https://www.slideshare.net/CareerAdvisor/holland-code-presentation-8213-copy?next_slideshow=1

Holland’s Hexagonal Model for Defining the Psychological Resemblances Among Personality Types and Environments and Their Interactions:

These personality types are listed around the hexagon in the RIASEC order.  Each one resembling the other more like those closest to it. 

Consistency

Defining the relatedness between types and environments:

Identifying types close to each other is considered consistent. These career explorations are known to be easier than those across from one another.

Congruence

Defining the fit between types and environments:

This is the agreement between a person’s personality type and the environment. The more agreement (or congruence) the more satisfaction with the choice. For example, Type R finds and R environment.

Differentiation

Defining how well a person or environment can be described:

Highly differentiated is strongly identifying as one type and less of others.  Whereas, a less differentiated type might have a strong resemblance of many types or no types.

Identity

Describing the clarity or stability of one’s goals, interests, and talents:

Vocational identity is how clear of a picture one has of their current career plans. Career decisions are easy for some, yet difficult for others.

Career Intervention and Change Approach

1.     Everyone has a theory about careers.

2.     When that theory does not seem to work, a person seeks help of some sort, sometimes from professionals like us.

3.     When asked, we can provide interventions that will help the person implement, revise, or refine that theory.

When assessing one’s PCT (Personal Career Theories), use these:

1.       Invalid ………        valid

2.       Primitive ….        Complex

3.       Incomplete …    comprehensive

With these, Holland offered a four-level diagnostic and treatment plan:

Level 1: for people with valid [complex and comprehensive] personality theories.  These people need little help because they have a well-developed PCT.

Level 2: for people whose theories have an occupational knowledge section that requires extension, revision, or adaption to an unusual work or unemployment situation. These people need some help with at least some part of their theory – a minor extension, revision, or adaption.

Level 3: for people whose theories have a weak translation unit or lack a reliable formula for relating personal characteristics to occupations, special occupational roles, or specialization, or for managing job changes. These people have difficulties seeing themselves in particular occupations or making changes in their jobs.  The need substantial help, probably one-on-one career counseling focused on resolving a particular weakness in their thinking. 

Level 4: for people who’s personal theory has pervasive weakness. The people need extensive help because there are major flaws or weaknesses in their PCTs.

Complete Your Own RIASEC Assessment: 

This site allows you to test your RAISEC markers.  Your answers can be used for their research, and you have the option of agreeing to be matched to someone that has the same answers you do.  (This is for learning purposes only). 

https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/RIASEC/

Blog 3: Super

Donald Super’s Life-Span / Life-Span Theory of Career Development

Super began to form these ideas in the late 1930s.

The beginning ideas were brought together in Super’s book The Dynamics of Vocational Adjustment in 1942. This showed a developmental view of career choice.  It emphasized career choice as a process and not just an event.

Super’s Four Domains:

1: Differential  Psychology – various individual traits

2: Developmental Psychology – how individuals develop abilities and interests – life stages

3: Occupational Sociology – occupational mobility and environmental influences

4: Personal Theory – self-concept and personal environment theory.

Super’s Fourteen Propositions:

1-3: People have different abilities, interests, and values – so they are qualified for various occupations (more than one at a time)

4-9: Self-concept in career choices – life stages – career patterns and career maturity

10-13: Synthesis and compromise with individuals and social factors – including work / life satisfaction

14: Work and occupation as a focus for personality organization – interplay of life roles like worker, student, leisurite, homemaker, and citizen.

Super’s Life-Career Rainbow:

Life roles, put in the space and time of life stages.

There are six life roles:

·         Homemaker

·         Worker

·         Citizen

·         Leisurite

·         Student

·         Child

These roles can cross over each other and fluctuate through the life span.

Here is a great resource on explanations of life roles:

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_95.htm

The outer rim has 5 life stages:

·         Growth

·         Exploration

·         Establishment

·         Maintenance

·         Decline

Super called these life stages maxicycles. They are linear, but we all experience them in different ways and at different ages.  Super called the transition between life stages minicycles , where developmental tasks are mastered.

Career maturity: readiness to engage in the developmental task appropriate to age and level.  Note: maturity is never reached and always remains a goal.

Career adaptability: Used to describe career maturity for adults – to include planfulness, exploration, information, decision making, and reality orientation.

C-DAC (Career Development Assessment and Counseling Model:

(created by Sup0er and colleagues to put his theory into practice with career counseling)

·         Begins with client session asking concerns and review of data.

·         Phase 1 – Assessment of the importance of the work role with other life roles.

·         Phase 2 – Determining the career stage and career concerns. Identify resources for making and implementing choices and assess resources for work world adaption.

·         Phase 3 – Assess interests abilities and values with the trait and factor methodology.

·         Phase 4 – Self-concept and life themes with qualitative assessments.  This final step integrates the interview material and the assessment data.

This site has study flash cards:

https://quizlet.com/24915535/flashcards