Career Decision Making Models

Career Decision Making

Most developmental emphasized the progression of career choices; few actually offered information about the process by which vocational decisions are made. Super and Crites designed inventories to assess career maturity in adolescents and children, respectively, with the Career Development Inventory and the Career Maturity Inventory.

For the Career Maturity Inventory, there are five subtests for the 75-item Attitude Scale.

Decisiveness: the degree to which individuals are sure of their career choices Involvement: the degree to which individuals are active in making their choices Independence: degree to which individuals depend on another in choosing an occupation Orientation: attitudes toward work as pleasure or as drudgery Compromise: extent to which persons will compromise between job market reality and their personal needs and desires

Crites also included a Competence subscale, which is designed to measure the degree to which individuals possess the career information and planning and decision-making skills to make realistic educational and career decisions.

Self-appraisal: the extent to which one’s abilities, vocational interests, values, and self-concept are known. Occupational Information: the extent known about the world of work Goal Selection: ability to match individual attributes to job characteristics Planning: the ability to order properly the steps in implementing a career decision Problem Solving: the problem solving ability in face of obstacles which occur in the decision-making process.

John Holland developed the My Vocational Situation Scale

The social learning theories, on the other hand, begin investigating how experience will affect choice. Other theories have placed their primary focus on the steps of career decision-making. They place less emphasis on the occupations individuals choose, but provide a description of a psychological process in which one organizes information, the deliberation of alternatives, and the making of a commitment to a course of action

Assumptions of Career Decision Making Models. 1. Individuals have options from which to choose from. Obviously, a decision does not have to be made if there aren’t any choices. 2. Decision makers can assign values to the outcome of a decision before it is made. This permits the analysis of different components affecting a choice.

Herr & Cramer described the typical decision-making process as consisting of

1. Defining the problem 2. Generating career development alternatives 3. Collecting information 4. Processing the information 5. Making plans 6. Choosing goals 7. Implementing the plans

The approach focuses on a set of tasks that are considered to be rational and are accomplished in a series of stages. In the course of accomplishing these tasks with clients, the job of the counselor is to provide information, support and interpretations. If this model sounds familiar, it is because it is almost identical to John Krumboltz’s DECIDES model.

The most critical problem of this approach is the assumption that persons make decisions rationally, if they make a decision at all. While Herr and Cramer and Krumboltz’s models may be useful for guiding counselors, they may not reflect how persons process information to make choices.

Gati proposed a sequential elimination model which he adapted from Tversky’s elimination-by-aspects theory of choice.

Define and structure the decision problem Identify relevant aspects Rank aspects by importance Identify optimal and acceptable levels Eliminate occupations incompatible with preferences Test sensitivity to changes in preference Collect additional information Rank alternatives by overall desirability Outline steps to actualize the most preferred alternative

Dinklage’s Eight Decision-making Strategies. Most career decision-making scales present decision making as a continuum of the rational approach to making a choice. Lillian Dinklage proposed different styles of decision-making which may explain differences on a qualitative level. They include: 1. Delaying. Postponing or procrastinating. 2. Fatalistic. A way of not choosing by letting others choose. This is taking the path with least obstacles. 3. Compliant. A person who complies with the plans of others by either being passive or feeling coerced by authority. 4. Paralytic. Unable to decide because of fear of consequences.

5. Intuitive. Making a decision on feelings rather than thoughts. 6. Impulsive. Making a decision without considering many alternatives seriously. 7. Agonizing. Involves sorting information about oneself and occupations, but experience great difficulty making up their minds. 8. Planful. Individuals are able to plan making a decision. They pay attention to both their feelings and their knowledge of their abilities, interests, and values when making a career-related decision.

David Tiedeman

Tiedeman formulated a theory of career development that focused on career decision-making, which he related to the stages of ego identity development. He used Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development as his framework. Career development, therefore, answers the questions “Who am I (at work)”, “What shall I become (at work)”, and How will I implement my being (at work)”. As postulated by Erikson, ego identity forms and reforms throughout the life. Thus, Tiedeman conceptualized career development as growing out of the continuous adaptation and modification of a person’s ego identity.

Specifically, the process of career decision-making mirrors the process of ego identity as it forms and reforms. For ego identity, this process involves differentiation and reintegration. Through differentiation, the individual identifies, studies, and evaluates various ideas, feelings, attributes, occupations, etc. In career decision-making, these two activities are analogous to anticipation (anticipatory behavior) and implementation (or accommodation).

When evaluating the process of career decision-making, Tiedeman specify two types of reality: Personal and Common. Personal reality refers to an individual’s sense of what is right. Common reality is what others say the individual should do.

Anticipation is when a new career-relevant problem occurs. Anticipation includes four steps. The steps may not always be sequential or age-related.

During exploration, clients consider their academic, occupational and personal alternatives in a nonsystematic fashion. The counselor provides a supportive atmosphere for the clients as they do this. They express their emotions and fantasize about later goals. Activities may include talking to others about new jobs, visiting potential workplaces, and arranging interviews.

Crystallization is the “stabilization of thought”. In crystallization, the client organizes, evaluates, and sythesizes information about the self and career, with the help of the counselor. Advantages and disadvantages of choices become apparent and help with this process.

The client then makes a choice, which is easy if the information is well- crystallized. However, clients may have varying degrees of confidence in their choices. This is because choices will vary in complexity and clarity.

In clarification, the client works out the exact details of the choice and develops a plan to implement it. It is possible during this time to reevaluate the choice and return to another step.

Adjusting to a Choice. Implementation of the choice involves three steps.

Induction conisists of the first months of the choice implementation. The client feels good about the choice and become proficient at the new occupation. A certain amount of change in the self is required for general group purposes.

During Reformation, the client advocates the choice and may even go through a phase that everyone should be dong what they are doing. At this time, the client’s identity become more congruent with that of others in the setting they have chosen.

During integration, the client’s identity become integrated with that of other people in the setting they have chosen, and they develop a strong sense of purpose. However, the sense of novelty wears off and the client’s excitement may diminish. The step ends when clients gain perspective on their choice.

These steps are not necessarily distinct: i.e., more than one of these steps can occur simultaneously. Furthermore, the process is reversible: individuals can move backward and forward in the progression at any point in the process.

Applications. Tiedeman believes individuals are capable of controlling and understanding the decision-making process that leads to career identity. Thus, counselors using their model attempt to make their clients aware of the factors inherent in decision-making so that the clients are able to make their choices based on a complete knowledge of themselves and their environments. To accomplish this, counselors provide a supportive environment, help clients understand their experiences, and attend and clarify clients’ insights and ideas.

Tiedeman and their colleagues developed a computer program called the Information System for Vocational Decisions. This program allows users to apply his theory to vocational and educational reality. Users ask questions about available opportunities, learn about the process of decision-making, and apply their new knowledge to simulated situations.

Osipow and Gati.

I. Prior to beginning the career decision-making process

A. Lack of Readiness

1. Lack of motivation to engage in the career decision process 2. General indecisiveness concerning all decision making

3. Dysfunctional myths about the process of career decision-making 4. Lack of knowledge about the stops involved in making a career decision

II. During the process

A. Lack of Information

1. Lack of information about the Self 2. Lack of information about Occupations 3. Lack of information about obtaining additional information

B. Inconsistent Information

1. Unreliable information 2. Internal conflicts 3. External Conflicts