Social Cognitive Theory and Family Influences

Social Cognitive Theory and Career Development

• Family, religion, values, expectations, women's roles, and availability of models influence career development
• Education system affects post-secondary opportunities, which in turn affect career choices

Key Concepts of Social Cognitive Theory

• Self-efficacy expectations: beliefs in one's capability to organize and execute courses of action to manage prospective situations • Influenced by cognitive appraisals of one's capacity to perform specific behaviors (future-directed) • Affects initiation/choice of activities, effort, persistence in the face of obstacles, and ultimately success
• Outcome expectations: beliefs about the consequences of given actions • Influenced by what will happen if one does a particular action (consequences of successful performance)

Sources of Self-Efficacy Information

• Prior performance, accomplishment
• Vicarious learning
• Social persuasion
• Physiological and emotional states

Self-Efficacy Expectations

• Beliefs individuals have about their capabilities • Affects career tasks attempted, with individuals more likely to attempt tasks they believe they can do • Acquired through direct experience, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and physiological/emotional states

Outcome Expectations

• Beliefs about the results of behavior • Influenced by what will happen if one does a particular action

Multiple Choice Questions and Answers

• 13. Outcome expectation refers to the belief about what the result of behavior will be: True
• 14. Primary paths of contextual influences include distal effects on acquisition of self-efficacy and outcome expectations, moderators of interest choice relations, and direct influence on choice: 1, 2, and 3
• 15. Self-efficacy beliefs are relatively dynamic and specific to particular activity domains
• 16. Expected utility model defines decision making in terms of objectives, choices, outcomes, and attributes
• 17. The PIC model is not an extension of the sequential elimination model: False
• 18. Descriptive decision-making models include satisficing
• 19. Career undecidedness refers to chronic indecision, whereas career indecisiveness refers to simple indecision: True
• 20. Career indecision subtypes determined by career measures include well-adjusted info seekers, neurotic indecisive info seekers, low-ability info seekers, and uncommitted extroverts### Career Psychology (Nelson Mandela University)

Holland Theory

• Career is an expression of interest and personality
• Interest inventories are personality inventories
• Career stereotypes are meaningful and have reliable and meaningful psychological and sociological meanings
• Similarities in personality and history of personal development can lead to congruence in work environments
• Congruence of personality and work environment affects satisfaction, stability, and achievement

Basic Tenets of Holland's Theory

• Each individual can be described as a combination of 1 or more of 6 types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional
• Environments can be described as a combination of 1 or more of 6 types
• Individuals seek environments that have the same or similar type as theirs
• Types of environments include school subjects, friends, majors, career paths, education, and training, hobbies, and occupations

Holland's 6 Types

• Realistic: work with hands, tools, and equipment, and like tangible results
• Investigative: work with science and math, and are problem solvers
• Artistic: work with art, music, and words, and like to express self-creativity
• Social: work face-to-face with people to help, teach, and counsel
• Enterprising: work face-to-face with people to sell, lead, and manage
• Conventional: work with data, numbers, and records to keep orderly

Applications of Holland's Theory

• Learn about individuals' interests
• Understand why people are satisfied or dissatisfied in their work
• Assist individuals in choosing majors, career pathways, and courses of study
• Organize high school curriculum and college majors
• Provide structure for career guidance services

Super's Theory

Background Information

• Different segments of theories: developmental, differential, social, personality, and phenomenological psychology
• Developmental and self-concept are vital
• Career isn't once-off, but an ongoing process
• Self-concept changes over time and develops as a result of experience

Propositions

• Differential segment: 3 propositions reflect differences in people and occupational requirements
• Self-concept segment: 6 propositions reflect the development of self-concept
• Developmental segment: 2 propositions reflect the concept of developmental career maturity
• Work and life satisfaction segment: 3 propositions reflect the concept of work and life satisfaction

The Life Career Rainbow

• 2 core dimensions: life stage developmental sequence and 6 possible life roles
• An individual's life is in the intersection of 2 dimensions
• The role of self remains critical in lifespan

Career Maturity

• Refers to a normative state of self-concept development
• Originated and defined largely in terms of adolescent's readiness to make educational and career choices
• "Do I know enough about my self to know which career path will accommodate and validate its qualities and competencies?"

Career Readiness

• Appropriate knowledge of self
• Effective decision-making skills
• Gain appropriate knowledge of careers
• Be able to integrate the knowledge of self and careers
• Be able to plan for a career

Career Adaptability

• Readiness to cope with changing nature of their work commitments and balance between work and other life roles
• Career transitions
• Away from a linear conceptualization of development with only predictable tasks and includes the ability to cope with unpredictable adjustments due to contextual changes

SCCT (Social Cognitive Career Theory)

Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory

• Based on Albert Bandura's general social cognitive theory
• Observational learning: learning that occurs by observing the behavior of a model
• Self-efficacy: people's belief that they have the capabilities to perform behaviors that will lead to a desirable outcome
• Learning a behavior is not enough for it to be carried out; there needs to be some motivation

SCCT

• Aimed at explaining 3 interrelated aspects of career development
• How basic academic and career interests develop
• How educational and career choices are made
• How academic and career success is obtained
• 3 intricately linked variables: self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, and goals

Social Learning Theory

• Career development is a product of 4 factors: genetic endowment, environment conditions, learning experiences, and self-observation generalizations
• Instrumental and associative learning
• Task approach skills: self-observation, goal-setting, and information seeking

Triadic Reciprocity

• Underlying principle: individuals are active agents in their environment; they can shape it as much as it shapes them