Career Counseling in a Volatile Job Market: Tiedeman's Perspective Revisited David K. Duys Janice E. Ward Jane A. Maxwell Leslie Eaton-Comerford This article explores implications of Tiedeman's original theory for career counselors. Some components of the theory seem to be compatible with existing volatile job market conditions. Notions ofcareer path recycling, development in reverse, nonlinear progress, and parallel streams in career development are explored. Suggestions are made for counseling interventions and fliture research using this perspective. Today's economic cycle is an unpredictable one, and job security has be- come an elusive experience. Many workers do not expect to have the same job or to work for the same organizadon long term (Hall & Associates, 1996). For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2004) expects employment growth in the service-providing areas of the economy, such as education and health services, leisure and hospitality, transportation, and computer occupations, in the near future. In contrast, the manufac- turing sector has contributed greatly to the mass layoffs experienced in late 2004. There are reports of employment expansion (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005), of employers replacing fliU-dme workers with part-dme or temporary workers, and of the changing climate of com- peddon in acquiring and retaining employment (Fussell & Furstenberg, 2005). Modern-day employers are also more likely to expect that workers embrace complementary and diverse skills, such as multiskilled posidons and cross-training responsibilides (Mangumn, 1996), in an attempt to yield more productivity from new or existing employees. Phillips (1997) noted that the modern worker is faced with an environ- ment in which major career upheavals occur without warning. Trends in corporate restructuring and downsizing, associated with mergers and profit seeking, have dramadcally affected careers that were once thought to be secure for life (L. S. Hansen, 1993; Mangumn, 1996). Like the business world, places of private and public educadon, government agencies, and health care institudons have been faced with making difficult organizadonal decisions that require a reduction in the number of employees. Displaced David K. Duys, Department ofCounselin^, Rehabilitation and Student Development, The University of Iowa; Janice E. Ward, Department ofEducational Leadership and Counsel- ing, Southeast Missouri State University; Jane A. Maxwell, Department ofEducational Psychology and Special Education, Southern Illinois University; Leslie Eaton-Comerford, School cf Public Policy, George Mason University. Leslie Eaton-Comerford is now at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to David K. Duys, Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation and Student Development, The University of Iowa, N350 Lindquist Center, Iowa City, IA 52242 (e-mail: [email protected]^). © 2008 by ...

1. Career Counseling in a Volatile
Job Market: Tiedeman's
Perspective Revisited
David K. Duys
Janice E. Ward
Jane A. Maxwell
Leslie Eaton-Comerford
This article explores implications of Tiedeman's original theory
for career counselors.
Some components of the theory seem to be compatible with
existing volatile job
market conditions. Notions ofcareer path recycling,
development in reverse, nonlinear
progress, and parallel streams in career development are
explored. Suggestions are
made for counseling interventions and fliture research using this
perspective.
Today's economic cycle is an unpredictable one, and job
security has be-
come an elusive experience. Many workers do not expect to
have the same
job or to work for the same organizadon long term (Hall &
Associates,
1996). For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2004)
expects
employment growth in the service-providing areas of the
economy, such
as education and health services, leisure and hospitality,
transportation,

2. and computer occupations, in the near future. In contrast, the
manufac-
turing sector has contributed greatly to the mass layoffs
experienced in
late 2004. There are reports of employment expansion (U.S.
Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 2005), of employers replacing fliU-dme
workers with
part-dme or temporary workers, and of the changing climate of
com-
peddon in acquiring and retaining employment (Fussell &
Furstenberg,
2005). Modern-day employers are also more likely to expect
that workers
embrace complementary and diverse skills, such as multiskilled
posidons
and cross-training responsibilides (Mangumn, 1996), in an
attempt to
yield more productivity from new or existing employees.
Phillips (1997) noted that the modern worker is faced with an
environ-
ment in which major career upheavals occur without warning.
Trends in
corporate restructuring and downsizing, associated with mergers
and profit
seeking, have dramadcally affected careers that were once
thought to be
secure for life (L. S. Hansen, 1993; Mangumn, 1996). Like the
business
world, places of private and public educadon, government
agencies, and
health care institudons have been faced with making difficult
organizadonal
decisions that require a reduction in the number of employees.
Displaced

3. David K. Duys, Department ofCounselin^, Rehabilitation and
Student Development, The
University of Iowa; Janice E. Ward, Department ofEducational
Leadership and Counsel-
ing, Southeast Missouri State University; Jane A. Maxwell,
Department ofEducational
Psychology and Special Education, Southern Illinois University;
Leslie Eaton-Comerford,
School cf Public Policy, George Mason University. Leslie
Eaton-Comerford is now at Olin
Business School, Washington University in St. Louis.
Correspondence concerning this article
should be addressed to David K. Duys, Department of
Counseling, Rehabilitation and
Student Development, The University of Iowa, N350 Lindquist
Center, Iowa City, IA
52242 (e-mail: [email protected]^).
© 2008 by the National Career Development Association. All
rights reserved.
232 The Career Development Quarterly March 2008 • Volume
56
professionals are in need of assistance to find work again. They
are also
caught in the vulnerable situation of finding it unlikely that they
will
obtain a similar job, at similar pay, witli similar benefits.
Career development theory has infrequendy addressed these job
market
realities, yet Super and Knasel (1981) considered career

4. adaptability
to be a major predictor of success. Super (1957) saw
adaptability as a
maturational phenomenon in which an individual develops
coping skills
to manage his or her life space, clarify vocational identity
issues, and
master career-related tasks associated with developmental
stages. Career
adaptability has also been identified as an important concern in
career
counseling as the structure of work continues to change
(Ebberwein,
Krieshok, Ulven, & Prosser, 2004; Swanson & Parcover, 1998).
Career
counselors often work with clients who are making more job
changes as
working roles become less stable. Some writers have suggested
that the
career counseling profession needs to respond more effectively
to the
plight of the modern worker (Herr, 2000; Holland, 1996).
Counselors
are faced with the challenge of developing programs and
individualized
counseling interventions that address the unpredictable changes
in the
labor landscape. This requires complex assessment skills and
interven-
tions that support adaptability. In addition to career decision-
making
concerns, counselors need to be sensitive to the pain their
chents are
experiencing. Displaced workers may have identified widi their
occupations
for many years or may feel betrayed after years of commitment.

5. Some
clients may be willing to begin anew and pursue an entirely
different
career direction. Whether this choice is made reluctantly, or
whether it
is embraced enthusiastically, counselors and clients need to be
flexible
when considering options and alternatives.
Because the current economy continues to be turbulent, career
development
specialists need to find creative ways to encourage an
atmosphere of career
adaptability in their counseling sessions (Pelsma & Arnett,
2002). More
than 40 years ago, Tiedeman and O'Hara (1963) suggested diat
career op-
portunities are not static entities but are more like flowing
oceans; avenues
for success are turbulent at times and smooth during others.
They believed
that adaptation was a natural and essential part of career
development.
Tiedeman and O'Hara's (1963) central assumption is that
security is dan-
gerous for growth. Challenges are essential for human growtli
and happiness
because without such challenges, clients would not have die
opportunity
to understand and malce sense of tliemselves in a new context
(Miller-Tiedeman
& Tiedeman, 1990). From some of his earliest writings,
Tiedeman regu-
larly made use of metaphors to describe this more turbulent
view of career

6. development. He has compared career development to a journey
on a
ship: A worker (i.e., tlie client) is like a captain, and a
counselor's role is to
help clients navigate through all kinds of conditions in all kinds
of weadier
(Miller-Tiedeman & Tiedeman, 1990). In order to address career
develop-
ment in a holistic way, Tiedeman enlianced traditional
congruence approaches,
positing that the client is an active participant in the process.
This notion
of active participation is related to other career development
perspectives as
well. For example, Tiedeman's (1961) model complements die
dynajnics of
social cognitive career theory whereby low self-efficac>'
sabotages the clarifica-
tion/induction decision-making process (Lent & Brown, 1996).
Savickas (Richmond, Savickas, Harris-Bowlsbey, Feller, &
Jepsen, 2006)
described Tiedeman as the first postmodern career counselor.
Jepsen
The Career Development Quarterly March 2008 • Volume 56
233
(Richmond et al., 2006) argued that Tiedeman's perspectives
were fre-
quently misunderstood and underappreciated. Savickas
(Richmond et
al., 2006) suggested that Tiedeman made three important
conceptual

7. contributions to the field of career development. These
contributions
include an understanding of the self-conceptualizing process, an
explo-
ration of purposefiil action in career development, and a
description of
the career decision-making process.
Perhaps now is an excellent time to consider one of these
original con-
tributions by examining Tiedeman's (1961) decision-making
model. This
model has been historically underused and may be especially
valuable as
practitioners help their clients address the existing uncertainties
in the
job market. Tiedeman's model is consistent with the core
policies of the
National Career Development Association (NCDA; 2007):
"development
occurs during the lifetime of an individual. It can be described
in matu-
rational forms denoting progression through life states and the
mastery
of developmental tasks at each stage" (p. 6). The model is also
consistent
with NCDA's policy on helping meet the needs of persons
displaced by
corporate downsizing (NCDA, 2007).
The Association for Counselor Education and Supervision
(ACES) and
NCDA have expressed concerns about the ability of counselor
education
programs to address career development in a more holistic way
(S. Hansen,

8. 2000). Pope and Minor (2000) have challenged the field to
examine what
strategies are being used to excite counseling students about the
process of
helping people make career transitions in their lives. Perhaps
Tiedeman's
perspective offers a unique firamework for dealing with
counseling interven-
dons under volatile, changing labor conditions. Clients need to
learn how
to be adaptive with their career path, in addition to idendfying
major career
path options. The following review highlights the ways in which
Tiedeman's
(1961) model accommodates unpredictable career opportunides
by using
a nontradidonal perspective of career development.
Tiedeman's Original Decision-Making Model
Tiedeman's (1961) early decision-making model was influenced
by the
developmental work of Erikson (1959) and was also constructed
in reac-
tion to Super's (1957) developmental perspecdve. Like Super,
Tiedeman
conceptualized a model that explored the career process within
a devel-
opmental framework. Erikson's concepts of psychological
differentiadon
and reintegradon were used as Tiedeman considered the
variables that
affect transitions between developmental stages. In particular,
Tiedeman
focused on the decision-making process in career development.
He placed
individual choice and meaning making squarely at the threshold

9. of personal
change. In his model, the variables of individual choice and
adaptadon to
changing marketplace conditions influenced the timing and
initiadon of
transidons between developmental phases. Tiedeman described a
process
of career development in which people condnually redefine their
career
interests and commitments through different decision-making
phases. The
model supports the nodon that individuals who are better at
navigadng
these phases and maintaining flexibility with job market
condidons are
more likely to experience career success. Unlike the stages in
Super's de-
velopmental model, Tiedeman's phases may be implemented in
nonlinear
and multidirectional ways to achieve that success.
234 The Career Development Quarterly March 2008 • Volume
56
The phases in Tiedeman's (1961) decision-making model have
been
revised and dadfied over the years with addidonal authors
(Miller-Tiedeman
& Tiedeman, 1990; Tiedeman & O'Hara, 1963). These phases
are
grouped into anticipatory and implementation activities.
Anticipatory
activity includes the phases of exploration, crystallization,
choice, and

10. specification. Implementation activity includes the phases of
induction,
reformation, and integration. Each phase is considered a new
junction
for decision making. The activities within the anticipatory
process are
reflecdve of Super's (1957) growth and exploration stages. For
example,
during the phase of exploration, an individual builds awareness
of career
options and explores possible avenues for work. During
crystallization,
decisions are made to focus on a specific career path. The
choice phase
includes a selection of a career path from among those
considered in
previous phases. Specificadon involves an evaluadon of, a
commitment
to, and research specific to that choice. During the induction
process,
an individual commits to learn as much as he or she can at a
new job
in the implementation phase. As a person engages in the
reformation
phase, competency, confidence, and identification are developed
in the
vocadon. In the phase of integration, a person gains perspective
on his
or her work and authors a more differendated, collaborative role
with
peers and supervisors.
In the following sections, major themes embedded in the model
are
explored. Readers should note that we have constructed our own
terms

11. to describe these important developmental dynamics included in
the
model. Although the terms are not explicitly referred to in
Tiedeman's
writings, the processes described here are at the heart of what
makes this
model unique and useful for counselors. We have chosen to
focus on
these concepts because they have received little attention in the
career
theory and research literature and may be more compatible with
cur-
rent experiences clients are having in the labor market. Most
important,
four concepts embedded in Tiedeman's (1961) original model
address
variables often ignored by other models.
Career Path Recycling
One of the embedded concepts is that these decision-making
phases
can be recycled and revisited. If modern workers, posidoned by
a rap-
idly changing job market, reconsider and reevaluate career
opdons, the
model accommodates this shift in decision making as part of a
normal
career process. Revisidng prior job options is not interpreted as
a career
setback, resistance, or failure to make a commitment to a goal.
Instead,
it is viewed as a normal recycling process. In later revisions of
his theory.
Super (Super, Savickas, & Super, 1996) supported this idea by
suggest-
ing that all of his developmental stages could be repeated on a

12. large scale
(with a second career).
In the field of technology, for example, recycling can be a very
pracdcal
pattern of career development as workers trained to be
competent with
one level of technology find the same technology to be obsolete
in a
short period of dme. These workers must pursue advanced
training in
order to maintain a competent level of performance or
reconsider their
career path. The same phenomenon is also encountered by
persons who
become more mature and suddenly discover that the initial
career path
they set out to pursue as a younger person no longer holds the
same
The Career Development Quarterly March 2008 • Volume 56
235
interest or motivation that it once did. They may be successful
at what
they are doing but would like to consider exploring different
skills as-
sociated with a new career direction.
Development in Reverse
In Tiedeman's (1961) model, retro-development is also possible.
Working
"backward" through decision-making phases can be viewed as a
healthy

13. process. As a client reconsiders a career path, prior decision-
making
phases can be revisited. Consider the situation of a woman with
a stable,
successful career who is attempting to balance the need to spend
time
developing her artistic interests and maintain satisfying
employment.
She may have spent several years satisfied and committed to her
current
career (integration). However, her need for artistic activity
encourages
her to evaluate her circumstances within the career
(reformation). She
reexamines her identity in the career and how she views herself
(induc-
tion), leading to a period of questioning her investment within
the career
path (specification). Knowing that her current job and her
interest in
the arts are equally important, she examines her career choices
within
the context of balancing her life circumstances, knowing there
may be
trade-offs. As she continues to reassess many alternatives
(crystalliza-
tion), she is able to make a new career decision that better
integrates
her strengths. In this example, each phase is experienced in
reverse, and
yet the progression can be viewed as productive.
In another illustration, a lst-year lawyer becomes disillusioned
with her
day-to-day responsibilities within a large firm. Despite her
excellent educa-

14. tion and training, she has quickly become bored with the
common tasks
associated with the long hours of work (induction). She wonders
why her
training did not expose her to some of the tasks involved with
the work
(specification). She finds herself reconsidering her decision to
practice law
(choice). This period of doubt leads her to revisit earlier career
paths she
had considered, including engineering, business administration,
and health
care roles (crystallization). She soon realizes that most of these
career op-
tions were paths recommended by well-meaning family
members, and now
she wants to consider new possibilities (exploration).
Nonlinear Progress
A third major c o n c e p t e m b e d d e d in T i e d e m a n ' s (
1 9 6 1 ) m o d e l is t h a t a
career can be nonlinear. T i e d e m a n believed t h a t m o v e
m e n t was possible
b e t w e e n stages t h a t were n o t c o n t i g u o u s . I n d e e
d , t h e t e r m stages loses
m o s t of its traditional m e a n i n g in this c o n t e x t . F o r e
x a m p l e , clients can
begin a career p a t h in an i m p l e m e n t a t i o n p h a s e ,
shift t o an e x p l o r a t i o n
p h a s e , a n d t h e n shift o n c e again t o a r e f o r m a t i o
n p h a s e .
Situations t h a t m i g h t illustrate this p h e n o m e n o n
include times w h e n
individuals o b t a i n a j o b because a family m e m b e r has u
n e x p e c t e d l y m a d e

15. a p o s i t i o n available. F o r instance, a r e c e n t e c o n o m
i c s g r a d u a t e is of-
fered t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o m a n a g e his u n c l e ' s i n s
u r a n c e firm. Because t h e
y o u n g m a n is driven by a n e e d t o attain a stable career a
n d substantial
salary, h e gladly accepts t h e p o s i t i o n . H e begins his
career bypassing t h e
a n t i c i p a t o r y phase a n d immediately enters t h e i m p l
e m e n t a t i o n p h a s e .
After m a n y years of diligent w o r k a n d success, h e e n c o
u n t e r s a shift
in his priorities. H e experiences a desire for self-fulfillment
from o t h e r
avenues of his life. H e takes a d v a n t a g e o f his a c q u i r e
d success t o reflect
236 The Career Development Quarterly March 2008 • Volume
56
on earlier aspirations and interests (exploration) and begins to
reevalu-
ate his career path in terms of personal satisfaction, not high
salary. He
once had thoughts of starting his own investment business and
uses his
previous experience to follow his dreams (Henderson, 2000). He
takes
the initiative and confidently begins his own business
(reformation)
with hopes of greater career and life satisfaction despite the
risk. In this
example, Tiedeman's (1961) model provides a framework to
better

16. understand phases associated with evolving priorities
throughout life.
Parallel Streams
Another helpful concept embedded in the model accommodates
parallel
processes in career development. This is seen when people
simultaneously
pursue different vocational interests. For example, a client
might be very
invested in exploration activity for a new profession while
continuing to
develop expertise in a current occupation (reformation).
McQuarrie and
Jackson (2002) noted that not only are leisure interests an
example of
this kind of parallel activity, but also that the transitions within
leisure
and work careers affect each other. For Tiedeman, engagement
in parallel
vocational paths is not seen as a failure to make a significant
investment
in a primary occupation but rather as an accepted manner of
further
exploring one's interests and abilities. A counselor who operates
from
Tiedeman's perspective would be quite comfortable helping a
client
simultaneously deal with issues associated with each endeavor.
This is also evident in the experience of cross-training, as roles
become
merged and more complex. Workers are more likely to be asked
to take
on different roles that have not traditionally overlapped. If a

17. worker is
experiencing stress from taking on new responsibilities, the
situation
could be reframed as an opportunity rather than a burden. Using
the
situation to become adept in other tasks is a chance to
reintegrate and
reinvent a more diverse portfolio of abilities and skills.
Implications
Counselors often need to help clients embrace unexpected job
opportuni-
ties. Tiedeman's perspective on decision making and vocational
develop-
ment can be an excellent resource for pracddoners who are
helping clients
adapt to a changing marketplace. Career counselors may find
these four
concepts of recycling, development in reverse, nonlinear
progress, and
parallel streams helpfial to their daily practice and assessment
of cHents'
career development. There is a sense of empowerment and a
promotion
of fiexibility and personal initiative within the model.
Assessment
Using Tiedeman's approach, a primary emphasis is placed on
assessing a
client's subjecdvity. This is considered essential because
percepdons and
choices contribute so much to the level of intentionality with
which one
engages in a career trajectory. Specifically, counselors are
encouraged to
examine the unique aspects of a client's career decision making,

18. how that
decision making has affected self-understanding, and how the
client toler-
ates and experiences uncertainty and unexpected working
conditions.
Tiedeman's (1961) model can be used to help counselors
conceptu-
alize the complexity of a client's career decision-making
process. For
The Career Development Quarterly March 2008 • Volume 56
237
example, counselors are encouraged to assess parallel streams in
career-
related interests. Clients might find it helpful to manage streams
that
arc in conflict, once they are identified. During the assessment
phase of
counseling, efforts can be made to clarify differences between
parallel
streams and leisure interests.
Difficulties with the decision-making process can be
differentiated from
common circumstantial problems. Coulet and Singh (2002)
suggested
that some clients who are having trouble committing to a career
path
may be having difficulties with issues such as job involvement
and fear
of losing a job. If there are problems with decisions, these
problems can

19. be understood better by noting whether a cUent is recycling,
moving
in a nonlinear fashion between the phases, or engaged in a
reversal of
phases. If problems are circumstantial, the phases provide an
indication
of where the client may have "left o f f with the decision-
making process
prior to the circumstantial interruption.
Interventions
Tiedeman's (1961) model lends itself easily to the counseling
process because
of the "decision making" nature of the stages. Using Tiedeman's
perspective,
a counselor can be comfortable engaging the client in many
different phases
of career development. A client can move fi-om a maintenance
phase to an
exploratory phase without the counselor believing that the client
is going
backward or losing ground. In this way, counselors can
empower clients
who may not be following a traditional career development
path.
Interventions using Tiedeman's concepts can be usefiil for
clients strug-
gling with unforeseen career challenges or for those anticipating
possible
difficulties in the fiiture. Interventions that create hope,
flexibility, re-
sourcefulness, and adaptive cognitive processes are more
effective. Such
interventions can assist clients to step back, gain new
perspectives, and

20. review decisions in conjunction with contextual factors (Pelsma
& Arnett,
2002). Learning to deal with adversity and using the
opportunity to learn
more about oneself and the world of work can gready benefit a
client's
oudook. Counselors can adapt the cognitive phases to the
individual and
explore career past, current career path, and future career
expectations.
Last, using the model to normalize transitions and new
directions can
validate current circumstances and lay a foundation for hope.
Tiedeman's
(1961) model can assist in normalizing career situadons for
clients by al-
lowing for change and growth across a life span during which
values and
priorities may change. According to Miller-Tiedeman ajid
Tiedeman (1990),
"if things go well, we have litde cause to differentiate" (p. 312),
implying
that change and challenges facilitate personal growth. When life
takes an
unexpected turn, adaptability promotes growth from these
experiences.
Reframing hardships as opportunities is an invaluable tool when
dealing
with a job market that is unstable or fragile.
Research
T h e m o d e l l e n d s itself well t o t h o s e e n g a g i n g in
research t o track m u l -
tipotentiality (Sajjadi, Rejskind, & S h o r e , 2 0 0 1 ) a n d d e
c i s i o n - m a k i n g

21. p r o b l e m s . T i e d e m a n ' s ( 1 9 6 1 ) m o d e l is o n e of
t h e few career d e v e l o p -
m e n t t h e o r i e s t h a t provides a c o n c e p t u a l
framework for u n d e r s t a n d i n g
m u l t i p o t e n t i a l i t y issues in t h e career d e v e l o p m
e n t of gifted s t u d e n t s ,
multiskilled individuals, a n d clients w i t h b r o a d interests.
Research d e -
238 The Career Development Quarterly March 2008 • Volume
56
signed to track how these parallel interests are managed over
time can
make use of Tiedeman's phases as descriptive indicators.
The model also provides a developmental window into decision-
making
processes that are often explored by social cognitive
approaches. For ex-
ample, relationships between Tiedeman's developmental phases
and self-
efficacy and outcome expectations have rarely been explored.
Tiedeman's
perspective can help researchers understand how clients with
low self-efficacy
are shifting from one decision-making phase to the next.
Outcome expec-
tations may also be related to specific Tiedeman phase patterns.
By using
Tiedeman's (1961) model, researchers can explore these
variables using
analyses that are more sensitive to clients' developmental
context.

22. Tiedeman's perspective, as with most theories, has its
limitations. It can be
quite challenging and stressfiJ for clients to weatlier the storms
of constant job
changes and economic adversities. Caution is advised with
clients who have
consistent difficulties committing to a career path or to an
employer. There
may be imderlying issues to address within the context of career
and life cir-
cumstances that are contributing to a pattern of instability. A
drastic career path
change is not always in the best interest of the client. Although
Tiedeman's
(1961) model offers a unique and adaptive approach, coimselors
may wish to
use discretion with the application of this model with some
clients.
Another limitation of the model is its assumption that choice is
central
to career development while ignoring other variables such as
oppression
dynamics. Society creates barriers of many kinds for some
clients. Cul-
tural hardships are an important factor to consider because they
affect
career decisions. However, given that counselors competendy
attend
to multicultural variables in career counseling (Hershenson,
2005),
Tiedeman's perspective can be empowering. In this model, a
client's
evolving dream and vision for his or her future plays a central
role as

23. he or she seeks to understand self in a social context.
Conclnsion .
Although Tiedeman's (1961) model is complex, it is
conceptually acces-
sible for the practicing career counselor. Counselors are well
aware that
career development in the 21st century is rarely uniform and
predictable.
The idea of nonlinear movement, flexibility, and individual
development
that Tiedeman's model explores makes it an excellent resource
for coun-
selors helping clients contend with a volatile labor market.
It is essential that career counselors have empowering methods
available
to help clients develop their intentionality and more ftilly
understand their
career decision-making process. In addition to dealing with so
many factors
that influence and inhibit career decisions as highlighted by
other career
theories, practitioners using Tiedeman's (1961) model can also
attend to
die choice process direcdy in ways that other approaches ignore.
Tiedeman
argued over the years that, in the end, an individual has the
potential and
the right to become self-authoring in his or her career pursuits.
Tiedeman
was one of the first postmodern thinkers who saw the career
counselor as
a professional uniquely qualified to assist in this endeavor.
Unlike other theoretical perspectives, Tiedeman's (1961) model

24. ad-
dresses career development patterns that are much more
compatible
with current occupational trends. Areas of potential employment
and
job loss adjust and shift with the changing economy and
industry de-
The Career Development Quarterly March 2008 • Volume 56
239
mands. Understanding the economic forces influencing
employment
and unemployment is crucial along with tools to encourage
personal
resourcefulness and resiliency. Perhaps Tiedeman's approach is
the vessel
that can help clients successfully navigate these concerns.
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The Career Development Quarterly March 2008 • Volume 56
241

29. Decision Making in Voluntary
Career Change:
An Other-Than-Rational Perspective
Niamh Murtagh
Paulo N. Lopes
Evanthia Lyons
The authors present a qualitative study of voluntary career
change, which highlighted
the importance of positive emotions, unplanned action, and
building certaint)' and
perceiving continuity in the realization of change. Interpretative
phenomcnological
analysis was used to broaden theoretical understanding of real-
life career decision
making. The accounts of 8 women who had changed careers
were explored, and
the analysis supported other-than-rational perspectives of career
decision making. An
action-atlfcct-cognition framework of decision making is
proposed. The framework adds
the role of emotion and the importance of self-regulation to
existing tlieory of career
decision making. Implications for career counseling are
discussed.
Throughout the career literature, models of rational decision
making,
based on Parsons's (1909, p. 5) prescription of "true reasoning"
from
knowledge of self and of occupations, have been strongly
infiuential. The
models of theorists such as Gelatt (1962); Gati (1986); and

30. Peterson,
Sampson, Reardon, and Lenz (1996) incorporated career
decision mak-
ing as a logical, systematic, and objective process. In contrast,
alternative
theoretical perspectives on career decision makitig bave
empbasized
uncertainty (Gelatt, 1989), happenstance (Bright, Pryor, &
Harpbam,
2004; Mitchell, Levin, & Krumboltz, 1999), and contexts
(Atnundson,
1995). Such approaches, called "other-than-rational" by Phillips
(1997,
p. 285), offer the powerful argument that people do not apply
stricdy
rational procedures in making career decisions. Otber-than-
rational
perspectives have contributed valuable insights and a broader
view, but
their empirical base is sparse. With the exception of
Amundson's (1995)
interactive model, alternative approaches have not proposed a
model of
tbe career decision-making process, and tbe interactive model is
limited
in tbe psychological processes it considers. There is a need,
therefore, for
further empirical investigation of the detailed processes
involved in real-
life decision making. The study reported herein aims to address
this gap
by exploring experiences of decision tnakitig in voluntary
career change
and by proposing an otber-than-rational framework for career
decision
making. Rather than impose previous assumptions on the

31. process, we
chose a methodology, interpretative phenomenological analysis
(IPA;
Smith & Osborn, 2003) that gives voice to tbe participants'
experience,
Niamh Murtagh, Paulo N. Lopes, and Evanthia Lyons,
Department of Psychology,
University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom. Paulo N.
Lopes is now at Eaculty of
Economics and Management, Catholic University of Portugal,
Lisbon, Portugal; Evan-
thia Lyons is now at School of Psychology, Queen's University
Belfast, Belfast, Northern
Ireland. Correspondence concerning this article should be
addressed to Niamh Murtagh,
Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford,
Surrey GU2 7XH, United
Kingdom (e-mail: [email protected]).
© 2011 by the National Career Development Association. All
rights reserved.
The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume 59
249
answering Phillips's (1997) call to invesdgate decision making
from the
perspective and experience of the person making the decisions.
Ratinnal Mnde.l.s nf Career Derision Making
Radonal models of career decision making have emerged from
expected

32. utility (EU) models. Such models propose that individuals
identify an
opdmal outcome by multiplying the probability and perceived
value
of different options, and selecting the opdon that yields the
highest
product. Extending the EU model to career decision making,
Gelatt
(1962) proposed a model of career decision making that was
systemadc,
sequendal, and "sciendfic." Katz (1966) and Pitz and Harren
(1980)
proposed a more rigorous EU approach to career decision
making, with
the requirement that all alternatives should be considered. Such
models
have been considered normadve, that is, they state how
decisions should
be made (Gad & Ashcr, 2001).
However, problems were identified in the applicadon of
normative
models to everyday decision making. Kahneman, Slovic, and
Tversky
(1982) demonstrated a range of ways in which people failed to
follow
the process prescribed by EU models, for example, by failing to
con-
sider all options or by incorrectly assessing the probabilities of
events.
Gad (1986) argued that, in career decision making, the
requiremetit to
quantify probability and valence, and then to calculate their
product,
for a potentially very large range of alternative careers,
surpassed the

33. cognitive capacity of individuals. Recognizing the bounded
rationality
of human cognition and the tendency to select satisflcing, or
"good
enough," rather than opdmizing choices (Janis & Mann, 1977;
Simon,
1955), Gati proposed the Sequendal Eliminadon Model. This
model,
later extended and elaborated in the Prescreening, In-Depth
Exploradon
and Choice Model (PIC; Gati & Asher, 2001), specified a
strategy of
early elimination of options that did not match aspects of the
desired
outcome. Gati's models were aimed at overcoming the
requirements for
exhaustive calculation and forced quantification of the EU
models and
were proposed as prescriptive, that is, suggesdng how decision
making
can be improved (Gati, 1986; Gati & Asher, 2001). The
Cognidve In-
formadon Processing Model (CIP) also proposed how career
decision
making could be carried out more effectively by enhancing
cognitive
processes (Gati & Asher, 2001; Peterson et al., 1996).
Nonetheless,
these models continued to incorporate many of the assumptions
of
normative models, including an emphasis on objecdve
radonality and a
requirement for systematic exploration of muldple options
(Gati, 1986;
Gelatt, 1962; Janis & Mann, 1977).

34. Rational models of career decision making have been positiotied
as
the right way, and perhaps the only way, of making career
decisions
(Phillips, 1994). This view has been challenged, however, by a
number
of scholars who have argued that the complex, subjective, and
cre-
ative processes of decision making have been reduced to a small
set
of numbers (Carson & Mowsesian, 1990) and that context,
meaning,
emotion, and change in the experience of career decision
making have
been ignored (Härtung & Blustein, 2002; Kidd, 1998; Phillips,
1997;
Phillips & Jome, 2005).
250 The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume
59
Other-Than-Rational Perspectives on
Career Derision Malcing
In a radical change from his earlier radonal posidon, Gelatt
(1989) sug-
gested that career decision making can be viewed as a
nonsequendal,
nonsystemadc process of arranging and rearranging information
into a
course of acdon. Krieshok (1998) also argued that systemadc
decision
making was not possible in careers. In contrast to the
assumpdon of ra-

35. donal models that people could access salient aspects of self-
knowledge
on which to base their decision, Krieshok argued that this
informadon is
not necessarily available to individuals and that decision
making can be
pardally unconscious. Mitchell et al. ( 1999) and Bright et al.
(2004) argued
for the importance of context in career decisions, both sets of
scholars
focusing on chance events. At a metatheoredcal level, McMahon
and
Patton (1995) proposed a systems framework that acknowledged
chance,
context, and individual attributes as components of a dynamic
and open
system of career decisions. At the process level, Amundson (
1995 ) brought
together external contexts and subjecdve arrangement or
"framing" of
informadon in an integrated model that described an iteradve
and chang-
ing process. Other-than-radonal approaches to career decision
making are
linked to advances in general decision-making theory in
psychology. The
characterization of the career decision-making process as
nonsequendal,
iteradve, and often creadve echoes the argument of Beach and
Connolly
(2005) that decision making "feels its way along" (p. 3).
Alternative approaches have gready enhanced understanding of
what
Nicholson and West (1989) termed the "planless" (p. 190)
nature of

36. career decision making, but understanding is sdll narrow (Pope,
2003).
The interactive model limits its consideradon of psychological
processes
to framing a decision, and, in common with most perspecdves
on career
decision making to date, affect and emodon are not addressed as
central
to the model (Kidd, 1998). Although radonal approaches to
decision
making have acknowledged that unconscious processes,
including emodon
and intuidon, can be influendal (e.g.. Gad & Asher, 2 0 0 1 ;
Peterson et al.,
1996), such influences are viewed as distordng the ideal,
systemadc process
(Kahneman et al., 1982; Kidd, 1998). Kidd's (1998) argument
for career
decision making as a joint operadon of emodonal and cognidve
processes
is supported by recent developments in the wider psychological
literature.
Johnson-Laird and Oadey (2004) posited that emotional
processes are
essendal coprocesses of cognidon, facilitadng complex decision
making
by reflecdng pardally unconscious evaluadon processes. Frijda,
Manstead,
and Bem (2000) explored how feelings influence thoughts and
proposed
that emodons are essendal as triggers to acdon.
It seems then that other-than-radonal perspecdves on career
decision
making are still incomplete and quesdons remain. What
processes other

37. than framing are a part of decision making.' What roles do
emotions
play.' The current study was designed to add to the empirical
base and
enrich theoretical perspectives by invesdgating the lived
experience of
people making career decisions. Our research question was " H
o w have
people, who have changed careers voluntarily, experienced
career decision
making?" In extending Feldman's (2002) deflnition to include
the field
of experdse, we defined career change as a transformation that
requires
The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume 59
251
significant changes in roles, responsibilities, skills, and field of
expertise
or body of knowledge. The data presented here are part of a
larger study,
in which the influence of negative emodons and of the self-
concept on
the initial stages of voluntary career change has also been
explored.
Method
IPA is an established, ideographic, phenomenological
methodology (Lyons
& Coyle, 2007; Millward, 2006; Smith, 1996) that is being used
more
frequently in European psychology. We chose IPA over other
qualita-

38. tive methods because of our focus on the phenomenology of
decision
making and our aim to enrich existing theory, rather than
generate new
theory. Typically based on individual, semistructured interviews
with a
small set of participants, IPA aims to give an account of
participants'
experiences through a systemadc and rigorous analysis (Smith,
Jarman, &
Osborn, 1999). The resulting account represents a double
hermeneutic:
first, at a descriptive level of the participants' own sense
making of their
experience, and second, at a critical analytic level across the
participants'
accounts (Smith & Osborn, 2003). The methodology does not
test
hypotheses; its objective is to understand the participants' lived
experi-
ence without imposing the constraints of prior theory (Storey,
2007).
At the critical analytical level, links to existing theory may be
explored
to provide greater insight on the data or to critique or extend
current
theory (Storey, 2007), as we seek to do here. As with all
methodologies,
there are limitations to IPA. Practical considerations, including
dme,
limit the number of pardcipants that can be involved. The
results emerge
from the unique interaction between researcher and data, and as
such,
will not be identically replicable. However, IPA can offer
insights that

39. quantitative methods cannot (Elowers, 2008; Reid, Elowers, &
Larkin,
2005). IPA explores experiences in context, as can quandtativc
methods;
however, whereas quandtativc studies tend to measure limited
aspects
of experience as determined by previous theory, IPA allows the
descrip-
tion of the full experience in all its richness and complexity.
Systematic
analysis of these data can provide novel insights and a broader,
more
integrated perspective. IPA centers on the participants' sense
making
of their personal experience, providing a subjecdve view in
contrast to
the more objective standpoint of quantitative research. More
generally,
IPA provides an investigatory perspective that can complement
other
approaches and, as such, is an appropriate methodology to meet
the
aims of enriching existing theory.
Participants
Pardcipants who had changed their career in the previous 3
years were
purposively selected; eight women, living in the southeastern
portion of
England and recruited through social networks, agreed to
participate. We
chose only women to follow Smith and Osborn's (2003)
methodologi-
cal recommendations for homogeneity of sample, and because
women
are a relatively less studied group in vocational psychology

40. (Marshall,
1989; Pringle & Mallon, 2003). The participants were between
29 and
48 years old. Seven were university educated; one had received
a high
school educadon. One participant described herself as Black
Caribbean;
the remaining seven participants described themselves as White
British.
252 The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume
59
Five of the participants had dependent children. Seven
participants
were married or in long-term relationships. One participant
lived in
public housing and the remaining participants were
homeowners. Tbe
participant who lived in public housing was the previously
mentioned
high school graduate and she described herself as White. The
names of
all participants were changed to protect confidentiality. Table 1
sum-
marizes their career changes.
Procedure
Participants were interviewed by the first author on two
separate occa-
sions for approximately 1 hour. The second interview was
conducted
around 1 week after the first one. The topics for tbe
semistructured

41. interviews were career history and precursors of and feelings
around
the career change (Interview 1) and information about and
feelings
and experiences in the new occupation (Interview 2). The
interview
schedules (see Appendix) were designed around open questions
that
were constructed to allow rich and detailed accounts of tbe full
process
of decision making. Examples of questions were "I would be
interested
to hear about the jobs you have had. Do you remember your
first paid
job?" "Thinking about that last change, can you tell me what led
up to
tbat? "Can you remember bow you felt at the time?" "How have
you
found your new occupation?" Tbe data from the first interview
were not
analyzed before the second so tbat preliminary analysis did not
influence
tbe second interview.
Analysis
Audio recordings of tbe interviews were transcribed verbatim.
In tbe
first step of analysis, the two transcripts for each participant
were read
in deptb. We checked for contradictions but found no
substantial dis-
crepancies. Analysis proceeded in compliance with established
guide-
lines (Smith & Osborn, 2003; Willig, 2001). Tbe transcripts of
one
participant were read in detail several times, and NVivo 2.0

42. software
was used to annotate the text with comments and to identify
initial
tbemes. Tbemes are points of interest or salience within the
account
or in tbe researcher's interpretation. They are titled briefly, and
then
tbey are linked to a phrase or longer tract in tbe text. After this
phase
bad been completed, tbe transcripts were reanalyzed to ensure
that
tbe tbemes fully and faithfully represented tbe participant's
account.
This process was followed on tbree more transcripts, generating
an
TABLE 1
Participants' Previous and New Occupations
Pseudonym
Brenda
Gayle
Anne
Fran
Joan
Helen
Diane
Clare
Age
42
29
45

43. 34
39
39
48
46
Previous Occupation
Biochemist
Retail manager
Caterer
Stable hand
Senior retail buyer/manager
Civil servant
Geoscientist/manager
Caterer, self-employed, and
small business owner
New Occupation
Alternative therapy practitioner
E-marketing consultant
Academic researcher
Coach driver
Secondary teacher
Academic researcher
Occupational psychologist
Senior personal administrator
The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume 59
253
extensive list of themes. Related themes were grouped into

44. master
themes. Tbe remaining transcripts were then analyzed to check
for sup-
port for the master themes, while checking for any unidentified
salient
themes. Some new themes were found, checked back to tbe
initial set
of transcripts and, if supported, were added to the master list.
Finally,
the master list was reviewed, and minor themes (i.e., those that
were
not evident for most participants and not highly salient for any
one
participant) were removed. A narrative account was constructed,
with
constant checking back to the data, to ensure tbat the master
themes
represented the participants' experience. This detailed analysis
remained
grounded in tbe data by including extensive excerpts and was
reviewed
by the second and third authors to validate that the
interpretation was
justified by tbe data and tbat the analysis represented tbe
participants'
stories. A shortened account was sent to the participants and
feedback
was posidve.
Criteria for evaluating qualitative and quantitative research are
different
(Smith, 2003). We applied the criteria for validity of qualitative
studies
proposed by Yardley (2000): sensitivity to context, rigor,
commitment,
and contribution. We endeavored to be sensitive to context by

45. remaining
grounded in the data at every stage of analysis. We strove for
rigor and
commitment by establishing epistemological appropriateness, by
follow-
ing recommended systematic method and by thoroughness of
analysis.
We endeavored to establish the contributions of our study by
focusing
on findings that add to the previous literature and tbeir
application in
career counseling.
Re.siilt.s
We found that of the rich set of themes tbat emerged in
analysis, two
superordinate themes were related to the overall process of
career
change decision making: (a) planless actions and positive
emotions and
(b) constructing the decision.
Planless Actions and Positive Emotions
The accounts described bow the actions of tbe participants
influenced
tbeir career change, as would be expected in a typical narrative
format
(Gergen, 2001).
Contrary to expectation, however, actions that were initially
unrelated
to career were later found to have directly influenced
participants' career
change. Two participants (Fran, Gayle) described baving a new
occupa-
tion in mind at first, but later modifying tbeir view of this

46. occupation.
In only one case (Joan) did tbe participant describe intentionally
look-
ing for and evaluating alternatives. The other seven accounts
did not
describe any form of systematic process of decision making that
rational
models would suggest.
Brcnda was clear that she did not initially intend for Amatsu
therapy
to become her new career.
I t h o u g h t , well, that will give me s o m e t h i n g else t o
study . . . . Again, n o t really
t o change my career at all, t h e n . T h o u g h I knew I m i g h
t have t o , I d i d n ' t think
I'd change it t o that. I just t h o u g h t I ' d study it.
254 The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume
59
Anne also stressed the planless nature of her decision to do a
sec-
ondary-level qualification: "I certainly didn't do the
[quahfication]
thinking I was going to go to university afterwards. I was doing
the
[qualification] to do something to get over the disappointment
of [not
being successful in a job application]." The nonintentional
nature of

47. that decision was underlined by her choice of subject that "was
just
the sort of passion of the moment really." There was a sense in
many
of the stories of trying something, especially study, because it
would
opeti up opportunities and could suggest a direction. Nicholson
and
West (1989) noted that career paths can be both planless and
planned,
and the initial planlessness in the accounts here evolved into
identi-
fication and subsequent pursuit of the desired new occupation.
This
supports arguments for tbe salience of happenstance and chance
in
career (Bright et al., 2004; Miller, 1983).
Having explicidy positioned their inidal actions as not planned
in rela-
tion to their career path (five pardcipants), bow then did the
pardcipants
make sense of the path they had taken? All of the pardcipants
described
finding that they were skilled and capable in the new field and
drew on
the posidve emodons related to the new career. Brenda
described herself
as "absolutely passionate" about her new field, and four other
pardcipants
also spoke of̂ their passion for their new career areas. The
others spoke of
sadsfacdon and enjoyment. The typically strong, posidve
emodons were
described as beginning in the early days of trying out or
training for the

48. new career, suggesting that sadsfacdon and enjoyment had been
part of
the experience and were part of sense making regarding the
decision.
The strength of posidve emodon from their early experiences
appeared
to contribute to the subsequent selection of the career path, and
this was
true for the three pardcipants who described some inidal
intendon as well
as for tbe remainder who had no specific career-related plans.
All of the pardcipants "knew by trying" (Gayle) that the new
area was
what they wanted. Joan said, "I can see myself doing this," and
Helen
felt that her experience meant that she "got exposed to a
different way
of living, a different way of being." Tryitig out the new career
seemed
to show them a possible .fe//'(Markus & Nurius, 1986) that they
could
achieve. Action, initially planless but leading to experience in
the new
career, tbus appeared to generate strong posidve emotions,
enbanced
self-efficacy, greater skills, and a possible self; these benefits
were salient
in the way that participants made sense of their career
decisions.
Constructing the Decision
The accounts described a protracted process, with career
changes hav-
ing taken between 3 months and 7 years to realize. The
pardcipants

49. all described being happy with their choice of career and feeling
that
it was right for tbem. However, the question is, how did they
fitid the
"right" career witbout evaluadng alternatives? The
interpretation of the
accounts suggested that the participants used several strategies
to build
up and reinforce their decision over dme.
Building certainty. All eight participants spoke of how they had
made
the "right" decision. Some posidoned the decision as a natural,
obvi-
ous, almost inevitable choice. Most said that they had "never
doubted
that I was doing the right thing" (Gayle). This was particularly
salient
The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume 59
255
for the participants who had not yet established themselves in
their new
career. Diane, for example, said.
Just knowing in my heart that it was the right thing to do, no
matter what hap-
pened. . . . Even if I couldn't get a job at the end of it, I just
knew that it was
the right thing to do.

50. Diane's certainty here seemed to be part of constructing her
decision
as a good decision. She was allowing for possible failure but
building
a story that, even in the case of failure, the decision was sdll the
right
one. This construction of certainty was a salient aspect of all of
the
career stories. It may have helped the participants to minimize
doubts
and anxiety, to "save face" if things went wrong, but it also
appeared
to work to reinforce the decision.
The period preceding a decision to change career was
characterized
by negative emotion for most participants. In contrast, having
chosen a
new career option was associated in the data with relief and
more posi-
tive affect. Having made a decision, to feel certain that it is the
right
one helps to move the individual forward toward action and
away from
the discomfort of decision making (Janis & Mann, 1977). Thus,
telling
oneself that one has made the right decision may be an
important way
of reguladng potentially undermining doubt and emodons such
as fear.
Perceiving continuity. All of the pardcipants talked about the
similari-
ties between their new career and their old one. Most saw
continuity
in retrospect, even if they had not realized it before their move.

51. Helen
said, "it's almost come full circle"; Gayle believed that her new
career
allowed her to go back to being "the old Gayle again," returning
to an
earlier positive self-concept. Even where the participants
described how
different the new career was, they also constructed continuity
between
the two careers. The construction of continuity in all the
accounts ap-
peared salient in sense making. Positioning the change as
gradual and
bridging the differences between the two careers may have
made the
decision seem less dramatic, less risky, and more achievable.
Temporal framinjr. The participants appeared to take a life-span
per-
spective on their careers, looking back to where they had started
or
looking forward in time to where they may end up. T'heir
decision to
change career then became, for example, a necessary step to
avoid an
unwanted future. Helen said.
If you d o n ' t d o it [change career], y o u ' r e just g o i n g to
carry on for the next 4 0
years and change into o n e of these really boring people . . . at
work . . . and I
t h o u g h t I just d o n ' t want to be o n e of those people.
Perhaps Helen was andcipadng the regret that she would

52. experience
if she ended up becoming "one of those people," and her
decision was
influenced by this andcipadon of future emodon (Zeelenberg,
1999).
Helen also appeared to be avoiding a possible undesired self
(Markus &
Nurius, 1986). Other participants saw their change as a step
toward a
desired nature. For example, Diane saw a better work-life
balance tying in
with possible fixture family demands. Framing a decision has
been proposed
as cridcal (Amundson, 1995; Lipschitz, 1993) and here, framing
within
the overall life span helped pardcipants to make sense of their
decision.
256 The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume
59
In sum, the participants described career change extending over
time.
A number of psychological processes—building certainty,
perceiving
condnuit)', and fi-aming die decision widiin an extended dme
perspecdve—
appeared to facilitate successful decision making and to enable
change
to happen.
Discussinn
Eight women who had changed careers within the previous 3
years described

53. their expedence of career change in two semistructured
interviews. IPA sug-
gested two diemes relating to decision making: (a) planless
acdons and posi-
dve emodons and (b) construcdng the decision. In dieir acdons
that led to
change, five pardcipants appeared to be planless inidally, taking
steps diat diey
did not intend to use to change careers but diat were later seen
as pivotal. In
pardcular, posidve emodons expedenced in the course of diese
exploratory
moves appeared to signal the way forward, and this appeared
equally true of
the exploratory acdons of the three pardcipants who began with
an outcome
or process in mind. In making real dieir decision, all
pardcipants drew on
several strategies that served to bolster dicir decision, including
construcdng
certainty and condnuity and temporal fi-aming. These strategies
appeared to
facilitate self-reguladon as die individuals moved toward a new
career.
A pardcularly salient finding from this study was the minimal
extent to
which the pardcipants followed a systemadc approach to
decision making.
The rational assumptions of a large choice of options and known
criteria
for comparison (Gad & Asher, 2001) did not hold in these
accounts of
subjectively successful career changes. The analysis here
supported other-
than-radonal perspecdves on career decision making. Of

54. pardcular salience
in the narratives of career change were the emotions
experienced. The
often strong, positive emotions experienced in early engagement
with
the new career appeared to guide the participants toward their
choice
and to facilitate the management of fluctuadng emotions.
On the basis of these findings, we propose an action-affect-
cognidon
(AAC) framework of decision making in career change that
builds on
Amundson's (1995) interacdve model. The salient features of
this frame-
work are illustrated in Figure 1. Drawing also on the systems
framework
of McMahon and Patton (1995), the AAC framework assumes
that many
factors may contribute to the determining contexts of career
decisions,
including individual factors such as the self-concept and
environmental
factors such as the economy. As is true for the interactive
model, deter-
mining contexts and actions are mutually influencing. A first
difference
from Amundson's model is the proposal that acdons may be
executed
without conceptualizadon of a career-related problem. Defining
contexts
may influence action directly: In the previously discussed data,
Anne
undertook further study to recover from being disappointed in a
job
applicadon. The framework recognizes such non-career-directed

55. acdons
as planless behavior and, further, that acdon may not have
conscious
precedents (Krieshok, 1998). The interacdve model suggests
that ac-
dons may shape subsequent cognidons. The AAC framework
extends
this reciprocal reladonship to include affect: Actions may
influence and
be influenced by emodons as well as cognitions, and cognitions
and
emotions are likewise mutually influencing. A parallel cycle of
AAC is
The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume 59
257
Determining Contexts:
Individual, Social, Environmental-Social
Planless Action
Self-Regulation
Process
• Build certainty
• Perceive continuity
• Frame in time
• Manage emotions
Goal:
New Occupation
FiGURE 1

56. Action-Affect-Cognition Framewori< for Decision Making
in Career Change
proposed for planned action. Althougb these two cycles are
presented
separately, they may not be distinct. An individual may move
between
one cycle and the other; a planless cycle may become planned.
Brenda,
for example, initially studied Amatsu therapy for interest and
later real-
ized it was a viable career option, which she pursued. In a
similar way,
planned actions may not achieve the desired result, and an
individual
can revert to planless action. The AAC cycles contribute to, and
are af-
fected by, processes of self-regulation. Self-regulation, tbe
management
of emotion, cognition, and behavior in pursuit of a goal (Carver,
2004;
Higgins & Spiegel, 2004), is likely to benefit directly from
positive
emotions that result from action. Negative emotions tbat result
from
action may require management by self-regulation processes.
Cognitive
outcomes too may have an impact on self-regulation. Our
previously
presented findings indicate that building certainty, perceiving
continu-
ity, and temporal framing helped to strengthen a decision and,
thus,
regulate cognition and emotion. Identifying a new possible self
as a

57. cognitive outcome of action may also aid self-regulation by
providing
a motivational goal (Ibarra, 2004).
The AAC framework integrates a number of existing
perspectives on
decision making. Beach and Connolly (2005) noted that the
concept of
a decision as happening at one point in time is merely "a useful
fiction,"
and the AAC framework instantiates tbeir notion of decision
making
feeling its way along. The centrality of action (Ibarra, 2004;
Young &
Valach, 2000) is recognized, as are the influence of context and
tbe
unpredictability of tbe outcome (Amundson, 1995; Brigbt et al.,
2004;
Gelatt, 1989; McMabon & Patton, 1995; Mitchell et al., 1999).
258 The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume
59
Emotion is intrinsic to the process, and theoretical perspectives
on
emotion suggest a number of ways in wbich affect may
influence cogni-
tion and action. Emotions function as a source of information
(Clore &
Storbeck, 2006), therefore positive emotions may suggest a
career path
to follow. Positive affect can facilitate action by stimulating
exploration
(Fredrickson, 1998; Isen, 2001), thus actions that open up

58. career op-
portunities become more likely. Furthermore, positive emotions
can
enhance cognition by facilitating flexible thinking (Isen, 2001),
allowing
new career options and opportunities to be more readily
recognized.
Positive emotions can aid emotional self-regulation by
alleviating the
negative emotions associated witb facing a major decision
(Janis & Mann,
1977) and by enhancing positive self-evaluation and perceived
resources
(Taylor & Brown, 1988). Emotions may not only guide action
but may
also be essential triggers for motivated bebavior (Frijda et al.,
2000).
Altbough appraisal theories of emotion suggest that affect and
cognition
are often closely aligned (see Scberer, Schorr, & Johnstone,
2001), when
the two diverge, emotion often overpowers reason
(Loewenstein, Weber,
Hsee, & Welcb, 2001). Overall, tbe AAC framework integrates a
range
of otber-than-rational perspectives with recent theoretical
progress on
emotion, and shows how positive emotions in particular may
influence
the process of career decision making. In addition to clarifying
the role
of emotion, tbe AAC framework adds to previous models by
positing
self-regulation as a critical process of decision making.
Tbe AAC framework suggests a number of testable

59. propositions.
Because of space limitatiotis, however, we highlight only three
of tbe
propositions. First, tbe AAC framework emphasizes the idea
that affect
contributes to career change over and above cold cognition. We
propose
tbat positive affect experienced during the exploration of a new
career
option predicts successful career change, controlling for
rational evalua-
tions oftbat career. Second, our framework emphasizes tbe
importance
of self-regulation processes in career decision making,
including build-
ing certainty, perceiving continuity, and temporal framing. We
propose
tbat the use of these self-regulation strategies predicts
successful career
cbange. These propositions could be tested in a longitudinal
study of
people thinking of changing career. Finally, the AAC
framework empha-
sizes the benefits of an other-than-rational approach to career
decision
making. Tbis could be tested by comparison of successful career
change
outcomes in an intervention study that randomly assigns career
coun-
seling clients to either an other-than-rational or a traditional
rational
decision-making approach.
All studies have limitations. Because we interviewed women
only,
future research should examine whether men's accounts of

60. voluntary
career cbange reveal similar themes. IPA allows generalizability
at a
theoretical level (Willig, 2001), but tbe metbodology does not
claim
representativeness. Quantitative metbods are necessary if
statistical
generalizability is sougbt.
Despite these limitations, our findings have several implications
for
practice. First, we suggest that both alternative and systematic
ap-
proaches to decision making be explored with clients and the
benefits
and disadvantages of eacb discussed. Second, tbe client's
career-related
emotions should be considered as a resource to explore. The
client may
The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume 59
259
be helped to recognize the informational value of feelings and
encour-
aged to reflect on "gut feelings." Such intuidons may point to
preferred
career options, and positive emotions can strengthen
commitment and
motivate action. The counselor can facilitate these benefits by
focusing
the client's awareness on positive emotions such as interest,
enjoyment,
and passion. Third, the counselor should be aware, and raise the

61. client's
awareness, of the importance of self-regulation to achieve
career change.
Discussion of the need for, and processes of, self-regulation
may in itself
enhance self-regulad on. Finally, and critically, to aid the
client's decision
making, the active, iterative, and exploratory nature of decision
mak-
ing should be discussed. The client should be encouraged to
explore
actively, to recognize fluctuating emotions, and to reflect on
action and
experience in all aspects of life as part of the decision-making
process.
This study of real-world career decision making highlighted the
crucial role
of posidve emodons in providing informadon, self-reguladon,
and modvadng
acdon. The extended, other-dian-radonal fi-amework that we
have proposed
acknowledges career decision making as nondeterminisdc,
itcradve, and con-
textual and specifies reciprocally influencing cognidvc,
affecdve, atid behavioral
subprocesses that joindy consdtute the process of career
decision making.
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262 The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume

70. 59
APPENDIX
Interview Schedules
Interview 1
(Informed consent; demographic questions)
• Let's talk about your work. I would be interested to hear about
the jobs you
have had. Do you remember your first paid job?
Wtiat did you do next?
• Thinking about that last change, can you tell me what led up
to that?
What else was happening in your life at the time?
• What would you say triggered it?
Was it a sudden or a gradual decision?
Did it feel like a big change to you at the time?
Looking back now, does it feel tike a big change?
Can you remember how you felt at the time?
What helped you to get through?
Did your feelings change during this time of change?
And looking back now, how do you feel about that change?
How much choice do you feel you had in making your change?
Did anything influence your choice?
Did anything restrict your choice?
(Wrap up)

71. Interview 2
(Informed consent)
• Is there anything you would like to add to what we talked
about in the first
interview?
• In order to make this change, did you know much about the
new job in advance?
Were you able to find out?
How did you go about that?
• Were there any people you found helpful in making the
change?
• Did you feel you had to learn a lot to change occupations?
What sort of things did you have to learn?
How did you go about it?
• Now thinking about other people, what would you say was
other people's
attitude toward your wanting to change?
• How have you found your new occupation?
Did you find that your previous experiences helped at all?
Is there anything you found difficult?
What helped you overcome this?
(Wrap up)
Note. Questions in italics were used to encourage interviewees
if answers to the first
question were brief.
The Career Development Quarterly March 2011 • Volume 59

72. 263
Copyright of Career Development Quarterly is the property of
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Volume 54
© 2015 by the American Counseling Association. All rights
reserved.
Received 02/26/15
Revised 03/22/15
Accepted 03/27/15
DOI: 10.1002/johc.12014
Advocating
Workers-Within-Environment:
A Critical Perspective for
Addressing Career Concerns
Brian hutchison

73. The author provides a critical analysis of career theory and
practice before presenting a theory
of counseling for career concerns. The critical analysis
identifies 3 core critiques of current
career counseling approaches. The advocating workers-within-
environment theory is described
as a humanistic social justice approach focusing on critical
consciousness development.
critical theory provides a framework for a reflective critique of
societal
and cultural phenomena with the expressed purpose “to liberate
hu-
man beings from the circumstances that enslave them”
(Horkheimer,
1982, p. 244). more specifically, postmodern critical theory
embraces the
instability of meaning and power ascribed to sociopolitical
structures
that enslave or oppress and proposes that such structures should
be
open to debate, reflection, or intellectual deconstruction.
Postmodern
critical theory is a politicized perspective that encourages
criticism as
a means of focusing on social problems and systems with the
purpose
of changing structures so that they become more humanizing
and just.

74. This article includes a postmodern critique of current career
counseling
practice in an effort to break the chains of conformity
engendered by
career counseling’s history.
career concerns, presented in this article as work-related
concerns
manifested within counseling practice regardless of the
counseling type
or modality, have been considered relevant within the fields of
counseling
and psychology since the origins of these professions. sigmund
Freud, the
father of psychology, described the goal of therapy as being to
help the
patient find meaning through both work and love (Erikson,
1963). Frank
Parsons (1909) is often claimed to hold two titles: father of
counseling
and father of career counseling theory. The vestiges of these
pioneers’
work have remained salient throughout the 20th century as the
fields of
Brian Hutchison, Department of Counseling and Family
Therapy, University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Brian Hutchison, Department of Coun-
seling and Family Therapy, University of Missouri–St. Louis,
457 Marillac Hall, One University
Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63121 (e-mail: [email protected]).

75. Volume 54 237
career counseling and vocational psychology have grown
(Holland, 1997;
Krumboltz, mitchell, & Jones, 1976; savickas, 2005; super,
1957). structur-
ally, career counseling and vocational psychology have been
both part of
and separated from the broader professional counseling and
psychology
organizations in the decades since their genesis. This has
resulted in the
consistent, and oftentimes insular, development of career-
specific theories,
models, techniques, assessments, and resources in addition to
the pro-
fessional identity of the career counselor. Despite any perceived
schism
between counseling and career counseling work, the broader
trends in
the latter neatly mirror the former over time, including periods
focused
on measurement and diagnosis (e.g., Holland, 1997), social
learning and
cognitive approaches (e.g., social cognitive career theory [Lent,
Brown,
& Hackett, 1994]; cognitive information processing [Peterson,
sampson,
Lenz, & Reardon, 2002]), and postmodernism (career
construction theory
[savickas, 2005]; chaos theory of careers [Bright & Pryor,
2005]). Finally,
recent theoretical work that focused on justice and
egalitarianism (e.g.,
psychology of working [Blustein, 2013]) reflects initial efforts
to critically

76. explore career counseling approaches with the goal of making
them more
humane and humanizing.
Despite recent efforts and similar developmental trajectories,
career
counseling has largely escaped the critical lens diligently
applied to
psychology (e.g., Prilleltensky, 1997) and multicultural
counseling (e.g.,
Goodman & Gorski, 2015). There is a need for critical
reflection of career
counseling theory and practice. critical consciousness concepts
should be
incorporated within the provision of counseling services for
client career
concerns. Freire (1970) defined critical consciousness (or
conscientizacao)
as “learning to perceive social, political, and economic
contradictions,
and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality” (p.
35).
For the theory proposed later in this article, advocating
workers-within-
environment (aWE), critical consciousness is a core conceptual
idea
designed to illuminate systems of oppression perpetuated by the
world
of work. career concerns are presenting problems found at the
nexus of
work and mental health, wellness, academic achievement,
relationships,
and family systems. it is assumed that all counselors, if they are
looking,
will find career concerns present in their practice because work
is one of

77. the ubiquitous factors in the composition of clients’ lives.
This article is not the first to approach components of a critical
analysis of
career counseling theory from a humanistic (sterner, 2012) or
socially just
(Blustein, 2013) perspective, nor is it the first such effort to
combine these
two philosophical schools toward the critique of a counseling
field of practice
(Lemberger, 2010; Lemberger & Hutchison, 2014). critical
analyses reflect a
belief that current career theory fails to fully address the
inequities of the
world of work. Turning away from further critique and
recommendations
is a pathway fraught with peril, as described in Goodman and
Gorski’s
(2015) analytical critique of multicultural counseling:
238 Journal of HumaNisTic cOuNsELiN
Volume 54
We do not lack frameworks and approaches for deconstructing
problematic counseling
and psychology paradigms and practices, nor do we lack
counselors and psychologists
who desire to adopt the paradigms and practices that will help
them connect more
effectively with the full diversity of humanity or create a more
equitable or just world.
The danger, however, is that too often “multicultural”
counseling and psychology are
practiced or theorized in ways that actually replicate the power

78. arrangements they
ought to be dismantling. (pp. 1–2)
The same danger exists for counseling focused on career
concerns—that
career counseling and vocational psychology are theorized or
practiced in
ways that perpetuate the power dynamics they ought to
dismantle.
CrITICally ConCEPTualIZIng CarEEr CounSElIng
Career Work as Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and
Democratic (WEIRD)
The fields of counseling and psychology make evidence-based
claims
regarding human nature and development while drawing
predominantly
from research in only WEiRD societies and samples (Henrich,
Heine, &
Norenzayan, 2010). For example, in an analysis of six
psychology disci-
plines, arnett (2008) found that research published between
2003 and 2007
drew 68% of the samples from the united states and 96% from
Western
industrialized countries. in other words, during this time period,
96%
of psychological research samples represented only 12% of the
world’s
population. although neither vocational psychology nor
counseling was
examined specifically in arnett’s study, these areas of
scholarship have
drawn heavily from basic psychological research throughout

79. history and
at the least are heavily influenced by this phenomenon.
Two potential assumptions seem to exist in counseling and
psychologi-
cal literature: Either it is assumed that human populations
display little
variation across cultures and differences or it is assumed that
WEiRD
subjects are considered “standard subjects” or a preferred point
of
reference in comparison with all other groups (Henrich et al.,
2010). a
thorough review of research on human variation in the fields of
counsel-
ing and psychology finds that the assumption of little variation
across
human populations does not have merit (medin & atran, 2004;
Rozin,
2001). several aspects of human psychological functioning have
shown
great variation, including self-concept (Triandis, 1994), positive
self-views
(Heine & Hamamura, 2007; mezulis, abramson, Hyde, &
Hankin, 2004),
personal agency (iyengar & DeVoe, 2003; iyengar & Lepper,
1999), and
motivations to conform (Bond & smith, 1996). The assumption
that non-
WEiRD groups are nonstandard groups is antithetical to the
ubiquitous
paradigms of multicultural and social justice counseling that are
expected
to influence the specific field of career counseling (Leung,
1995; Pope
& Pangelinan, 2010). Thus, there seems to be ample evidence of

80. broad,
systemic bias within the fields of counseling and psychology
research,
Journal of HumaNisTi
Volume 54 239
theory, and practice—and by proxy career counseling and
vocational
psychology research, theory, and practice—that has yet to be
sufficiently
addressed within the professional literature.
Career Work as Dehumanization
Both humanistic and social justice counseling philosophies
acknowledge
the importance of humanization and dehumanization.
“Dehumanization,
which marks not only those whose humanity has been stolen,
but also
(though in a different way) those who have stolen it, is a
distortion of the
vocation of becoming more fully human” (Freire, 1970, p. 44).
counselors
who focus on career concerns to humanize their practice must
strive to
(a) imbue others with worthiness and dignity, simply because
they are
human (Levinas, 1972); (b) enhance the relatedness between
persons
both within and outside the counseling relationship (Frankl,
1966); and
(c) promote the capacity of clients to pursue worth, dignity, and

81. related-
ness within the sociopolitical context in which they live
(Blustein, 2013;
Lemberger & Hutchison, 2014). By posing the problem of a
client’s own
dehumanization in the world of work, critical consciousness is
awak-
ened. as Freire (1970) put it, “The awakening of critical
consciousness
leads the way to the expression of social discontents precisely
because
these discontents are real components of an oppressive
situation” (p.
36). Thus, the following is the essential question in this
critique: Does
career counseling embrace the humanization of clients within
current
approaches to theory and practice?
using Prilleltensky’s (1997) model for evaluating psychological
approaches,
i briefly explicate a critique of current career counseling
practices. Tradi-
tional approaches, defined as approaches in which the primary
ethos is
personal adjustment (Prilleltensky, 1997), describe many
prevailing career
approaches, including person–environment fit theories (Holland,
1997),
developmental theories (super, 1957), and social learning
theories (Lent
et al., 1994). The values-based assumptions inherent to these
approaches
preserve individuality, meritocracy, and personal freedom while
potentially
supporting unjust sociopolitical structures. Empowering

82. approaches such
as integrative life planning (Hansen, 1996) or values-based
career theory
(Brown, 2002) assume personal control and empowerment at the
potential
expense of social fragmentation through the pursuit of
individualistic career
goals. Finally, postmodern approaches such as career
construction (sav-
ickas, 2005) and chaos theory of career (Bright & Pryor, 2005)
value context
and diversity of experience but potentially risk sociopolitical
withdrawal
or disengagement, thus affecting the very social fabric within
which one
must work and exist. The majority of current career theory and
practice
falls within a dehumanizing framework of practice that
potentially denies
a sense of community and the importance of emancipating every
member
of society and the world (Prilleltensky, 1997).
24
Volume 54
Career Work as Colonization
according to marsella (2015), colonization describes the sources
of social-
ization imposed on nondominant cultures that deny the
socialized “the
opportunity to explore their roots and to build their character
and person

83. within the historical context of their native cultural traditions”
(p. vii). in
the area of counseling for career concerns, the “Eurocentric
paradigm of
modernity” (Goodman & Gorski, 2015, p. 4) propagated by
dominant theo-
retical and practice approaches must be questioned. Particularly,
counseling
professionals must ask how their approach to career concerns
perpetuates
a system of work that asks nothing of the colonizer (dominant
majority or
privileged) and everything of the colonized.
The postcolonial theory concept of alterity, or otherness,
describes the
mechanisms by which some individuals are pushed to the social
margins and
kept there on the outside looking in (Bauman & Gingrich,
2006). Goodman
and Gorski (2015) provided an excellent example of how the
hegemonic
norm might be perpetuated for an oppressed person within a
counseling
environment addressing career concerns:
if our goal is social justice, do we wish only to understand the
cultural beliefs of an
undocumented mexican immigrant mother, or should we also
wonder, with equal
curiosity, about who benefits from the policies that prompted
her decision to migrate,
her vulnerability to wage discrimination, and other structural
matters that inform
her experience? (p. 5)

84. counseling for career concerns is complicit in this dominant,
colonial view
of career counseling practice as long as counselors sit in
contrast to their
clients, their problems, and their cultures.
aDvoCaTIng WorKErS-WIThIn-EnvIronmEnT (aWE)
assuming the perspective that the critiques provided in this
article must
be addressed, i next offer a theory for the practice of career
counseling that
strives to acknowledge and address the issues raised. it is
important to
begin this section by disclosing that i am the product of a
WEiRD society
who has lived life largely unaware of the dehumanizing
elements and co-
lonial structures in place that oppress and enslave others.
Whether or not
i have had an awakening to these phenomena is certainly
debatable, yet
i do feel compelled to exercise my privilege in writing the prior
critique
and subsequent response. aWE theory is philosophically
grounded in the
tenets of humanism and social justice in that the counselor is
encouraged to
recognize the interrelatedness of clients and their relationships,
community,
society, and sociopolitical structures that pertain to work and
employment.
interventions are designed to encourage the client to critically
analyze
these contexts while developing self-knowledge within a
marginalized-

85. to-privileged continuum. using problem-posing techniques in
the context
Volume 54 241
of the sociopolitical structures that compose the working world
leads to
self-insight that can be parlayed into developing self-advocacy
skills and
strategies to meet career and personal goals.
as a privileged counselor practicing from an aWE perspective, i
am
aware that it is important to explicate the positioning of the
counselor
in relationship to clients, particularly those clients who are
marginalized
within the world of work. according to Lemberger (2010),
[aWE theory] operates from the philosophical position that each
human is always
experiencing others, broadly defined, and is experienced by
others. Within these
shared experiences between self and others, the self is reliant
upon one’s adaptive
wits to respond to social experiences. (p. 133)
much like the advocating students-within-environment theory
(Lem-
berger, 2010; Lemberger & Hutchison, 2014), aWE theory uses
Bandura’s
(1986, 1989, 2001) description of human functioning to describe
the richness