This document discusses several theories of career development: trait-factor theories which match individuals' abilities to vocations; sociology of career choice which emphasizes social factors beyond an individual's control; developmental/self-concept theory where career choices reflect one's evolving self-image; personality theories linking career satisfaction to personality traits; and behavioral approaches observing environmental influences on career decisions. It also covers needs-based theories arguing occupational choices satisfy psychological needs.

1. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Career Development Theory
(Osipow and Fitzgerald 1996)
 Trait-factor theories
 Sociology and career choice
 Developmental/Self-concept theory
 Vocational choice and personality
theories
 Behavioral approaches
 Narrative approach

2. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Trait-factor theories
 The oldest theoretical approach.
 Assumes a straightforward matching of an individual’s
abilities and interests with the world’s vocational
opportunities can be accomplished and once
accomplished, solved the problems of vocational
choice for that individual.
 Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, Kuder
Occupational Interest Survey, and Aptitude tests such
as Differential Aptitude Tests etc.
 Absorbed by many other approaches to career
counseling.

3. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Sociology and career choice
 Reality or accident theory of vocational choice
 Societal circumstance beyond the control of the
individual contribute significantly to career choices
and that the principal task confronting a person is the
development of techniques to cope effectively with
the environment.
 The degree of freedom of occupational choice a
person has is far less than might be assumed.
 Being in the “right place at the right time.”

4. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Social anchor points
 Two social anchor points exist to fix a person’s
occupation. At one extreme is the society in which
occupation is hereditary; offspring follow parents, or
at least the parent’s career and life style impose rigid
limits on the variety of careers children consider.
 At the other extreme in which occupational choice is
the exclusive result of the individual’s personal
characteristics.
 Occupational choice lies somewhere in between the
two anchor points.

5. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Developmental/Self-concept theory
Buehler, Super, Samler, Ginzberg and Carl Rogers
 Individuals develop more clearly defined self-
concepts as they grow older, although these vary to
conform with the changes in one’s view of reality as
correlated with aging.
 People develop images of the occupational world
which they compare with their self-image in trying to
make career decisions
 Eventual career decision is based on the similarity
between an individual’s self-concept and the
vocational concept of the career eventually chosen.

6. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Personality theories
 Particular personality factors involved in career choice
and career satisfaction.
 Personality characteristics of people in different
vocations, the life styles of various professionals,
psychopathology associated with professional activity,
and the specific needs of worker in particular
industries or jobs.
 The general hypothesis is that workers select their
jobs because they see potential for the satisfaction of
their needs. Exposure to a job gradually modifies the
personality characteristics of the worker.

7. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Psychological needs, values and careers
 Stemmed from the assumption that occupational
activities are related to basic needs and that the
adequacy of occupational choice improves as people
are better able to identify their own needs and the
potential need satisfaction offered by a particular
occupation.
 Satisfactions result from a job which meets our needs
today, or from a job which promises to meet them in
the future.

8. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Needs reduction approach
 A hungry person will take any job to obtain enough
to eat. Once the need for food has been reduced, a
new job which offers the potential of satisfying other
physical and psychological needs will be sought. To
the degree that one can find and enter jobs relevant
to higher order needs, the more or less satisfied with
work one will be.
 It seems reasonable to expect, if one postulates
needs as a factor in occupational selection, that
needs satisfaction is directly related to job
satisfaction.

9. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Occupations and mental health
 There is a long history of interest in the degree to
which people engaged in various occupational
activities display various forms of psychopathology.
 For example, some occupation with a tendency to
alcoholism and others with particular kinds of sexual
orientation (大陸貨車司机一定有二奶).
 Various kinds of interests and psychopathology
(overall adjustment)
 The degree to which work settings interact with and
produce stresses which cause strains to individuals
leading to both work disorder and personal disorder.

10. Dr. Yeung Ka Ching
Behavioral approaches
 Interest in observing individual environmental
interaction in a behavioral mode.
 Social learning approach to career decision-
making e.g. Mitchell, Jone and Krumboltz
(1979)
 Social skills training as a career skill training
approach.