TPC-Journal-V2-Issue2

The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 2 105 options based on their personal beliefs and preferences and arrive at a first choice. Finally, individuals put their thoughts into action in the execution phase of the CASVE cycle (e.g., completing a major field of study, applying for a job; Sampson et al., 2004). The apex of the information processing pyramid consists of the executive processing domain. In this domain, people examine cognitions regarding the career decision process itself. There are three skills that need to be developed in order to engage in executive processing: self-talk, self-awareness, and control and monitoring. Self-talk is the internal conversation that individuals have about their decision-making abilities, e.g., “I can make good decisions for myself.” Self-awareness is the perception of one’s self as the performer of a task (Peterson et al., 1991), e.g., “I am nervous about meeting the timeline of my plans.” Control and monitoring is using self-awareness and understanding of the problem to guide and evaluate decision-making. For example, individuals are aware of anxious feelings about meeting a deadline and they decide they need more time. The executive function failed to operate in Sue’s case by allowing her to go prematurely from communication to synthesis without thoroughly becoming aware of her thoughts and feelings in the communication phase, and by not clarifying and acquiring adequate self and occupational knowledge in the analysis phase. The strength of the CIP theory of career development is that it offers a framework of the cognitive and behavioral factors that guide career decidedness. Specifically, it provides a structure and sequence for gathering, transforming and utilizing information, while acknowledging the importance of thoughts and feelings. Social Cognitive Career Theory The framework for SCCT was derived primarily from general social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986), and focuses on three variables: self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, and personal goals. Self-efficacy is defined as beliefs about one’s ability to successfully perform given tasks or behaviors required to produce specific goal attainments (Bandura, 1977). It is hypothesized to be composed of beliefs linked to specific tasks or performance domains that vary across situations. Self-efficacy can be attained through four primary sources: (a) personal performance accomplishments, (b) vicarious learning (e.g., modeling), (c) social persuasion, and (d) the individual’s physiological and affective states (Bandura, 1977; Lent, 2005). According to SCCT, self-efficacy is a mediating factor for proactive behavior and behavioral change, regardless of ability level (Bandura, 1986). Outcome expectations are defined as “beliefs about consequences or outcomes of performing particular behaviors” (Lent & Brown, 2006, p. 17). More specifically, outcome expectations influence behavior—when individuals expect that a behavior will lead to positive results, they are more likely to engage in the behavior. For example, if students expect that career options exploration will be helpful in their career decision-making, then they are more likely to engage in seeking and acquiring information (e.g., theory of reasoned behavior). Personal goals refer to the individual’s intention to engage in a particular activity or produce an outcome (Bandura, 1986). The two types of goals identified by SCCT are choice-content goals and performance goals. Choice-content goals are goals related to activities or interest areas the individual wishes to pursue (e.g., choosing an academic major). Performance goals are goals regarding the individual’s level of performance needed to obtain the choice-content goal (e.g., maintaining a certain GPA to get into a particular field of study). Choice and performance goals are theorized to be related to one’s self-efficacy and outcome expectation (Lent, 2005). Figure 3 provides a graphic depiction of the interrelationship among these constructs and an SCCT explanation of how interests develop over time. Additionally, SCCT outlines three related, yet distinct choice models related to the development of career-related interests, formation of career-related choices, and career/work-related performance. Strengths of SCCT theory include the acknowledgment of one’s confidence or self-efficacy associated with the development of interests and willingness to pursue and maintain work-related tasks. SCCT also acknowledges the many barriers to career development that exist in the environment, while promoting a sense of self-agency in clients.