An Anti‐Introspectivist View of Career Decision Making

Abstract

This article reviews 50 years of empirical literature on career decision making, summarizing 10 things the field knows "for sure." An anti-introspectivist view of career decision making is then presented, developed by applying findings from cognitive and experimental social psychology to career decision making. This view holds that most processing performed by the human mind for decision making and behavior initiation is not performed at a conscious level and that reflection on those processes may be futile, and detrimental to good decisions. Although the anti-introspectivist perspective challenges many strongly held assumptions, it provides a plausible explanation of some of the difficulties encountered by decision makers and those who counsel them.Theories of career development and career counseling converge on a few critical issues, one of which is the actual processes used to arrive at career decisions. This article addresses the career decisionmaking literature in three sections: first by briefly reviewing the past 50 years of empirical literature on career decision making, summarized as 10 things the field knows "for sure"; second, by presenting what might be termed an anti-introspectioist (AI) view of career decision making, developed largely by applying findings from cognitive and experimental social psychology to career decision making; and finally, by describing several points of tension between the AI perspective and current theories of career decision making. Although the AI perspective challenges many strongly held assumptions, it provides a plausible explanation of some of the difficulties encountered by decision makers and those whose task is to counsel them through the decision-making process. It is presented as a testable position that could shape career development research efforts over the next 50 years.

Career construction as a way of resolving career indecision

“…Their ability to narrate their stories and draw upon them in times of indecision will help them deal with transitions as and when they occur. The study confirmed Krieshok's (1998) view that decision making is not simply a linear, rational process but, rather, a complex process often involving subconscious motivations. The findings also reveal that career indecision may be brought about by (conscious and subconscious) emotional problems (Di Fabio and Kenny 2011;Fouad et al 2006).…”

Decision Making in Voluntary Career Change: An Other‐Than‐Rational Perspective

“…Krieshok (1998) too argued that systematic decision making was not possible in careers. In contrast to the assumption of rational models that people could access salient aspects of self-knowledge on which to base their decision, Krieshok argued that this information is not necessarily available to individuals and decision making can be partially unconscious.…”

“…Defining contexts may influence action directly: In the data above, Anne undertook further study to recover from being disappointed in a job application. The framework recognizes such non-career-directed actions as planless behavior, and further that action may not have conscious precedents (Krieshok, 1998). The interactive model suggests that actions may shape subsequent cognitions.…”

Influência da escolha vocacional no processo de socialização profissional de estudantes de enfermagem

“…Holland apud Martins (1978) Auto-eficácia Lent;Brown e Hackett (1994) Bandura (1977 Autoconceito/Maturidade Super (1969) Religião Lips-Wiersna (2002) Howard e Howard (1997) Constantine et al (2006) Greely (1973) Gênero Krieshok (1998) Davis (1968) Santos e Melo-Silva (2005) Super ( Status Socioeconômico Krieshok (1998) Bain e Anderson (1974) Afonso e Taveira (2001) Pavalko ( Família Levine (1976) Bohoslavsky (1987 Soares ( (2003) Leserman (1981) Roe apud Martins (1978) Etnia ou Raça Krieshok (1998) Pavalko (1988 Levine (1976) Escola Levine (1976) Astin (1968) Primi et al (2000 Figura 3 -Fatores que influenciam a escolha vocacional Interesse, valores e oportunidades Ginzberg et al (1951) …”

“…De acordo com a literatura, o gênero influencia tanto a escolha vocacional (KRIESHOK, 1998;TRUSTY et al, 2000) quanto o processo de socialização profissional dos estudantes de enfermagem (WAUGAMAN; LOHREN, 2000). Verificou-se, que para o sexo masculino, a escolha inconsistente faz com que haja menos socialização do que para as mulheres, fato que pode estar relacionado aos estereótipos da profissão, já que, historicamente, a enfermagem é uma profissão feminina (MUFF, 1988).…”