Possible Selves and Occupational Choices

Abstract

These studies explore the usefulness of thinking about one's occupational future in gender-linked jobs from the perspective of "possible selves." We developed lists of feminine, masculine, and neutral occupations and asked 31 women and 66 men how possible they thought these jobs were for them, and how much they feared them (i.e., believed they would be unhappy doing them). Women feared masculine jobs more than they rated such jobs as possible. Both women and men feared feminine jobs more than they viewed these jobs as possible. The occupational list was revised and a second sample of 34 women was asked how much they expected, feared, and hoped for these gender-typed jobs. The results were similar. Women feared both the masculine and feminine jobs more than they saw these jobs as possible, and there was some indication they hoped for the masculine jobs more than they expected them. The results are discussed in terms of how a possible selves approach could facilitate career assessment and counseling.

Occupational Possible Selves: Fears and Aspirations of College Women

“…These results also reaffirm prior work (Chalk et al, 1994) that sex-role orientation and attitudes toward work (at least as measured by the PAQ and the WOFO) (Spence & Helmreich, 1978) seem to have little influence on these circumscribed choices. These results extend prior research by (a) demonstrating that the reasons women provide for constraining their options vary depending on whether the job is feminine or masculine and (b) providing support (albeit weak) for the relationship between self-efficacy in math and science (as measured by the self-estimates portion of the SDS) (Holland, 1985(Holland, , 1994 and fear of masculine and feminine jobs, and to a lesser extent the importance of finding a gender-congruent occupation as measured by the VWS (Swindel, 1988) in fearing masculine but not feminine jobs.…”

“…The first part of the OPS, which was created by Chalk et al (1994), was designed to assess participants' expectations, fears, and hopes (or idealizations) with respect to a list of carefully selected feminine, masculine, and neutral jobs. The second part, developed for this study, was used to acquire more extensive information about how the participants envisioned their occupational futures, in particular their fears.…”

Possible Selves as Behavioral Standards in Self-regulation

“…The putative influence of possible selves, representations of self in the future, on behavior has been examined across a broad range of behavioral contexts, including nursing (e.g., Hegna, 1994), education (e.g., Clements & Seidman, 2002), career counseling (e.g., Chalk, Meara, & Day, 1994), and identity development (Dunkel & Anthis, 2001). Although more than 250 articles on possible selves have appeared in print in the 20 years since the construct was introduced, the majority of the findings presented in these articles focus on variability in the content of possible selves rather than the mechanism by which they influence behavior (Hoyle & Sherrill, 2006).…”

Expressing counselor empathy through the use of possible selves

“…This article describes how counselors can extend a heightened degree of empathy to a client by usingpossible selves, which is a construct proposed by Markus and Nurius (1986). In addition to bolstering the empathic processes with a client, using possible selves can encourage clients to imagine multiple visions of themselves and of their future (Chalk, Meara, & Day, 1994; Meara, Davis, & Robinson, 1997; Plimmer & Englert, 1997). Hence, possible selves may expand the vision of possibilities for the client during employment or career counseling.…”