Social Learning Career Theories
SCCT Career Development
Building Blocks
Selfefficacy
Agenda
Social Cognitive
 Sociological
 LTCC
 Happenstance

SCCT
Career Decision-Making
Career Decision
Outcome (good or bad)
Performance experiences
Goals
Career-related interests
Self-efficacy/outcome expectancies
Choice Model

State a goal

Take action

Get enough experience to help
determine the next step
Example

Lisa wants to choose a major. (goal)

She decides to research 3 majors. (take
action).

Based on that, she finds she hates one but likes
the others, and decides to do more research
(determined next step).
3 Counseling Strategies
1.
Identify foreclosed career options
2.
Analyze barriers
3.
Modify self-efficacy beliefs
Identify foreclosed career
options

Expand options


Similar to which stage in CIP?
How???

Assessments

Iinterest/skill match (e.g., CISS)
2. Analyze barriers

Name them

Real or perceived?

Likelihood to happen?

Plan to overcome?
3. Modify Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Create new performance experiences


Proof for new beliefs
Look at the past
Where’d these beliefs come from?
 Reframe

Counseling Questions

What are your goals?

Rate your ability to accomplish your goal.

How do you expect counseling to turn out?

How successful do you think you’ll be in this career?

What do you want out of work?
Krumboltz’ Learning Theory of
Career Counseling

We make career decisions through
observation and reinforcement

4 components of career
development:
Genetic endowments/special abilities
 Environmental conditions/events
 Learning experiences

 instrumental

or associative
Task approach skills
Problematic beliefs
Examples
 Abandoning a goal too
soon
 Unrealistic beliefs about
self or chosen career
 Selecting a career too
soon
 Unrealistic view of world
Counselor Role
 Challenge problematic
beliefs
 Use behavioral theory
 Provide clients with
shadowing opportunities
 Use assessment results
CD Observations
CD making = learned skill
 Those who’ve made a choice may also
need help


Often made from inaccurate information
Career counseling success should be
measured by client’s decision making
skill
 Don’t just focus on existing
characteristics-expand on them!

Counseling Questions
What types of work are you considering?
 How did you learn about these jobs?
 Tell me about people and or types of work
you admire/don’t like and why.
 What types of beliefs do you have about
yourself and the world that might impact your
choice?
 How do you approach problems, such as
making a career decision?

Happenstance Learning
Theory

“People can make chance happen by
pursuing an active life that increases
the number of fortuitous encounters
they are likely to experience”

Alfred Bandura
Assumptions
Traditional
Happenstance
Radical Idea
Indecision
help people
overcome
indecision
and make a
choice
welcome indecision as a
sensible approach to a
complex and
unpredictable future
Undecided versus “openminded”
indecision is
sensible and
desirable
Chance
help people
plan so they
minimize the
effects of
chance events
help people create and
capitalize on chance
events
clients should be
taught to create
unplanned
chance events
Engage and Act on Curiosity
Happenstance: creating and transforming
unplanned events into career opportunities.
HOW????

Teach clients to become curious

Good Question to ask: How have you learned from the
unexpected???
Why curiosity might be blocked:



What questions
Desperate need for certainty
Anxiety


blocks curiosity: discuss or refer
Replace “What” questions with “How” and
“Why” questions
5 Skills Applied to Create
Chance
Curiosity
 Persistence
 Optimism
 Flexibility
 Risk-taking

Steps/Counseling Questions in
Applying Planned Happenstance
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Normalize Planned Happenstance
Assist client in transforming curiosity
Teach your client to create chance
Teach client to overcome blocks to action
Advocate energetic open-mindedness
See handout in Blackboard