Trait+&+Factor+Theories

Assumptions of Trait and Factor Theories
 * Trait & Factor Theories**
 * 1) Decisions are reached by reasoning (Career Development is a Cognitive Process)
 * 2) Occupation is a singular choice (focus on and the choice, not the development)
 * 3) There is a singular right "fit" for a person. Does not allow room for the idea that people might have multiple occupation fits.
 * 4) A single type of person works in each job (one-person, one-job relationship is integral to trait and factor theories)
 * 5) There is an occupational choice for everyone (Miller, 1974 as cited in Herr, Cramer, & Niles, 2004) taken from ppt.

Individuals need to develop their traits, which may include
 * Interests
 * Values
 * Personalities
 * Aptitudes
 * Environment that is congruent with the self
 * Modernist/ Positivist Approach
 * Objective
 * Behavior can be studied outside of context
 * Research processes are value-free
 * Cause-and-effect relationships can be measured
 * Research results can be generalized to similar populations
 * Counselors should remain objective in their assessments
 * Vocational relevance is important--presence or absence of any given trait
 * Theories that fall into this category include

(1) Holland’s Theory of Vocational Choice
 * Basic Assumptions
 * Individual personality is the primary factor in vocational choice.
 * Interest inventories are in fact personality inventories.
 * Individuals develop stereotypical views of occupations that have psychological relevance. (These play a major role in occupational choice)
 * Daydreams about occupations are often precursors to occupational choices.
 * Identity- the clarity of an individual's perceptions of his or her goals and personal characteristics-is related to having a small number of rather focused vocational goals.
 * To be successful and satisfied in one's career it is necessary to choose an occupation that is congruent with one's personality.
 * What characteristics of persons & environments lead to positive/negative vocational outcomes?
 * What characteristics of persons & environment lead to career stability or change over lifespan?
 * What are the most effective ways of providing assistance to people with career concerns?
 * Holland’s 6 personality types (RIASEC)
 * Realistic
 * Deal with the world in a objective, concrete fashion
 * Emotionally stable and materialistic
 * Prefer skill-trades and engineering jobs
 * **LIKE TO WORK WITH THINGS**
 * Deal with the world by using their intellect
 * Prefer scientific, theoretical task types of jobs
 * See themselves as unsociable
 * **LIKE TO WORK WITH DATA/THEORY**
 * Artistic
 * Deal with the world by creating art form and products
 * Good with subjective interpretations and fantasy play
 * Prefer musical, artistic, and/or dramatic related jobs
 * **LIKE TO WORK WITH IDEAS AND THINGS**
 * Social
 * Deal with the world by using skills that will allow them to interact with others
 * They have a need for social interactions
 * They have strong ties to various social organizations
 * Prefer educational, therapeutic, religious related jobs
 * **LIKE TO WORK WITH PEOPLE**
 * Enterprising
 * Deal with the world by being adventurous and impulsive
 * Extroverted
 * Prefer jobs that provide opportunities to express leadership, self-confidence, and supervisory skills
 * **LIKE TO WORK WITH PEOPLE AND DATA**
 * Conventional
 * Deal with the world by choosing to engage in activities that provide social approval
 * Very unoriginal
 * Prefer clerical or computational jobs
 * **LIKE TO WORK WITH DATA**




 * Terms
 * __Congruence__ - T he match between a person and a person’s environment, a high congruence is thought to be associated with long-term job satisfaction and tenure
 * __Differentiation__ – The degree of definition of an individual’s interests, interests are well differentiated when there is a clear distinction between an individual’s likes and dislikes
 * __Consistency__ – reflection of the internal coherence of an individual’s interest in terms of the hexagonal arrangement, an individual with an artistic and investigative interests would be more consistent than an individual with artistic and conventional interests
 * __Identity__ – provides an estimate of the clarity and stability of a person’s identity or his or her goals, interests, and talents
 * The Holland Code
 * A scale developed by Holland to determine which of the 6 personality types a person would fall into
 * The SAE (Holland code) consist of the top three personality traits, with the top one being the primary trait
 * Use of Holland’s Theory
 * This is one of the most popular and well know theory in use today
 * This theory is used exclusively on O*NET
 * The goal of this theory is to help people find jobs where the environment and other workers will be congruent with their own values and personality
 * However, the consistence of this theory may not hold up when used to measure individuals that don’t have a Western philosophical worldview of career development and decision making processes
 * Males typically score higher than females on realistic, investigative, and enterprising
 * Females typically score higher than males on social, artistic, and conventional

(2) Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA)
 * Basic Assumptions
 * People have two types of needs:
 * Biological needs
 * food
 * water
 * sleep
 * Psychological needs
 * social acceptance
 * sense of purpose
 * Whenever something satisfies a need, it is reinforced, and it increases the likelihood of it being repeated
 * Work environments have needs:
 * Worker select jobs that they think will help them satisfy their needs
 * Workers are hired because they have a skill that will satisfy a need of the work environment
 * Job satisfaction occurs when the needs of both the worker and the work environment are met


 * Variables of the TWA
 * Skills
 * Job related skills one can offer to the environment
 * Aptitude
 * Potential to learn new skills
 * Personality structures
 * Combination of the values and aptitude


 * Active vs. Reactive Approach
 * Active
 * Make an direct attempt to change the environment to fit their needs
 * Reactive
 * Change themselves to fit the needs of the job or environment


 * Use of the TWA
 * Not widely used today
 * No empirical data for differences in gender use
 * No empirical data for non-Western worldviews

(3) Brown’s Values-Based Theory of Occupational Choice


 * Brown’s (1996) holistic model of career and life-role choice making
 * He revised it in 1996 in order to include view and values that other Western-influences might have left out
 * Socioeconomic status
 * Gender
 * Discrimination


 * Variables that Influence Career Choice
 * Values
 * Beliefs about the standards for which one should function
 * Based on experiences, but also have a cognitive component
 * These are the basis for self-evaluation and the evaluation of others
 * Work Values
 * Values that a person beliefs should be satisfied as result of participation in a work role
 * Ex: Financial gain, achievement, responsibility
 * Enculturation
 * The process by which individuals incorporate the beliefs and values of their cultural groups and form a value system
 * Probably the result of modeling, experiences, and reinforcement
 * Monoculturalism
 * Beliefs of one culture
 * Multiculturalism
 * Beliefs from more than one culture
 * Acculturation
 * Incorporation of cultural value from a culture that differs from your own
 * Two way street: both the dominant and subordinate groups can influence each other


 * Factors that lower motivation to act on Values
 * Mental health issues
 * Cultural group discrimination
 * Lack of information
 * Low self-efficacy


 * Use of Brown’s model
 * Brown first presented the model in 1996
 * He later reworked it and re-released it in 2002
 * Because of the recent nature of this theory, it need more time and testing to discuss its worth to the field

Reference Brown, D. (2012). Career Information, Career Counseling, And Career Development. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.