Module 2 Discussion

Chapter 6 Theories and Application of Contextualism and Chaos Theory to Careers

Things to Remember

The importance of context in the development of self

Differences between modern and postmodern theories

The language of contextualist and chaos theory theories

The process of postmodern career counseling, particularly assessment tools

Four theories of career development and counseling will be discussed in this chapter. The discussion begins with the contextualist theory developed by Young, Valach, and Collin (2002) and expanded by Young, Marshall, and Collin (2007). It continues with the most recent elegantly rendered theory developed by Savickas (1995, 1997, 2013). Savickas’ contextualist model is well created, but his theory is a bit more complex. It may be hard to grasp at first reading and could easily be dismissed for that reason. If you are considering a postmodern underpinning for your practice, dismissing Savickas would be a mistake. Importantly, Savickas builds bridges between traditional, modern approaches and his constructivist ideas that may help the reader develop a better understanding of both views.

In Chapter 1, I began a discussion of the differences between modern and postmodern thinking. I continued that discussion into Chapter 3 by laying out the assumptions of modernism. At this point, the basic tenets of postmodern thinking will be reviewed.

Postmodern theories, often referred to as constructivist theories, are a relatively new addition to the theories of career choice and development. These theories depart radically from the assumptions of the theories based on positivist philosophy. The following assumptions underpin these theories:

Human behavior is nonlinear and thus cannot be studied objectively.

Cause-and-effect relationships cannot be determined.

Individuals cannot be studied outside of the context in which they function.

Research data cannot be generalized to other people or groups.

Research is not a value-free process. The researcher’s values should in fact guide the research process.

The stories (narratives) that students tell are legitimate sources of data.

Research is goal free: It is a search for actual effects based on demonstrated needs. Random samples are replaced with purposeful sampling—that is, studying individuals who can respond to the research in a meaningful manner. For example, to understand sex-role stereotyping of occupational choice, a researcher might select subjects who knowingly chose careers because of stereotypes rather than selecting a random sample that included people who made decisions based on other variables.

Career counselors focus on the stories (narratives) of their clients, use qualitative assessment procedures, and help clients construct career goals based on their perceptions of the context in which they function.

The self develops in continuous interaction between the individual and her or his contexts.

Some postmodern theorists accept the idea of an objective self, that is, one that can be observed, measured, and compared to others (e.g., interests and aptitudes). Others reject this idea.

As was suggested in the opening paragraph, not all theories in this chapter stem from postmodern philosophical thinking per se. Bloch (2005) and Bright and Pryor (2005) used chaos theory as the springboard for their theorizing. However, all of the models discussed in this chapter reject the idea of linear thinking and cause-and-effect relationships. The principles of chaos theory, which originated in the minds of several physicists, will be explored later in the chapter, but it is important to note that chaos has a different meaning in physics than it does in common parlance. Chaos is generally assumed to mean “wildly out of control.” To a physicist, chaos—when applied to an open system, such as a family—means dynamically unstable but not necessary out of control. The final model we will examine, Brief Solution-Focused Career Counseling, was generated by de Shazer (1985) and embellished by Amundson (2003) and is not a theory of career development. Rather, it is a postmodern counseling/decision-making model that can be used as a standalone approach to career counseling or to supplement some of the other suggestions contained in this chapter.

Young, Valach, and Collin: A Contextualist Theory of Career

The first of two contextualist theories of career was authored by Young, Valach, and Collin (2002). Contextualism for these theorists is the process of weaving parts of one’s contexts (environments, reference groups, etc.) into the structure of the self. The weaver who uses multiple, interlocking threads to form a magnificent tapestry or a Persian carpet is an apt metaphor for individuals as they interact in their families, communities, peer groups, and work environments. The problem with the weaver metaphor is that the weaver completes a product (project). The actor who is creating a foundational metaphor, a worldview, never completes the process. The self is created in an ongoing, goal-directed pattern that must be understood in the present. For this reason, career counselors must seek to understand the individuals as they experience their environments and try to understand the meaning of their experiences.

Young et al. (2002) theorize that the actions of individuals are not caused by past or present events; causality is eschewed. Career-related behaviors are goal-directed results of the individual’s construction of the context in which she or he functions. To understand an event, one must start with the event, determine the individual’s view of it, and proceed from that point.

Young et al. (2002) also maintain that actions taken with regard to a career involve a goal-oriented series of behaviors that is guided simultaneously by individuals and the social contexts in which they are participating. They break action into three parts: (1) observable behavior, (2) the internal processes that cannot be observed, and (3) the meaning or results as interpreted by the individuals and others who observe the action. A person may go to work and experience the job as boring and unworthy of her labor. The pay that she receives each week may be viewed by the individual as sufficient rationale for keeping the job. Her children and out-of-work spouse may judge her work as heroic, meritorious activity.

Joint actions, such as those in career counseling, occur between people. In this process of meaning making, joint goals, which emerge spontaneously out of the process, are formed, and the players engage in joint actions (a client interviews workers in an occupation of choice, and a counselor helps them explore the meanings he or she found in the interviews) that also have personal and social meaning. Projects are longer-term joint or individual actions, such as preparing for a career (going to community college). When people construct meanings among actions and projects, they can engage in endeavors such as careers.

Actions take place in a series of sequential steps that occur in a social context from which the actor cannot be separated. The meaning associated with career-related actions and projects is interpreted not only in terms of its immediate context (client, friends, and parents are satisfied with the choice) but also in terms of the long- or short-term goals (Young et al., 2002). Interpretations are also influenced by the gender and culture of the actor because of the variations in perceptions that develop as a result of interaction with their contexts. Interpretation occurs at two levels: in the present context, which is built on a stream of actions, and in the anticipated context of the future. To describe these events, individuals construct narratives, which are temporal interpretations of career events that use the present to anticipate the future. If individuals are asked, “Why did you enter your present career?,” they construct fictional narratives based on their interpretations of the events that led to their careers as well as their interpretations of what the person who asked the question needs or wants to know. Through recursive questioning and interpretation, the career counselor helps the client develop an understanding of self in context. Another role of career counselors is to assist clients to project their narratives (life stories) into future contexts (roles such as work). Because the future is unknowable, this part of the counseling process is actually a preparation for what the individual hopes will be predictable events as well as unpredictable events. This concept is entirely compatible with the views held by Savickas (2013), Bloch (2005), Bright and Pryor (2005), and other postmodern theorists.

Young and his colleagues (2002) indicate that an essential aspect of career counseling is interpretation, which involves making sense of the client’s experiences. As clients tell their life stories, the counselor and the client spontaneously interpret the story in a meaning-making effort. For the counselor, the purposes of the interpretive process are (1) to become aware of the clients’ worldviews; (2) to help clients become aware of their conceptualizations and how these are workable within the life space; (3) to support clients’ applications of their constructs; and (4) to help maintain clients’ constructions of self and not abandon them in favor of more scientific ideas, such as traits and personality types. This process should enable clients to identify constructs that are related to his or her career choices. Often, these constructs will have meaning beyond the narrow confines of vocation. As the constructs are identified and valued or rejected, successful clients prioritize and integrate the constructs around certain themes,