Self-Beliefs and Career Counseling

Abstract

Judy, a middle-aged housewife, had been eager to work with the DIS-COVER computer-assisted career guidance program. Now she focused intensely on the video screen. Using the first DISCOVER module, she identified her interests and was pleased when the assessment printout pointed to career regions including general health care, education, and social services. She evaluated her abilities on the next module and ea-gerly awaited the results. The second printout, however, related her self-assessed abilities to data-oriented careers, including management and finance. &dquo;I can’t do those types of things,&dquo; Judy blurted out as she read the summary statement of her abilities assessment. The career counselor ex-plained the computer’s analysis was based on what she had said about herself, including her own evaluations of her abilities. Judy, however, insisted, &dquo;But I can’t do those things. I just don’t have the capability.&dquo; Most counselors have heard similar client statements and are aware that clients ’ beliefs about their abilities and personalities influence their career choices. Career theorizes emphasize that people seek to im-plement self-beliefs in their career choice (e.g., Gottfredson, 1981; Su-per, 1957), and both paper-and-pencil instruments (e.g., Self-Directed Search) and computer-based guidance systems (e.g., DISCOVER) in-clude clients ’ self-estimates of abilities in determining possible career options.

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