Chapter 3

Nathan Scarbrough

Chapter 3

Theories Based in Learning Theory

                While this chapter discussed more than just Learning Theories of career development, I find myself agreeing more with learning theories than the other types mentioned in this chapter, especially the postmodern theories.  For more on that read my post from last week.  The three learning theories I have chosen to explore in this essay include Krumboltz’s Social Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Career Theory, and Career Information-Processing Theory.

                As a huge fan of Albert Bandura, I felt especially drawn to Krumboltz’s Social Learning Theory.  While I agree with trait-factor theories in the sense that I do believe people have certain traits which equip them to better perform certain types of jobs, I like the Krumboltz approached career development from a different angle to include the effects that one’s interests and a sense of self efficacy (both learned) have on one’s choice of career path.  As a huge believer in the importance of punishment and reinforcement in how we “learn,” I can clearly see how environmental conditions, learning experiences, and task approach skills will have an effect on the profession one chooses to enter.  Furthermore, I like how even though this theory centers around learned experiences, it does not sell itself short by ignoring genetic endowment and special abilities.

                As a fan of Krumboltz’s Social Learning Theory, it perhaps goes without saying that I am also a fan of Social Cognitive Career Theory.  These theories are remarkably similar in their comprehensiveness.  Both theories take into account the effect life experiences, environmental variables, economic factors, and genetic factors play on one’s career development.  It would seem that the major difference between the two is that Social Cognitive Career Theory perhaps puts more emphasis on the importance of one’s ever-developing perception of self.  This theory makes the good point that our choice of career is significantly affected by our perceptions of our own abilities and competencies.  That being said, I think Albert Bandura would approve of both Krumboltz’s Social Learning Theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory, as they both do a fantastic job of trying to take into a broad range of learned factors that have the potential to significantly affect one’s career development.

                The final Learning Theory I would like to briefly explore is Career Information-Processing Theory.  This theory is similar to the two preceding it, however it takes a slightly different approach in the factors compared.  This theory states that one’s knowledge about oneself and one’s occupational knowledge both affect the ultimate choice one will make regarding his/her career.  While the previous two theories did a decent job at including these factors in one form or another, they failed to take into account the actual decision making style and information-processing skills of the individual.  While two people may have similar traits and environments, the way they make decisions such as what career to enter may be dramatically different, and therefore produce significantly different results.  This theory does a great job at picking up on an important factor that Lent, Brown, Hackett, Krumboltz, and Krumbotz seemed to miss.

                All of these theories make a noble attempt at trying to be comprehensive when considering the multiple factors at play throughout one’s career development.  I’m sure the total number of influential dynamics is vast and hard to simplify into a single theory, but these three theories combined do a fantastic job at noting some of the most significant ones.  While I’m sure none of them account for 100 percent of the influences on career development, they have progressed science many leaps and bounds further by identifying and addressing issues which previous theories have failed to address.