Lecture 1
Theory 1: Planned happenstance
Happenstance: much of what happens to our career is based on chance events
Planned:
o Being able to seize chance events
o Being able to generate chance events
Rephrasing indecisiveness as open-mindedness
o Undecided:
Seen as weak
Suggests you should make a decision now
o Open-minded:
Sensible given the uncertainty of the future
Exploring for the sake of exploring (not for the sake of decision making)
Characterized by curiosity
o Determined
Knowing clearly & in concrete terms what you want
Insufficiently open to alternatives
Planned Happenstance theory – 2 concepts
o Generating chance events: exploration generates chance opportunities
o Seizing chance events: skills enable people to seize opportunities – 5 skills
Curiosity
Persistence
Flexibility
Risk-taking
Optimism
4 steps (not sure for what?)
1. Understand how planned happenstance was part of your past
2. Transform curiosity into opportunities for learning (be open-minded)
3. Produce desirable chance events
4. Overcome barriers to actions
Theory 2: Ambivalence
Feelings of ambivalence: conflicting feelings or cognitions about the same subject.
Intracomponent ambivalence: when 2 feelings or cognitions are in conflict with each other
Intercomponent ambivalence: when feelings are in conflict with cognitions
Having positive and negative feelings or cognitions simultaneously can be uncomfortable,
particularly when:
o Both components are simultaneously accessible/active
o You have a high preference for consistency
o A decision needs to be made shortly
Coping with internal conflict (felt ambivalence)
o Emotion focused coping
Procrastination
Denial of responsibility (‘It’s all a matter of chance anyway’)
o Problem focused coping
Effortful coping: facing problems head-on by processing all relevant
information
, Less effortful coping:
Biased (selective) information processing
Heuristic information processing
Theory 3: Social cognitive model
Adaptive career behaviors: actions that people employ to help their own education & career
o Proactive: in anticipation of upcoming career choice moment
o Reactive: in response to an unexpected event
Career stages:
o Exploration stage: exploring possible career paths, making career-relevant decisions
o Establishment stage: e.g. managing work-family life conflicts
o Maintenance stage: e.g. building job niche, specialist role
o Disengagement stage: preparing for retirement
Self-efficacy: personal beliefs about your own ability to perform adaptive career behvaiors
o Task-specific self-efficacy (‘I am able to complete this bachelor’)
o Coping self-efficacy (‘I am able to cope with obstacles I may encounter’)
o Process self-efficacy (‘I am able to manage my career’)
Outcome expectations: beliefs about he consequences of performing certain behaviors
o Outcomes here should be smaller things (not ‘a good job’) – because it’s all about the
journey (planned happenstance theory)
You can influence self-efficacy and outcome expectations
Lecture 2
Theory 1: Model of layered purpose & theory 2: PiL diagram
(These are both also in the summary of the literature, look at them there)
Vocation (from ‘vocare’): calling
The truth about what drives us
- Tasks that require more than mere production do not enhance with more reward
- Work becomes more productive when experienced as serving a higher purpose
- Contributing to the greater whole makes people happier
Self-determination theory
Autonomous motive: purpose driven (Approach) – from
elation/joy to depressed mood
Theory 1: Planned happenstance
Happenstance: much of what happens to our career is based on chance events
Planned:
o Being able to seize chance events
o Being able to generate chance events
Rephrasing indecisiveness as open-mindedness
o Undecided:
Seen as weak
Suggests you should make a decision now
o Open-minded:
Sensible given the uncertainty of the future
Exploring for the sake of exploring (not for the sake of decision making)
Characterized by curiosity
o Determined
Knowing clearly & in concrete terms what you want
Insufficiently open to alternatives
Planned Happenstance theory – 2 concepts
o Generating chance events: exploration generates chance opportunities
o Seizing chance events: skills enable people to seize opportunities – 5 skills
Curiosity
Persistence
Flexibility
Risk-taking
Optimism
4 steps (not sure for what?)
1. Understand how planned happenstance was part of your past
2. Transform curiosity into opportunities for learning (be open-minded)
3. Produce desirable chance events
4. Overcome barriers to actions
Theory 2: Ambivalence
Feelings of ambivalence: conflicting feelings or cognitions about the same subject.
Intracomponent ambivalence: when 2 feelings or cognitions are in conflict with each other
Intercomponent ambivalence: when feelings are in conflict with cognitions
Having positive and negative feelings or cognitions simultaneously can be uncomfortable,
particularly when:
o Both components are simultaneously accessible/active
o You have a high preference for consistency
o A decision needs to be made shortly
Coping with internal conflict (felt ambivalence)
o Emotion focused coping
Procrastination
Denial of responsibility (‘It’s all a matter of chance anyway’)
o Problem focused coping
Effortful coping: facing problems head-on by processing all relevant
information
, Less effortful coping:
Biased (selective) information processing
Heuristic information processing
Theory 3: Social cognitive model
Adaptive career behaviors: actions that people employ to help their own education & career
o Proactive: in anticipation of upcoming career choice moment
o Reactive: in response to an unexpected event
Career stages:
o Exploration stage: exploring possible career paths, making career-relevant decisions
o Establishment stage: e.g. managing work-family life conflicts
o Maintenance stage: e.g. building job niche, specialist role
o Disengagement stage: preparing for retirement
Self-efficacy: personal beliefs about your own ability to perform adaptive career behvaiors
o Task-specific self-efficacy (‘I am able to complete this bachelor’)
o Coping self-efficacy (‘I am able to cope with obstacles I may encounter’)
o Process self-efficacy (‘I am able to manage my career’)
Outcome expectations: beliefs about he consequences of performing certain behaviors
o Outcomes here should be smaller things (not ‘a good job’) – because it’s all about the
journey (planned happenstance theory)
You can influence self-efficacy and outcome expectations
Lecture 2
Theory 1: Model of layered purpose & theory 2: PiL diagram
(These are both also in the summary of the literature, look at them there)
Vocation (from ‘vocare’): calling
The truth about what drives us
- Tasks that require more than mere production do not enhance with more reward
- Work becomes more productive when experienced as serving a higher purpose
- Contributing to the greater whole makes people happier
Self-determination theory
Autonomous motive: purpose driven (Approach) – from
elation/joy to depressed mood
