Social cognitive career theory (SCCT)

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is about self-efficacy, and can be defined as having a "causal contribution to [our] own motivation and action within a system of [...] reciprocal causation, action, cognitive, affective, and other personal factors, and environmental events [which] all operate" interactively (Bandura, 1989, p. 1175). SCT has been further developed into a career model, that of Social Cognitive CAREER Theory (SCCT, Lent et al., 1996). The empirically verified framework for how academic and career interests develop, how career choices are made, and how success is created and reflected upon (Bakken et al., 2006, Fouad, 2014; Inkson et al., 2015) allows us to take a process approach to career development, bringing in our own thought processes, our unique environments, and our individual context into the career conversation. Our particular "influence of contextual variables", such as the "perceived barriers, acculturation, [and] role model[s]" has a significant impact on how we all develop our individual understandings of our own self-efficacy, and therefore our own ideas about career (Rivera et al., 2007, p. 47). 

SCCT allows us a framework to examine the 'why' and the 'how' for our choices, letting the 'what' take care of itself once the more philosophical elements have been examined. However, we need to ensure that we have the time we need to fully consider the model. The SCCT Model has been examined in university athletes, which showed that a "commitment to sport may leave little time and energy to engage in non-sport-related activities and plan for their vocational future" (Wendling & Sagas, 2020, p. 2). Ouch. 

SCCT considers distal and proximal career influences for our career journeys: distal career affordances are "factors that [...] constrict or facilitate [..] development of self-efficacy and outcome expectations" (Fouad, 2014, p. 271), while proximal career affordances appear later in the 'journey' by affecting our "implementation of choices" (p. 271). I am sure we have all worked with a number of clients where distal influences hinder or help in self-efficacy development. Sometimes it can be really difficult to get to the 'starting line' of a person's career journey due to "distal affordances". Whereas, once sound choices are being made, proximal affordances will then influence career goals and actions quite quickly. This model is great once our clients have distal affordances at least partially sorted. if they don't, in my view, this model stalls. Our clients cannot get out of the starting blocks.

And it is self-efficacy which is the key. Without self-efficacy, our clients are stuck in a sea of distal affordances. SCCT has been used to examine adolescent's career planning, finding that there is a "strong direct relationship between self-efficacy and choice actions", and no direct link between outcome expectations - proximal - and choice actions (Rogers & Creed, 2011, p. 171). The effect of distal affordances is the effect of self-efficacy; and it will support - or sabotage - career goal and choice actions.

SCCT is a framework that can fit the lives of our client's 'real world'.

Sam

References:

Bandura, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist, 44(9), 1175–1184. http://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.44.9.1175

Bakken, L.L., Byars-Winston, A., & Wang, M. (2006) Viewing clinical research career development through the lens of social cognitive career theory. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 11, 91-110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-005-3138-y

Fouad, N.A. (2014). Chapter 10: Social cognitive career theory introductory review. In Swanson, J.L., & Fouad, N.A. (Eds.) Career Theory and Practice: Learning Through Case Studies (3rd ed., pp x-x). Sage Publications.

Inkson, K., Dries, N., & Arnold, J. (2015). Understanding careers (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.

Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D. & Hackett, G. (1996). Chapter 9: Career Development from a Social Cognitive Perspective. In Career Choice & Development (3rd ed., pp. 373-421). Jossey Bass.

Rivera, L. M., Chen, E. C., Flores, L. Y., Blumberg, F., & Ponterotto, J. G. (2007). The Effects of Perceived Barriers, Role Models, and Acculturation on the Career Self-Efficacy and Career Consideration of Hispanic Women. The Career Development Quarterly, 56(1), 47–61. http://doi.org/ 10.1002/j.2161-0045.2007.tb00019.x

Rogers, M.E. & Creed, P.A. (2011) A longitudinal examination of adolescent career planning and exploration using a social cognitive career theory framework. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 163-172. https://www-sciencedirect-com.nmit.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0140197110000023

Wendling, E., & Sagas, M. (2020). An application of the Social Cognitive Career Theory Model of Career Self-Management to College Athletes’ Career Planning for Life After Sport. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(9), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00009