Classic Career Theory

Part Two - continued:

Super’s ‘Self-Concept’ Theory

The self-concept segment of Super’s overarching
theory is designed to account primarily for the
individual’s subjective experience of life-span, life-
space development.

Super adopted the term self-concept in order to

focus on:

‘the personal meaning of abilities, interests,

values, and choices, as well as how they
coalesce into life themes’

(Super, et al, 1996, p.139)

In contrast to ‘Self-Concept’, Super utilised the
term vocational identity to denote the observable
and measurable traits of the individual.

Thus, according to Super, vocational identity

constitutes the self-as-object, whereas self-
concept constitutes the self-as-subject (Super,
et al, 1996).
In elaborating his view of the latter, Super defined a
self-concept as:

‘a picture of the self in some role, situation, or

position, performing some set of functions, or in
some web of relationships.’

(Super, 1963, p.18)

According to Super, the individual’s conception of
self in a particular role serves to integrate aspects of
their subjective experience of life-span, life-space
development.

Furthermore, given the nature of the life-span-life

space, it follows that the individual’s self-
conceptions will be multiple and changeable over
time.
Super therefore made a distinction between a self
concept and a self-concept system - the latter
denoting the interrelationship between a variety of
role self-concepts.

Super extended his formulation to include what

he called metadimensions for both self-concepts
and self-concept systems.
For example, Super regarded self-esteem to be a
metadimension of self-concept and proposed that
individuals with high self-esteem would be well
positioned to make career choices (Super, 1982).

With regard to the metadimensions of the self-

concept system, Super was concerned with
delineating the system’s internal structure;

this included the degree of scope, consistency,

flexibility, and regency of the self-concepts within the
system
From this Super speculated that, for example, individuals
with inconsistent self-concepts would experience difficulty
in making career choices/adaptations.

(Super, et al, 1996).

Super described the relationship between self-
concepts and career choice and development as
follows:

‘Life-span, life-space theory conceptualizes

occupational choice as implementing a self-concept,
work as a manifestation of selfhood, and career
development as a continuing process of improving
the match between self and situations.’

(Super, et al, 1996, p.139)

It is important to note that Super conceptualised the
implementation of a self-concept as a series of
approximate matches between a changing self and
changing situations.

Super described this as a process of ‘translating

one’s idea of oneself into occupational terms’
(Super, et al, op cit, emphasis added). In this sense,
an occupational self-concept is defined as:

‘the constellation of self attributes which the

individual considers vocationally relevant; these
may or may not have been translated into a
vocational preference.’ (Super, 1963, p.19)
It is also important to note that Super used the term
‘self-attributes’ to denote the individual’s conception
of their own personality traits (Super, ibid).

Thus, as Walsh (1996) has suggested, Super’s

notion of self-concept formation and implementation
can be regarded as implicitly a trait-oriented
perspective.
According to Super, self-concepts are formed and
implemented through role-play, vicarious or
otherwise. Furthermore, this is regarded as a process
of compromise:

‘The process of synthesis or compromise between

individual and social factors, between self-concepts
and reality is one of role-playing.’

(Super, et al, 1996, p.125)

The formulation of the self-concept, which Super
designated as the product of person-environment
interaction, is portrayed in the ‘Archway of Career
Determinants’.

Super described the ‘Archway’ as follows:

‘The Self (the Person) and his or her Role Self-Concepts

are the culminating products of the interaction of the
person and of the environment:

these are concepts of self as family member, as pupil

and student, as athlete, as friend, as worker, etc.’

(Super, 1992, p.41, original emphasis)

The ‘Archway’ of conceptual
Career Determinants

* * *
* *
*
personal social
descriptive

*
*
To summarise, the comprehensive and systematic
nature of Super’s theory has been widely
acknowledged (Brown 1990; Hackett, Lent &
Greenhaus, 1991; Osipow & Fitzgerald, 1996).

A wide range of instruments have been designed

to measure the various theoretical constructs
outlined thus far.

Examples include the Salience Inventory, the

Career Development Inventory and the Adult
Career Concerns Inventory.
With regard to the measurement of self-concepts,
an eclectic range of assessment methods have
been reported in the literature.

These include the use of card sorts, adjective

checklists and autobiographical techniques
Finally, Super was significantly influenced by
personal construct psychology (Kelly, 1955).

Indeed, he subsequently described the entire caucus

of his work as being ‘held together by self-concept or
personal construct theory’ (Super, 1990, p.199).
From theory to practice……..

Super acknowledges that each individual has

a plurality of self-concepts – that our conception
of ourselves, of who we are and who we want
to be are multiple, not singular.

Our self-concepts are experienced in the form

of social roles – by adopting various social roles
we can experiment and trial our conceptions of
self in the social, public world
Super’s view of the self-concept as ‘seeing oneself in a social context
is significant.

Here, he draws on the symbolic interactionism of George Herbert

Mead.

In so doing, he borrows from Mead the concept of ‘visualisation’.

‘Visualisation’ has an immediate practical application…

How do you see yourself as a teacher…?

and

How do you see yourself using a Masters in Educational

Management…?

……provide the basis for anticipating and trialling possible selves in

possible futures.