Group 4: John Krumboltz

Presentation: November 29

Deadlines:
Video Compilation Deadline: Nov. 26
Canva Slides Deadline: Nov. 27
Final Presentation: Nov. 28

Assignments:
Opening Activity - Padua
Closing Activity - Alcantara
Powerpoint Layout - Sabado
Video Compilations - Laudencia

Theoretical Frameworks for Career Development: John Krumboltz

● Brief history of the proponent - Laudencia
● Description of the Theory - Sabado
● Important Concepts - Alcantara
● Stages of Development - Padua

Notes:
● Brief history of the proponent- Laudencia
● Description of the Theory
● Important Concepts
● Stages of Development

Brief History of the Proponent

John D. Krumboltz (October 21, 1928- May 4, 2019) revolutionized the fields of
behavioral and career counseling by applying social theories of learning to the making of life
decisions.He is a retired professor of education and of psychology at Stanford, and died on May
4, 2019.

John Krumboltz is an established career theorist. He most recently developed ideas

about supporting indecision in clients. This theory is called planned happenstance. He states
that indecision is desirable and sensible, as it allows the opportunity for clients to benefit from
unplanned events. At the core of this theory is the fact that unpredictable social factors, chance
events and environmental factors are important influences on clients’ lives. As such, the
counsellor’s role is to help clients approach chance conditions and events positively.
https://www.careers.govt.nz/resources/career-practice/career-theory-models/krumboltzs-theory/
Educational Background
John was born in Cedar, Rapids, Iowa, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in
psychology from Coe College. He earned a Master’s in counseling at Teachers College,
Columbia University, and worked as counselor and algebra teacher in Waterloo, Iowa. He
earned his PhD in counseling and educational psychology from University of Minnesota.
http://career.iresearchnet.com/career-counseling/john-d-krumboltz-biography/
In the early 1970s, Krumboltz successfully argued against reinstating “F” grades at
Stanford, which had been abolished in 1969.

“Making a permanent public record of failed attempts at mastery discourages academic

exploration, instills a fear of learning, and impairs attainment of the purposes for which Stanford
was founded,” he wrote in Campus Report in 1992.
 He abhorred reliance on testing to decide individuals’ fates, writing in 1981 that
counselors cannot “prescribe a single occupational pill that will produce future euphoria.”

Rather, he said, they should teach people to ask, “What would be fun to try next?”

Krumboltz also believed that school counselors should not be limited to emotional
problems or career guidance, which put them “on the fringe of the educational endeavor,” he
wrote in 1987. Counselors should encourage students to love learning by integrating the
insights of teachers, parents and others.

https://ed.stanford.edu/news/stanford-professor-john-d-krumboltz-who-developed-theory-
planned-happenstance-dies#:~:text=He%20was%20senior%20research%20scientist,himself
%20a%20guidance%2Dcounseling%20pioneer.

Social Learning Theory (Sabado)

-Formed beliefs based on experiences

-a theory of how individuals make career decisions that emphasizes the importance of behavior
(action) and cognition (knowing or thinking) in making career decisions.
Why do people choose the occupations they do? Why do they choose one major rather than
another? Why choose one college and not another college? Krumboltz’s social learning theory
attempts to answer these questions by examining four basic factors: genetic endowment,
environmental conditions and events, learning experiences, and task-approach skills.

Each of these factors plays an important part in the eventual selection of a specific career
alternative
4 Factors:
1. Genetic Influences
- those aspects of the individual that are inherited or innate rather than learned. These include
physical appearance (such as height, hair color, and skin color), a predisposition to certain
physical illnesses, and other characteristics. The greater an individual’s innate genetic abilities,
the more likely he or she is to respond to learning and teaching.
Example: Some individuals are born with special abilities in music and are likely to respond well
to musical instruction no matter how long and how well it is done. The individual may improve
and likely to become a skilled musician.
2. Environmental Conditions
These factors generally are outside the control of the individual and include social, cultural,
political, and economic considerations. Factors such as climate and geography also affect an
individual in significant ways.

Several conditions and events—categorized as social, educational, and occupational— that

affect an individual’s career decision making.
2.1. Social Conditions
Changes in society have had a great effect on the available career options. Communities vary
greatly in the occupations that they require. For example, a plains region may require ranchers
and farmers, whereas a city requires merchants and salespeople. Social conditions also affect
the availability of and the demand for educational resources.
2.2.Parents and Caretakers
Krumboltz sees education beginning at birth. Parents provide a secure environment for children
to learn. The research on attachment theory is one source of evidence that Krumboltz (2009)
gives for learning before the age of 2. Learning continues throughout early childhood as the
ability to talk is acquired. More exposure to language can increase learning.
2.3.Peer Groups
When children are able to play with others informally or at a preschool, they learn a number of
social skills. By sharing toys, they learn to cooperate and not to take the toys of others. They
experience praise or criticism from other children, as well as from adults. Children have many
learning experiences each day, and their verbal and social skills increase on a daily basis.
2.4.Structured Educational Settings
The availability of education is influenced by both social and personal factors, for example, the
degree to which a person’s parents value higher education and have the ability to lend financial
assistance. Related to that is the school system that an individual attends and the effect of the
teachers and the resources in that system on the development of the individual’s interests and
abilities. The ability to acquire the necessary education to undertake a career is just one of
several occupational considerations.
2.5.Occupational Conditions
A number of factors affect jobs and the job market over which individuals have little control. One
of the most important is the number and nature of job opportunities. Jobs may be seasonal.
Educational requirements vary; some jobs require certification, licensure, a college degree, or
other prerequisites to entry. The salary and the prestige of jobs differ, depending on supply,
demand, and cultural value. Also, labor laws or union rules may limit the number of people in a
given occupation. Safety and other requirements may also affect the availability of certain
occupations.

3. Learning Experiences
Career preferences are a result of an individual’s prior learning experiences. An individual may
have millions of prior learning experiences that eventually will influence career decisions.
Because the variety of experience is so great, each individual’s learning experience is different
from another’s experience.

Two basic types of learning experiences—instrumental (H) and associative (O)—are important
in career choice.
3.1.Instrumental Learning Experiences (H)
An instrumental learning experience has three components: antecedents, behaviors, and
consequences. Instrumental learning experiences include taking an exam, studying for an
exam, reading about an occupation, or talking to someone about his or her work. If the
consequences of the behavior are positive, the individual is more likely to repeat it or similar
behaviors. For example, individuals who receive an A grade on an exam are more likely to
continue studying in that field and to take more courses in the same subject area than if they
performed poorly.
3.2.Associative Learning Experiences (O)
When an individual pairs a situation that was previously neutral with one that is positive or
negative, an associative learning experience occurs. Occupational stereotypes may develop
from powerful associative experiences. For example, if a child hears that “dentists like to hurt
people” or “bankers want to steal your money,” inaccurate information may be learned.
Two types of associative learning experiences are observation and classical conditioning.
3.2.1.Observation - Less dramatic associative learning may occur through
observing others, for example, watching a mail carrier or teacher perform his or her occupation.
More passive associative experiences come about through reading and hearing. Reading
occupational information and hearing a discussion about occupations are frequent ways of
learning occupational information.
3.2.2.Classical conditioning - when an event is generalized to a category of
experiences. For example, an individual who gets caught between floors for half an hour in an
elevator may develop a fear of all elevators.

4. Task Approach Skills

Understanding how an individual approaches a task is critical to career decision making. Certain
task skills are particularly important in career decision making. These skills include setting
goals, clarifying values, predicting future events, generating alternatives, and seeking
occupational information. The development of these task-approach skills is a major emphasis of
Krumboltz’s social learning approach to career decision making. How an individual approaches
a task depends on previous experience and influences the outcome of the task.
For example, how an individual studies a French assignment depends on her innate ability, how
she was taught French, and how much she has already learned. These factors, combined with
how she prepares for the French exam, will affect the outcome (her grade).

Learning Theory of Career Counseling (Alcantara)

Important Concepts:
● Adds Information about how career counselors can assist clients with their career
development needs
● Main Goal: Facilitate learning skills, interest, beliefs, values, and work habits
● Encourage counselors to TAKE THEIR ROLES in understanding client’s PAST
LEARNING EXPERIENCES

● Encourage using of assessment - CAREER BELIEFS INVENTORY (CBI) (Page 372)

According to Krumboltz (1994), client beliefs are an integral part of Krumboltz’s model. Although
tests and inventories are not featured in social learning theory as they are in some other career
development theories, they are still helpful in clarifying values when dealing with happenstance
learning theory. Interest inventories and ability and aptitude tests may be useful in the
application of social learning theories with regard to expanding self-observations about interests
and abilities.

Career Beliefs Inventory assesses many of the career beliefs that are potential problems for
clients. The Career Beliefs Inventory contains 25 scales that measure a wide variety of beliefs
relating to such issues as experimenting with jobs, self-improvement, and learning to overcome
obstacles and can now be taken on line.

5 Categories:

● current career situation

● Necessary for my happiness
● factors that influence my decision
● chances I am willing to make
● effort I am willing to initiate

The Career Beliefs Inventory continues to be used as a measure of how individuals view their
own career development.
 ● Client Cognitive and Behavioral Skills (Page 358)

Individuals may make observations about themselves and their environment that they will then
use to make career decisions. Observations about self include one’s capacities or abilities,
interests, and work values (Task Approach Skills). Generalizations about the world include the
world of work, as well as other events out-side oneself.Implicit in social learning theory is the
idea that more experience provides an opportunity to make better career decisions.

● Four procedures that follow from social learning theory (Page 359)

Counselor Behavioral Strategies

- explains four procedures that follow from social learning theory and are directly related
to career issues in counseling: reinforcement, the use of role models, role-playing, and
the use of simulation in counseling.

○ Reinforcement - Individuals are positively reinforced for their actions many times
throughout the day. they influence an individual’s observations of his or her
capacities, interests, and values. By reinforcing various aspects of a client’s
behavior, the counselor can assist in the accomplishment of career counseling
goals, such as selecting an appropriate occupational alternative or dealing with
difficult problems on the job.

○ Role Models - Through the use of role models, clients can have a valuable
associative learning experience. Counselors can assist clients by acting as role
models and by providing role models for them. For group career counseling, the
counselor can invite employed individuals or recent graduates to discuss their
career development with the group. In addition to being role models for dealing
with career concerns, individuals can be role models for specific occupations.

○ Role Playing - several strategies can be used to help clients learn new
behaviors. Sometimes the counselor can play the role of the client, and the client
can play the role of another person.After playing the role, the counselor may ask
the client for feedback on strategies the counselor used to effectively request
information or answer questions. By identifying strategies, the client can then try
them out with a counselor. Role-playing may continue until the client and
counselor believe that new skills have been learned.

Note: Counselors are likely to use positive reinforcement as often as appropriate and to
use criticism or point out problems as infrequently as possible. Reinforcement is likely to
increase the chances that clients will use the behavior in actual situations.

○ Simulation - By doing some of the tasks that an individual in a particular

occupation must perform, a client can simulate a career experience.For example,
The purpose of the job experience kits (Krumboltz, 1970) was to give students a
chance to experience success in tasks that are common in a specific occupation.
Research indicates that students who used the job experience kits expressed
more interest in that occupation than students who received written or filmed
occupational information.
Happenstance Theory (Padua)
Important concepts:
● Helps clients make the most out of chances
● Chance events are seen as opportunities
● Teaches clients how to learn from chance situations and encourage people to go out
and find more chances (explore different careers)
● Taking advantage of chance events is called planned happenstance, an idea first put
forth and developed by Kathleen Mitchell and changed to happenstance learning theory
by Krumboltz
● Krumboltz and his colleagues believe that individuals need to be prepared to make
adjustments as their abilities and interests and the social, educational, and occu-
pational environments change.
● Happenstance learning theory is positive and encouraging. It replaces indecision with
open-mindedness. (through pursuing alternatives rather than pushing the clients on what
fits them)

Four criteria that influence goals of career counseling.

1. The goal of career counseling is to help clients learn to take actions to achieve
more satisfying career and personal lives—not to make a single career decision.
● Expressing oneself is not enough; the key is to take action.
● “career and personal.”

2. Career assessments are used to stimulate learning, not to match personal

characteristics with occupational characteristics.
● When using a personality assessment inventory, people should not only attend to their
type but also attend to ways in which they want to change.

3. Clients learn to engage in exploratory actions as a way of generating beneficial

unplanned events.
● Krumboltz views unplanned events as common and necessary components in every
person’s career.

4. The success of counseling is assessed by what the client accomplishes in the real
world outside the counseling session.
● Krumboltz believes that it is the counselor’s role to help the individual take action, as well
as decide on a course of action.
● Planned Happenstance - This work focuses on how counselors can help their clients
deal with unplanned events.

5 Helpful Skills in dealing chances career opportunities

● Curiosity is used to explore new learning opportunities and to follow up on options

that result from chance events.
● Persistence is learned when there are setbacks in one’s experience. For example, if a
client is not offered a job but keeps trying, and finally a job interview results in an
offer, the client may learn persistence.
● Flexibility is learned when dealing with many chance events. Individuals often are
flexible in changing their attitudes when dealing with different circumstances such
as different employers in different job interviews.
 ● Optimism comes from pursuing new opportunities and finding that actions can
pay off.
● Risk taking occurs when there are unexpected new events. Clients learn that taking
risks (for example, having an interview for a job in which the client does not feel
sufficiently qualified) can result in a positive outcome. The outcome may not be a
job offer but rather another job lead.