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Career and Understanding

Students Own Self
Concept of building life style
Exploration of career interests and values
Self evaluation by applying psychological inventory
By
Dr. Chua Lee Chuan

The style of life Tree (Alder)

THE STYLE OF LIFE TREE is a highly simplified
graphic illustration of Alfred Adler's model of
personality development.

The three main areas of the tree

are: 1. The FIVE ROOTS
1. The FIVE ROOTS
The FIVE ROOTS represent the formative period of
2. The STYLE OF LIFE early childhood influences in which the prototype of
3. The THREE TASKS OF LIFE the style of life was adopted.

Some negative influences have high probabilities for
provoking discouragement, but none can actually
cause a child to choose a negative direction in life.

He freely uses his creative power, adapting influences
and circumstances, to his own idea about the best way
to live.

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1. Health and Appearance

2. Social and Economic Position of the Family
3. Parental Attitudes Health and Appearance include the influences of organ inferiority, disease, deformity,
as well as unusual beauty or handsomeness. Each factor may act as an incentive for active
4. Family Constellation compensation or as a burden leading to passive discouragement.
Social and Economic Position of the Family would take into consideration the impact
5. Gender Role of poverty, wealth, and any other cultural or religious factors that might promote feelings
of inferiority or superiority.
Parental Attitudes covers the effects of a wide spectrum of parent-child relationships
can promote feelings of inferiority or superiority!! including: democratic, dominating, submissive, pampering, overprotective coersive,
perfectionistic, neglectful, rejecting, seductive, and punitive.
Family Constellation explores the influence of birth order position, including: only,
oldest, second, middle, youngest, only boy among girls, only girl among boys, adopted,
and a child whose sibling has died. The number of years between siblings, as well as the
sequence of males and females are often significant factors. Each birth order position has
unique advantages as well as disadvantages.
Gender Role may be a positive or negative influence, depending on the value suggested
by the family and the culture. The feelings of equality, inferiority, or superiority may be
evident in the role models that children are exposed to daily.

2. STYLE OF LIFE Self

The STYLE OF LIFE is the core repetitive pattern of

thinking, feeling, and acting that characterize the
life Others
individual's unique attitude toward the tasks of life.
Atititude

To gain a practical understanding of each client, five towards
..
subordinate attitudes may be identified.

Oher Sex difficulties

3. THREE TASKS OF LIFE

The Attitude Toward Self may be characterized by self-
The THREE TASKS OF LIFE are the usual challenges
development, self-indulgence, or self-destructiveness.
each adult is faced with in our culture.
The Attitude Toward Difficulties could range from a self-
pampering preference for avoiding all unpleasant difficulties, to a
In Adlerian diagnosis, the individual's answer to each
vigorous appetite for embracing and struggling with difficulties. challenge is an important index of their mental
The Attitude Toward Others may involve cooperation, health.
rejection, exploitation, domination, or destruction.
The Attitude Toward the Other Sex could be expressed with
respect, acceptance, and affection, or contempt, rejection, and
abuse.
The Attitude Toward Life might range from optimistic and
generous contribution, to pesssimistic self-enrichment or self-
protection.

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Other
people
Tasks
of Life
Love and
Occupation
sex
Alfred Adlers Personality Theory
and Personality Types

The question of what drives uswhat great force
underlies our motivation as individuals, propelling us
forward through all manner of trying circumstance
was a matter of longtime fascination for psychologist
Alfred Adler.

He eventually came to call this motivating force the
striving for perfection, a term which encapsulates the
desire we all have to fulfill our potential, to realize our
idealsa process strikingly similar to the more
popular idea of self-actualization.

Adler believed that some people become mired in
their inferiority; he felt that we are all born with a
sense of inferiority (as children are, of course, smaller
and both physically and intellectually weaker than
adults), which is often added to by various
psychological inferiorities later (being told we are
dumb, unattractive, bad at sports, etc.)
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Other People may be seen as potentially friendly and
approached with warmth and enthusiasm; foolish and easy
to exploit; or they may be viewed as hostile or indifferent,
and avoided as much as posiible.
An Occupation might be envisioned as an opportunity for
enriching the lives of others--or only oneself. Work can be
experienced as a creative fulfilment or a dreaded burden.
Business may be conducted with ruthless competition, or a
benevolent consideration for the well being of employees
and customers.
Love and Sex offers partners an opportunity for intimate
mutual enrichment or selfish expoitation. Immature
infatuation, without commitment or mature, responsible
love.
Inferiority

If we are all being pulled toward perfection,
fulfillment, and self-actualization, why does a sizeable
portion of the population end up miserably unfulfilled
and far from perfect, far from realizing their selves and
ideals?

Most children manage these inferiorities by dreaming
of becoming adults (the earliest form of striving for
perfection), and by either mastering what they are bad
at or compensating by becoming especially adept at
something else, but for some children, the uphill climb
toward developing self-esteem proves insurmountable.
These children develop an inferiority complex, which
proves overwhelming over time.
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The feeling of general inferiority seeds doubt which
fosters a neurosis, and the youngster becomes shy and
timid, insecure, indecisive, cowardly, etc. Unable to
meet his or her needs through direct, empowering
action (not having the confidence to initiate such), the
individual often grows up to be passive-aggressive and
manipulative, relying unduly on the affirmation of
others to carry them along. This, of course, only gives
away more of their power, makes their self-esteem
easier to cripple, and so on.
Psychological types

While Adler did not spend a lot of time on neurosis, he
did identify a small handful of personality types that
he distinguished based on the different levels of
energy he felt they manifested. These types to Adler
were by no means absolutes, it should be noted; Adler,
the devout individualist, saw them only as heuristic
devices (useful fictions).

The second type is the leaning type. Individuals of this
type are sensitive, and while they may put a shell up
around themselves to protect themselves, they end up
relying on others to carry them through lifes
challenges. They lack energy, in essence, and depend
on the energy of others. They are also prone to
phobias, anxieties, obsessions and compulsions,
general anxiety, dissociation, etc.
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Of course, not all children dealing with a strong sense
of inferiority become shy and timid and self-effacing;
some develop a superiority complex, in a dramatic act
of overcompensation. These young people often
become the classic image of the playground bully,
chasing away their own sense of inferiority by making
others feel smaller and weaker, but may also become
greedy for attention, drawn to the thrill of criminal
activity or drug use, or heavily biased in their views
(becoming bigoted towards others of a certain gender
or race, for example).

The first type is the ruling type. These people are
characterized early on by a tendency to be generally
aggressive and dominant over others, possessing an
intense energy that overwhelms anything or anybody
who gets in their way. These people are not always
bullies or sadists, however; some turn the energy
inward and harm themselves, such as is the case with
alcoholics, drug addicts, and those who commit
suicide.

The third type is the avoiding type. People of this type
have such low energy they recoil within themselves to
conserve it, avoiding life as a whole, and other people
in particular. In extreme cases, these people develop
psychosisthe end result of entirely retreating into
ones self.
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Adler also believed in a fourth type: the socially useful
type. People of this type are basically healthy
individuals, possessed of adequate, but not
overbearing, social interest and energy. They are able
to give to others effectively as they are not so
consumed by a sense of inferiority that they cannot
look properly outside of themselves.

Adlers theories may lack the excitement of Freuds
and Jungs, being devoid of sexuality or mythology, but
they are nonetheless practical, influential, and highly
applicable. Other more famous names, such as Maslow
and Carl Rogers, were fans of Adlers work, and various
students of personality theories have espoused the
idea that the theorists called Neo-Freudians (such as
Horney, Fromm, and Sullivan) probably ought to have
been called Neo-Adlerians instead.

What is Career Exploration?

Career Exploration is the process of...
learning about yourself and the world of work
identifying and exploring potentially satisfying
occupations
developing an effective strategy to realize your goals

Know Yourself Areas of Interest

Career exploration is a lifelong process for most people,
A simple place to start in identifying your interests is
and that journey can begin in many ways -- through both to consider the activities, hobbies and topics that you
reflection and action.
enjoy and that naturally capture your attention.

If you're seeking greater career clarity or hoping to choose a
major or a professional path, start with what you already Identifying your interests can help you generate ideas
know about yourself. This is called career self- of possible majors and career areas to further explore.
assessment. Below are several activities to help you identify and
1. Areas of Interest clarify your areas of interest.
2. Skills & Abilities
3. Personal Values
4. Personality & Preferences
5. Putting it all Together

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For example: Skills & Abilities

Skills and abilities are tasks that you naturally do well,
talents and strengths that you bring to the table as a
student and/or employee. These include natural
capabilities youve always had, in addition to specific
knowledge and skills youve acquired through
experience and training.

Skills can be classified into three main categories:
transferable/functional skills
knowledge-based skills
personal traits/attitudes

Personal Values

Knowing your values will help you develop a clearer
sense of what's most important to you in life. A value is
a belief and a priority that is meaningful to you and
that influences both your actions and reactions. Values
can serve as your guiding force, especially when
making decisions and pursuing options that lead to
happiness, including career options.

Personality & Preferences

Your work style is made up of your personality traits,
personal qualities, and work environment preferences.

Knowing your personality and preferences help you
understand more about what motivates you, what
brings you comfort and satisfaction, and what informs
the choices you make both personally and
professionally.

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Putting It All Together

Reflection, synthesis and confirmation are integral
parts of career exploration and self-assessment. Once
you have identified and prioritized your interests,
skills, values and personality preferences, it is
important to put it all together to identify themes
and general career areas that youd like to explore
further. The following activities are designed to help
you integrate and validate the personal information
gathered earlier in this process, and to help you gain
new perspective to aid you in career decision making.

Make an Appointment to see a career counselor

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Holland's Six Personality Types

According to John Holland's theory, most people are
one of six personality types:

Realistic,

Investigative,

Artistic,

Social,

Enterprising,

Conventional.

Make Sense of Self-Assessment

Results

Have you completed a self-assessment inventory but
don't know what to do now?

The information can provide vital clues to your ideal
career, as long as you take the time to evaluate and
interpret the data.

Here's how..

Realistic
Investigative
Likes to work with animals, tools, or machines; generally Likes to study and solve math or science problems;
avoids social activities like teaching, healing, and
generally avoids leading, selling, or persuading people;
informing others;
Has good skills in working with tools, mechanical or Is good at understanding and solving science and math
electrical drawings, machines, or plants and animals; problems;
Values practical things you can see, touch, and use like Values science; and
plants and animals, tools, equipment, or machines; and
Sees self as precise, scientific, and intellectual.
Sees self as practical, mechanical, and realistic.

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Artistic
Likes to do creative activities like art, drama, crafts, dance,
music, or creative writing; generally avoids highly ordered or
repetitive activities;
Has good artistic abilities -- in creative writing, drama, crafts,
music, or art;
Values the creative arts -- like drama, music, art, or the works
of creative writers; and
Sees self as expressive, original, and independent.

Enterprising
Likes to lead and persuade people, and to sell things
and ideas; generally avoids activities that require
careful observation and scientific, analytical thinking;
Is good at leading people and selling things or ideas;
Values success in politics, leadership, or business; and
Sees self as energetic, ambitious, and sociable.

Review the Results

Read the report carefully and underline the
information you absolutely agree with.

These may be things you already know about yourself;
if so, it's great to reinforce that perception.

But what about feedback that doesn't make sense?
Since you completed the inventory based on your
experience, try to remember when you expressed that
personality trait or value.
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Social
Likes to do things to help people -- like, teaching, nursing, or
giving first aid, providing information; generally avoids using
machines, tools, or animals to achieve a goal;
Is good at teaching, counseling, nursing, or giving
information;
Values helping people and solving social problems; and
Sees self as helpful, friendly, and trustworthy.

Conventional
Likes to work with numbers, records, or machines in a
set, orderly way; generally avoids ambiguous,
unstructured activities
Is good at working with written records and numbers in a
systematic, orderly way;
Values success in business; and
Sees self as orderly, and good at following a set plan.

Write About Enjoyable Activities or Accomplishments

Do this separately from reviewing your results but with an open
mind to discover more pieces to the puzzle. Describe your role in
the accomplishment, going into detail about what you did and
the people with whom you interacted. How would you describe
them? What did you like about the project? What challenges did
you have to overcome? Talk about the results in terms of benefits
to you, your colleagues or friends and the people served. Was this
experience a success because you were acting on your values, or
did the culture and setting support your role? With the
additional information you've gleaned from writing, go back and
look at your assessment results and see if you can interpret more
information than you did on your first review.
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Create a Miniprofile

This should summarize relevant self-assessment
information on one page: The personality traits that best
describe you and your most important work values.
Summarize the information from the section on culture
that seems to ring most true. Make a list separate from the
assessment results of your best skills and prioritize them.
In addition, list the fields, interests and concerns that
fascinate you (i.e., healthcare, creating great systems,
international trends, etc.). With all this information on one
page, it will be easier for you to research careers using
prioritized and relevant criteria.

Now it's time to take action:
Read and research specific job titles. Start looking at the job postings and job
profiles to learn more about positions available within the recommended field.
Now that you're more comfortable with the information about yourself, be
open to learning more about these positions.
Use the Internet Public Library to check out professional associations and learn
how professionals in the field stay up-to-date.
Start to identify people in your network who might know somebody in the
field. Or find the local chapter of a previously identified association and
connect with someone there.
See what the colleges in your area offer in terms of advancing your education in
this field. A certificate program is an excellent way to enter a new field. As you
read the course descriptions, do you find the topics appealing?
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Finally, Research Career Fields

As a result of sorting, verifying and recording
information, you are now ready to take a look at the
career results. Remember: You are looking for clues
about whether the recommended fields will be a good
fit for you. As a result of the previous self-awareness
activities, you'll be able to research and review the
information about what's out there as you compare it
against you personal profile.
Tutorial 15

Developmental Career Theory is one of the three main
traditional theories of career development. Unlike
trait and factor theory, the developmental approach
rejects the idea that career choices are static, i.e. they
happen over a long period of time and are not a one off
event in an individuals life.

Discuss the development career theory advocated by
Eli Ginsberg and Donald Super.
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