Translating Theory to Practice: A Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Approach to Career Development and Services

1. Translating Theory to Practice: A Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Approach to Career Development and Services Janet G. Lenz, Ph.D. Florida State University AACC Conference March 2008

2. Pre-test: What theory guides your practice?

3. Issues with Career Theories • Concepts & assumptions • Not easily translated for practice or instruction/training • Lack of guidelines for career counseling interventions • Limited practical, cost-efficient assessment tools • Overemphasis on individual counseling as intervention format

4. Where We Need To Go… • “Clients and practitioners need to be able to understand and apply an integrated approach (the best of modern and post-modern). The stakes are too high for theorists, researchers, and practitioners to continue debating which approach is best” (J. P. Sampson, Jr., June 2005)

5. Where we need to go…

6. Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) “Give people a fish and they eat for a day, but teach them how to fish and they eat for a lifetime” (adapted from Lao Tzu) Goal: individuals learn how to be skillful career problem solvers and decision makers throughout their lives

7. The Context • 4th largest state in the U.S. • Tallahassee, FL--state capital • Florida State University, 4-year, public university, 40,000 students

8. Center for the Study of Technology in Counseling and Career Development A unit of the Florida State University Career Center and College of Education Integrating theory, research, and practice Theory Research Practice www.career.fsu.edu/techcenter

9. First: A credit to my partners in career services practice & theory

10. The Florida State University Career Services Context • Comprehensive, university-based careers services center • Provides varying levels of service delivery • Open to the community • CIP theory applied in practice since 1991 • Visitors from 40+ countries have come to see approach to career services delivery

11. Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Approach to Career Problem & Decision Making • Unique collaboration • 20+ years of sustained effort • Draws on unique strengths of team members • Support provided by career services management, College of Education, and upper level university administration

12. Nature of Career Problems from a Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Perspective • Complex and Ambiguous Cues • Interdependent Courses of Action • Uncertainty of the Outcome • Solutions Present New Problems

13. Guiding Principles of the CIP Approach • Both clients and practitioners play an active role • “Expert” and client versions of concepts • Model is practical, easy to learn and apply, yet accounts for complexity • Emphasis on “getting inside the client’s head” to look at how information is processed

14. Misconceptions About CIP • CIP is mostly concerned with cognition (what people think) • Rationality and logic are valued over intuition in problem solving and decision making

15. CIP in Practice: Career Services Setting As A Learning Environment • Applying theory in practice (e.g., the “real world”) • Matching “instruction” to the nature of the career problem • Planned interventions and activities (Individual Learning Plan-ILP) • Unplanned experiences—the career services setting as a “laboratory”

16. CIP Pyramid of Information Processing Domains Client Version Thinking about my decision making Knowing how I make decisions Knowing about myself Knowing about my options

17. Knowledge Domains • Data are stored in our brains as dynamic, structurally interrelated units—schemata • A schemaallows us to perceive relationships among facts and concepts • Well-developed schemata sensitize us to stimuli in the environment, facilitate the storage of information Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon (1991).

18. Self-Knowledge Domain • Perceptions of one’s values, interests, skills, employment preferences, etc. • Schemata developed from ongoing construction of life experiences • 2 processes—interpretation & reconstruction—episodes stored in long term memory

19. Option Knowledge Domain • One’s unique representation of the world of work • Knowledge of specific options • Structural relationship between occupations

20. Decision-Making Skills Domain • Generic information-processing model • How do I usually make important decisions? • CIP uses a 5-step model known as the CASVE cycle

21. CASVE Cycle - Client Version Knowing I Need to Make a Choice Knowing I Made aGood Choice C ImplementingMy Choice Understanding Myself and My Options E A Choosing AnOccupation, Program of Study, or Job Expanding andNarrowing My Listof Options S V

22. Communication • Information is received—gap awareness • Discomfort becomes greater than fear of change • Internal states & external demands

23. Analysis • Involves all aspects of the pyramid • Causes of the “problem” • Relationships among problem components are considered • “problem space” activity

24. Synthesis Avoid missing alternatives, while not becoming overwhelmed with options Elaboration - Identify possible options Crystallization - Narrow potential options (3-5).

25. Valuing • Judge the costs and benefits of each option considering • Self • Significant Others • Community • Society • Prioritize alternatives • Make tentative primary and secondary

26. Execution Formulate & execute a plan for implementing a tentative choice

27. Communication Review external demands and internal states • Has the gap been closed? • Have the negative emotions and physiological states improved? • Am I taking action to achieve my goal?

28. Executive Processing Domain • “Thinking about thinking” • Metacognitions • Self-talk • Self-awareness • Control and monitoring

29. Executive Processing Domain • Controls the selection and sequencing of cognitive strategies to achieve a goal • Monitors the execution of a given problem-solving strategy to determine whether goal has been achieved

30. Readiness • The capability of an individual to make appropriate career choices taking into account the complexity of family, social, economic, and organizational factors that influence career development Source: Sampson, J. P., Jr., Reardon, R. C., Peterson, G. W., & Lenz, J. G. (2004). Career counseling and services: A cognitive information processing approach. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

31. Capability • Cognitive and affective capacity • Willingness to explore self-knowledge • Motivation • Willingness to learn about and engage in career problem solving and decision making • Awareness of how thoughts influence decisions

32. Complexity • Family • Amount of family responsibilities or stressors, role overload, “dysfunctional” family input • Social—can be positive or negative • Modeling, mentoring, discrimination, stereotyping • Economic • Trends, stability of occupations, industries; personal factors • Organizational—size, culture, stability

33. Readiness • Number of references to this in the career & voc. Psychology literature • Assessing readiness may involve subjective and objective methods • Variety of instruments available (See article by Sampson, Peterson, Reardon, & Lenz, CDQ, 2000).

34. CIP Readiness Model • Complexity • (high) • Capability • (low) (high) • (low)

35. Readiness • Consider complexity and capability prior to • Administering assessments • Prescribing learning experiences

36. Readiness Assessment in CIP:The Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) • 48-item measure of negative thoughts in career choice • Self-administered • Objectively scored • Has been translated into Greek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish, and Icelandic

37. Career Thoughts Defined Outcomes of one’s thinking about • assumptions, • attitudes, • behaviors, • beliefs, • feelings, • plans, or • strategies related to career choice

38. CTI Theory Base Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Theory Beck’s Cognitive Theory (1976): Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders.

39. Self-knowledge Occupational Knowledge Communication Analysis Synthesis Valuing Execution Executive Processing 8 CIP Content Dimensions

40. Beck’s Cognitive Theory • Dysfunctional cognitions have a detrimental impact on behavior and emotions • Dysfunctional cognitions can be replaced with functional cognitions

41. Use of the CTI & CTI Workbook • Screening • Needs Assessment • Learning

42. Screening CTI Total Score - Global indicator of dysfunctional thinking Helps practitioners determine how much assistance individual needs Practitioner and client collaborate in decision making

43. Needs Assessment Identifying the specific nature of dysfunctional thinking CTI Construct scores • Decision-making confusion (DMC) • Commitment anxiety (CA) • External conflict (EC)

44. Learning CTI and CTI Workbook used to help clients: • Identify • Challenge • Alter • Act

45. Selected CIP/CTI Research Studies Constructs inversely related to negative career thoughts • vocational identity • lack of information needs • lack of barriers • certainty • decidedness • comfort with choice • self-clarity • knowledge about occupations and training • decisiveness

46. Selected CIP/CTI Research • Selected constructs positively correlated with negative career thoughts • neuroticism • anxiety • depression • self-consciousness • impulsivity • vulnerability

47. Selected CIP/CTI Research Mental health constructs positively correlated with negative career thoughts • inability to choose a major field of study • perfectionism and career indecision • depression and career indecision

48. CIP in Instruction • Undergraduate 3-credit career class • CIP theory integrated into text, class lectures, small group activities • CTI used as pre-post test • Study by Reed, Reardon, Lenz, & Leierer (2001) showed a significant decrease in students’ negative career thoughts

49. CIP-Based Interventions • Career workshop with secondary school students: • “CIP Approach…can be successfully applied to promote career development on an international scale” (Hirschi & Lage, 2007) • 14-week career assistance program—male cricketers, ages 15-16; experimental group improved career goal decidedness and career awareness (AJCD, 2003) • Application of CIP to assist service members’ transition into the civilian world (Clemens & Milsom, CDQ, March 2008)

50. CIP-Based Interventions • North Ireland Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) Strategy--provides a basis for: • organising the use of careers resources and services • tools to monitor progress in career choice • guidance in decision making • helps develop effective career decision makers