Decisions, Decisions, Decisions …

1. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions… Thomas S. Krieshok University of Kansas tkrieshok@ku.edu

2. Key Points: • The human brain is not designed for happiness • When we try to predict what will make us happy, • we make errors • Implications of this for career counseling

3. Members of the A (Adaptability) Team over the years:

4. Not designed for happiness • Humans not designed for Happiness, but Survival and Reproduction • We always want just a bit more wealth, privilege, beauty, and youth • Precursors to survival and reproductive likelihood • The Hedonic Treadmill

5. Not designed for happiness • The human mind as an experience simulator • We are not so adept at predicting the intensity and duration of our future emotional reactions • Affective Forecasting (Wilson & Gilbert)

6. Side Effects of human design • 1. We overestimate our ability to get things done in the future • 2. We underestimate our resourcefulness for dealing with obstacles • 3. Consciousness only sees a movie about reality

7. Side Effects of human design • Leads to Miswanting • We think something will make us happier than it does ...and based on faulty assumptions, • We avoid things we expect will be difficult

8. Side Effects of human design • So we want things we won't end up liking • And we resist wanting things we would end up liking

9. Doing better but feeling worse (Iyengar, Wells, & Schwartz) • College seniors: Maximizers vs. Satisficers • Perceived value of possible outcomes influenced by: • Mis-predicted expectations during the decision process • Affect experienced during the decision process itself • Social values

10. Doing better but feeling worse (Iyengar, Wells, & Schwartz) • Even when they get what they want-- Maximizers may not want what they get

11. Human Design Issues • The brain is part of the problem • Areas for Wanting ≠ Areas for Liking

12. Human Design Issues • Amalgam of brain systems • Cobbled together over time • To adapt to evolving environmental demands

13. System 1 and System 2 • System 1: Intuitive, non-conscious mind -related to “older” functions of the brain • System 2: Rational, often conscious mind -related to “newer” functions of the brain -especially language

14. Process & Content in Two cognitive Systems From D. Kahneman: A perspective on judgment and choice, 2003, American Psychologist.

15. System 1 and System 2 • The Elephant and the Rider (Haidt) • The elephant - System 1 • (Bargh’s ‘Wise Unconscious’) • Makes most day to day decisions • The rider - System 2 • Has some input, but not as much as we think • Acts as an Interpreter Module (Gazzaniga) • Fabricates reasons for behavior • Makes errors in guessing those reasons

16. Wanting vs. Liking • Liking depends more on System 1 and automaticity • Wanting depends more on System 2 • Influenced by socialization, gender proscriptions, ... • Subject to heuristics and errors

17. Wanting vs. Liking • What do I want? is really: What would somebody like me want? What would/should somebody with my identity/self concept want? • But identity is a socially constructed entity • My story is ABOUT reality, not reality itself

18. The heart has its reasons, that reason knows not of. Pascal There’s someone in my head, but it’s not me. Pink Floyd

19. We’re Lawyers, Not Scientists • We hold the belief we want to believe • Then recruit anything we can to support it. • Peter Ditto, UC Irvine

20. Mark Twain: • It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. • It’s what you know for sure that ain’t so that gets you into trouble.

21. Wanting ≠ Liking • Implications for career counseling • A particular issue for the matching model

22. Matching Model • Self-knowledge • What do you want in your work? • World of work knowledge • What's out there? • True reasoning (Frank Parsons) • Match the first to the second • Match me to work that will bring me happiness

23. Matching Model • What I really need to match to: • Is not what I WANT • But what I'd LIKE

24. Matching Model • A better question: • What kind of work will give me what I Like? • Figure out what you Like-- & Plan with that knowledge

25. BUT…Wanting is cheapLiking is expensive • Wanting is cheap data • I can just “make up” what I want • Liking is expensive data • I have to develop a history of liking across domains and time

26. Knowing my Likes • Thomas Motl: Teasing out wanting & liking • Beforehand: Do you thinkyou will like it? • While you are doing it: Do you like it? • Tomorrow: Did you like it? • Ask me on an interest inventory: • "Is this something you like?"

27. Knowing my Likes • System 1: You have to put yourself in places where you have the opportunity To Like or To Not Like • System 2: You have to pay attention to what happens • AND you have to know that System 2 is subject to errors and distortions

28. Trilateral Model of Adaptive CDM Reason System 2, Rational System, Reflective System. Engagement Activities that increase one’s fund of information and experience. Intuition System 1, Experiential System, Reflexive System.

29. The Case for Engagement • “… taking part in behaviors that contribute to the career decision-maker’s fund of information and experience.” • Makes both Rational & Intuitive tools more informed and less naive

30. The Case for Engagement

31. Examples of Occupational Engagement Studying abroad Being involved in organizations Talking to anyone at anytime about anything Volunteering Job shadowing Traveling Reading a section of the newspaper you normally don’t 31

32. Anti-Engagement MessagesStudents Hear • Choose a major by the time you have 45 credit hours • You already have a good paying summer job, • don’t take an internship that pays less • Study Abroad will only extend your time in college • Your school work is your job, • So don’t volunteer or get a part time job. • Go take that test, it will tell you what to do. • All you can do with a history degree is teach • The most important thing is your grades 32

33. Our firmest conclusion: • Be Engaged!!! • Better chance your intuition will be expert • Be prepared! (always be engaged) • Ebberwein’s study of laid off workers

34. Implications for Career Counseling • Career Counseling clients need convincing about all of this • Hard Sell • Invest time and energy in learning your Likes • Move out of your comfort zone • Recognize your mind is something of a parasite • (in that YOU are not YOUR MIND)

35. Implications for Career Counseling • Integrate well-researched counseling interventions that address behavior change

36. Implications for Career Counseling • Stages of change • I need to do the work to learn my likes • Where am I in that process?

37. Implications for Career Counseling • Motivational Interviewing • I'm ambivalent about engaging in that hard work

38. Implications for Career Counseling • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy • My thoughts (System 2) are subject to all manner of social influence • My thoughts are not reality • My thoughts have an agenda of their own, often not the same as the agenda I have for my life

39. Takeaway message • Happiness research tells us: • Knowing what you like is hard • That makes matching more complicated • Career counselors can use behavior change tools to encourage engagement

40. Things to do while you’re waiting for luck • 1. Being a great student and worker is not enough • We need to be adaptive agents • With a healthy relationship to the marketplace. • 2. Avoid choosing until you have developed your expertise • Differentiate Decidedness from Commitment • 3. Don’t always trust what your thoughts are telling you. • Your thoughts are not your friends. • Rational explanations may be driven by other agendas

41. Things to do while you’re waiting for luck • 4. Feed your intuition Engage your 11,000,000 bit processor Instead of your 20 bit processor • 5. Consult with trusted others, especially on your strengths • 6. Don’t spend too much time in self assessment

42. Things to do while you’re waiting for luck • 7. Most of all, ENGAGE • Set yourself up for planned happenstance • 8. Once (re)employed, STAY engaged • 9. Choose Action over Decision (Savickas) • 10. Lead a value-driven life • Instead of a quest for a pain-freelife

43. So Dude, like, get out in the world and have some great experiences!