Super’s ‘Self-Concept’ Theory 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 Career Determinants conceptual 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.