Classic Career Theory: Part 3 Law’s Community Interaction Theory

Key proposition: ‘The way in which who-does-what in society is decided is the product of the plurality of interpersonal transactions conducted in local settings, and on the basis of interaction within and between groups of which the individual is a member – the ‘community’.’ (Law, 1981, p145) Here, Law stresses the significance of locality – the specific localised contexts where people convene as a community. In so doing, Law takes what he calls an ecological view of career. He is interested in the cultural practices to be found in the communities that we inhabit, and which inhabit us.

Processes of community interaction: Community as a transmitter of motivation ‘motivation for career development occurs in transactions involving the participation of parents, family, neighbourhood, peer groups and ethnic group.’ (ibid, p149) For Law, motivation is characterised by the relationship between ‘internally experienced needs and drives, and externally experienced incentives and rewards’ Here, Law is seeking to find a middle ground between what he calls applied psychology and applied sociology

2. Community as a modifier of social functioning ‘Community interaction not only transmits the effects of social processes, but also modifies these effects in unpredictable ways.’ Here Law attempts to move away from a deterministic stance in relation to social class, ethnicity, etc. He is drawing attention to how interactions within communities can have unpredictable social effects. At the same time, he is acknowledging that there are social conditions that impact on the conduct of interactions within communities.

3. Modes of community influence Expectations – cues, pressures and enticements that are often embedded in membership of groups. Expectations may be transmitted through the values of family or peer group 2. Feedback – images that people can receive of themselves by their participation in groups. Feedback may be transmitted through the messages that people receive concerning their suitability for different sorts of social roles.

Modes of community influence continued…. 3. Support – the reinforcements and encouragement that group membership can entail. 4. Modelling – the real-life examples which offer specific targets for identification to members of a group. Modelling may be transmitted via the opportunity to meet and understand ways of life outside of the person’s origins. 5. Information – the communication of impressions, images and data which people distil from conversation in the groups of which they are members. Information may be transmitted via the direct observations that individuals have of work habits and patterns of the people they have contact with day-to-day.

Law’s five modes of community influence highlight the significance of culture – that embedded in each community are particular cultural expectations and traditions that serve as a guide for interaction. Identity is also highlighted here – that people can identify who they are through the feedback and support and modelling that community membership offers.

It is also important to emphasise that community influence is not seen by Law to be necessarily benign – communities can constrain as well as enable people. Hence, Law’s interest in alternative communities – that people can seek out and join, indeed form communities beyond their immediate circumstances and locality.

Further propositions: ‘A person’s perception of self and situation will change according to the particular construction of reality being negotiated with a particular partner on a particular occasion.’ Here Law is taking what appears to be a social constructionist view of the world… i.e. that what is real and meaningful to us about our sense of who we are and the world around us is constructed through social interchange – through relationships and social networks. In this sense, there are as many realities as there are communities (a community being more than one person).

‘The process of interaction does not only involve the accommodation of the individual to shared constructions of the group; it also involves the accommodation of group constructions to those of the individual.’ (ibid, p.152) Here Law is acknowledging that the influence of communities is not just one-way, or top down. Rather, community influence is reciprocal in the sense that communities are constructed through the actions of the individuals who participate in them. Law uses the phrase ‘the socialiser is socialised’ to emphasise this point.

Finally, in terms of guidance practice, Law suggests that….. ‘a community interaction theory of career development highlights a ‘plurality’ of perspectives. This in turn can enable the individual to use a range of ways of thinking about possible selves in possible futures.’ (ibid, p156) Here, Law is emphasising the importance of community networks in guidance practice – that guidance practitioners can put people in touch with other people, and other communities. In this sense, the question ‘who do you know?’ is more pertinent than ‘what do you know?’

Strengths and weaknesses of the theory: Draws attention to the significance of relationships, personal networks and social contexts, and how these influence career development 2. Identifies the ‘modes’ of influence that operate within community interactions. 3. Largely rhetorical – i.e. limited empirical basis for claims 4. Attempts to introduce a ‘social constructionist’ perspective on career development. This is not adequately explained