? From the above description, we can see that the process of career decision-making is to constantly experiment, ponder over the fields related to career in the personal construction system, and finally weed out weeds and save seeds, so as to make the "construction" clear. We describe a decisive decision-maker as "without hesitation" or "he knows exactly what he wants", which shows that his construction system has been polished to an angular degree. This kind of person can usually accurately predict the possible advantages and disadvantages of a choice (Kelly, 1955).
? The best way to know the status of personal construction is the grid technology mentioned in the previous section. In grid technology, we use elements to generate cognitive maps constructed by individuals. There are no restrictions on the nature of the elements in the box, as long as they are related to career decisions. Generally, it is used to let the subjects list the careers they will choose. In fact, the potential function of grid technology is not limited to this. In order to let the subjects know their perceptual construction of the working world, some scholars divide income-earning activities (work) and non-income activities (leisure) (brook & Brooke, 1989). In addition, some scholars regard work partners, supervisors, subordinates, etc. As an element to analyze the interpersonal relationship of subjects at work (Stewart & stewart, 198 1). The elements used can be different, but the principle is the same. In the cases cited in this section, case 1 and case 2 (Cochran, 1987) all take professional activities as the elements.
I. Case 1
When she graduated from high school, Xiaozhen dreamed of going to college and hoped to help others all her life. She once thought about social workers, consulting psychologists, personnel managers and many, many jobs, but she must be educated again. But at the thought of going to college again, Xiao Zhen's old injury is dull and painful. She once went to college, but dropped out because of different interests. Now she works as a secretary in a small town. A few years later, her classmates graduated from universities one after another and found jobs that could give full play to their interests. They all look optimistic and confident, not as depressed as she is. Deep down, I'm ready to move again for a while. She felt that she had to make another decision: should I end my life by dealing with paperwork in this secretarial job? Should I quit my job and go to college, or should I just take time off and go out for fun?
? In order to help her form a decision, the consultant implemented a "career grid" for her. What Xiao Zhen really did was his own confession. Judging from the results, her career construction focuses on two categories: one is social consciousness and interpersonal relationship, and the other is the internal return of work. There is a slight correlation between the two. In the first category, what she really likes is informal and real contact with people, and she hates social interaction for show. She expects to really help others and inspire her inner potential. In the second category, she likes creativity, independence, responsibility and work challenges. On the "framework" she decided, the biggest conflict looms at this time. Any occupation related to positive structure (creativity, real contact, independence, responsibility, etc.). It is also related to her painful experience (lack of self-confidence). In the past, in order to escape the pain of lack of self-confidence, all the safe havens she chose were "mechanical", "boring", "frustrated" and "acting-like" (lack of real contact) jobs. Her first choice to enter the adult work world is to "escape the taboo" rather than "choose what she loves", and live like a walking corpse. She had expected the "taboo" to improve, but she remained the same for many years. Today, although the idea of going to college has revived, there is still a strong inner avoidance of conflict.
? The conflict between professional constructions is a common phenomenon in individual cases, and it has also appeared in research and investigation (Cochran,1983b; Cochrane & Giza, 1986). There are many ways to overcome conflicts. For example, looking for alternatives; Pay attention to the primary value and ignore the secondary value; Change, modify or loosen the stubborn construction meaning by establishing value priority; Meditate carefully on the role of each value in life and so on. Under the present circumstances, if Xiaozhen can become more confident or learn how to eliminate anxiety, the conflict will naturally disappear.
? Why not just give up the problem of making a decision and deal with her confidence directly? It may be feasible under other circumstances, but this case is worth rethinking. Fuzzy and caged self-confidence can't be compared with self-confidence in special events. It is short-sighted and harmful to decide such a discussion at this time. In fact, she has always wanted to arrange a trip to build confidence and avoid making decisions. No matter clinical evidence (Greenwald, 1973) or investigation (Jannis &; Mann, 1977) all pointed out that the determination to change, coupled with deliberate and deliberate decisions, is not easy to shake even if it encounters trivial setbacks. The problem now is not just a question of self-confidence. Besides, she has never shown enough self-confidence. From Maslow's point of view (1968), the decision-making problem is a problem of "scarcity motivation" facing "growth motivation"; According to Kelly (1955), the question of making a decision is a question of "safety" facing "adventure": whether to escape from a negative life or pursue an active life (with some risks). This decision is a basic turning point in life planning. She is faced with the decision of basic life modality, which will override the choice of the overall situation in her mind.
? In view of this, the goal of consultation has to be shifted to helping Xiaozhen make such a decision. One way is to use the balance sheet (JA-NIS&; Mann, 1977) (see chapter 8), lists the advantages and disadvantages of not going to college. This method can force one to pay attention to the advantages of the current situation. However, some scholars have pointed out (Tschudi, 1977) that ordinary people will turn a blind eye to the advantages of the status quo. So will Xiaozhen. The job of a secretary is not her dream, and there is nothing that attracts her. It seems that the balance sheet has no effect on her either. The second method is to use the ladder method to check the intrinsic value of a higher level. Hinkle (1965) is a consulting way to extract deeper value and enter the central construction; Therapists use oral techniques to extract higher-order meanings (Neimeyer &; Neimeyer. 1987, p. 309). Let's look at the following example.
? No matter what kind of construction connotation you will extract, you should always ask the same sentence "Why …". The "ladder method" can be carried out until the final construction is clear, and the parties cannot justify themselves. If the therapist does not want the whole process to become a rigid question and answer, he can also guide the inquiry of imaging significance and the exchange of opinions. Xiaozhen's grades are arranged like this:
? The "ladder method" is not only to make a series of meaningful details "truthful", but also to trigger a "personal change theory", which loosens a person from layers of cognition. The whole logic is like this. First, from stagnation to vitality. Second, experience the joy of advancing and developing potential in the new environment. Third, this change will make her full of interest and more likable. Fourthly, if she gains more affirmation in the new environment and grows and changes faster, she will have more confidence in herself. These will accumulate more happiness in life. See the next section for the concrete implementation of trapezoidal method.
? According to the theory of personal change, her change ladder is quite reasonable. Only in the process of change, she still needs someone to help her so as not to be affected by unrealistic expectations. Her "theory" contains a set of feasible change plans, which sometimes need to be revised to avoid drastic changes. As long as she explores according to the plan, even if her initial dream doesn't come true in the end, there will be many suitable careers for her to choose from. The essence of the whole consultation plan is that her plan allows her to do experiments with her life; Through the evaluation of this experiment, she gradually formed her own career theory and decision-making framework.
? Simply put, from beginning to end, the goal of consultation is to find the most suitable framework for conducting life experiments. The biggest role of grid technology and ladder method is to improve the awareness of the parties, promote their exploration behavior and clarify the implicit construction; The ultimate goal is to put forward a feasible and real model to guide the adventure of life. If people are forbidden to participate in the construction of life, they will get into trouble; People should be the designers of their own life blueprints (Ryle, 1975). The consultant's main job is to find or create new forms in the construction of the parties, so that the parties can get rid of cognitive obstacles. The implementation of trapezoidal method will be explained in detail in the fourth section.
Share case two tomorrow. The career planning of 22-year-old college students is a mess.