4

Gottfredson’s Theory of

Circumscription, Compromise,

and Self-Creation

Linda S. Gottfredson

Career choice is both an option and a responsibility in modern
democratic societies such as the United States. People have far more
freedom in fashioning their work lives than has been typical in other
times and places. This developmental task is not a clear or easy one,
nor does it always end well. However, it most assuredly affects the
broader welfare of individuals, families, and communities. Hence the
continuing concern, both inside and outside of vocational psychol-
ogy, over the degree to which individuals and groups have sufficient
freedom and support in fashioning their careers.
The theory I am describing is directed to that concern. Its orig-
inal emphasis was on explaining gender and class differences in
career development, with particular attention to the barriers that
individuals face. The puzzle it addressed was this: Why do children
seem to re-create the social inequalities of their elders long before
they themselves experience any barriers to pursuing their dreams?
The theory’s elaboration here turns from the puzzle of between-
group differences to the puzzle of within-group differences: Why do
individuals from the samecircumstances tend to have such different
aspirations and success in implementing the self they prefer? The
elaboration therefore turns to why individuals differ,regardless of

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I would like to thank Duane Brown and Richard Sharf for their helpful comments on ear-

lier versions of this chapter.