The Case of K
K is a study in contradictions. His SAT scores show that he is very
bright, yet he performed poorly in high school and put off going to
college. He values independence but rates belonging just as highly
and likes others to “set the agenda for him.” His assessed Holland
interests (SDS scores) are Conventional and Realistic, but his ex-
pressed interests (occupational aspirations) are mostly Artistic, which
are opposite on Holland’s hexagon. K is at least moderately confident
that he could do well in any school subject, but he has spent most of
his time and energy in nonintellectual, often juvenile endeavors such
as skateboarding, playing video games and the drums, and watching
animated TV programs like “The Simpsons.” He knows that school-
ing is important if he is to meet his goals, but he consistently avoids
it by procrastinating. He lists responsibility as an unimportant life
value but then rates it very highly when it involves family. Perhaps
most important, he seems not to recognize the contradictions in
which he is enmeshed. He has no self-insight.
1.Additional assessment data to collect? K’s assessed and expressed
vocational interests are not very informative, partly because he has
done little to test and consolidate them. A personality assessment
might, however, help resolve some of the foregoing contradictions
and indicate what kind of counseling might work best with him.
Where does he stand on the big five personality dimensions? Might
he be, for example, relatively “agreeable” and “conscientious” but
somewhat “introverted” and not “open to experience”? Does it show
that his apparent anxiety is dispositional (“neuroticism”), or should
we look to his situation to explain his near paralysis in career devel-
opment? K’s chronic procrastination and resulting discouragement
suggest that he should be assessed for depression and anxiety.
2.Additional background data to collect? K reports that his parents
are leaving his occupational choice “strictly up to him.” Although
this is a very Americanized parental stance toward a child’s career
development, K still acts as if he belongs to a fairly traditional Asian
family. For instance, he stresses the importance of belonging and
GOTTFREDSON’S THEORY OF CIRCUMSCRIPTION, COMPROMISE, AND SELF-CREATION 139