SCCT does notimply that efficacy-enhancing interventions by
themselves will always be effective—or even indicated (Brown,
Lent, & Larkin, 1989). For instance, clients entering counseling (or
participating in developmental activities) with a constellation of
weak efficacy beliefs anddeficient skills in a particular performance
domain will not likely be aided by efforts that attempt only to raise
their self-efficacy in that domain. Rather, such persons will need to
engage in extensive, remedial skill-building activities or be helped
to consider alternative academic or occupational pursuits whose
ability requirements are more nearly correspondent with their cur-
rent skills.
In instances where efficacy-enhancing interventions are appro-
priate (that is, where persons possess adequate skills but weak effi-
cacy beliefs in a given performance context), theory and research
suggest the value of designing procedures that
- Foster personal mastery experiences in areas in which a
client’s efficacy beliefs seriously undershoot his or her mea-
sured abilities (augmented, as needed, by modeling, verbal
support, or anxiety-coping strategies - Promote reconsideration of past performance experiences
- Encourage clients to interpret their past and present successes
in a manner that promotes, rather than discounts, perceived
competence
In relation to the latter treatment goal, mastery perceptions
may be enhanced cognitively in several ways (Brown & Heath,
1984; Brown & Lent, 1996; Goldfried & Robbins, 1982). For exam-
ple, the counselor can help by keeping the client focused on prog-
ress at skill development rather than on ultimate skill attainment.
In other words, the client can be reinforced and encouraged to self-
reinforce for each successive step at skill acquisition. It is also
important to focus on the client’s performance attributions, encour-
aging him or her to ascribe success experiences at skill development
to internal, stable factors (such as personal ability) rather than to
292 CAREER CHOICE AND DEVELOPMENT