spondence if P is unsatisfactory (that is, E is dissatisfied with P).
Also, the more flexible P is, the easier it is for E to satisfy P (the
more relaxed the reinforcer-value-correspondence fit required by P).
In contrast, P’s satisfactoriness depends primarily on the corre-
spondence of P’s abilities with E’s ability requirements (P’s ability-
requirement correspondence, for short), moderated by P’s satisfaction
and E’s flexibility. If P is dissatisfied, P’s satisfactoriness cannot be pre-
dicted from P’s ability-requirement correspondence. And if E is flexi-
ble, E will tolerate a more relaxed ability-requirement-correspondence
fit for P.
P’s tenure in E depends on P’s satisfactoriness and satisfaction,
which depend in turn on P’s ability-requirement correspondence and
reinforcer-value correspondence, respectively. Thus we can predict
P’s probable tenure in a potential E if we can estimate P’s probable
ability-requirement correspondence and reinforcer-value correspon-
dence for that potential E.
When using PEC theory in a career counseling setting, given
that a client’s abilities and values can be assessed, one has to find
out what a potential career occupation’s ability requirements and
reinforcers are in order to predict the client’s probable satisfactori-
ness and satisfaction—and therefore probable tenure—in that oc-
cupation. However, most occupational information is not given in
these terms (that is, ability requirements and reinforcers), so it be-
comes the counselor’s job to estimate the “terms.” (This assumes
that the client does not know how to estimate them. If the client
does estimate them, the counselor’s own estimates can serve as a
“validation” for the client’s estimations.)
In career choice, the client’s abilities and values may be used as
the initial “criteria” for choosing an occupation or for choosing from
among several occupations. Each occupation being considered can
be rated as to its degree of “fit” to the client’s abilities and values.
Such assessment will be equivalent to predicting satisfactoriness and
satisfaction for the client in each occupation being considered.
Closeness of “fit”—P-E correspondence—is, of course, only one
element going into a career choice; though important, it may not
PERSON-ENVIRONMENT-CORRESPONDENCE THEORY 453