tors that K and his parents have adopted cultural values that are
more in keeping with white, Western, European views than the tra-
ditional views of either Japan or China. One indicator is that the
only language spoken in the household is English; another is that
K’s friends are mostly white students. A third indicator of accultur-
ation is that his parents have placed the responsibility for the career
decision on K—a position that K prefers; he intends to make his
own decision. On the basis of these indicators, I would not expect
to include the family directly in the career counseling process. The
level of acculturation also increases my confidence in the results of
the instruments that were administered.
There are some interesting aspects of K’s case that warrant in-
depth examination. One is that Independence and Belonging are
often contradictory values. People who hold an Independence value
have as one of their core beliefs that it is important to make your own
decisions and do things your own way. This belief is affirmed by many
of K’s statements and the results of the Life Values Inventory. How-
ever, acting on the Belonging value (the belief that it is important to
be accepted and included by others) often requires a fair amount of
conformity to the wishes of others. Clearly, K expects to satisfy his
Belonging value in his relationships with family members and sig-
nificant others while he satisfies his other highly prioritized values in
his work and leisure roles. I doubt that the apparent conflict between
Independence and Belonging will pose a barrier in the decision-
making process, but I need to be aware that this is a possibility.
There is other evidence that K does not act independently, in
spite of his Independence value. The main example of this was his
decision to go to college, which was greatly influenced by the urg-
ings of a friend. His parents want K to go to college, but they are
not pushing the issue, perhaps because they are aware that his
expectations of completing college are not high. It is also worth
noting that K attended an alternative high school that had no
counseling program. The result is that he did not have the typical
career and educational planning sessions provided to many high
school students. Without parental support or educational and ca-
496 CAREER CHOICE AND DEVELOPMENT