tions among individuals (for example, social class) while they are
still incorporating the more concrete (sex roles) into their concepts
of self. In turn, they may still be incorporating notions of social sta-
tus into the self-concept when they start to perceive more abstract
distinctions such as in temperament and values. They begin devel-
oping new insights before they finish acting on prior ones.
4.Progressive elimination of options.As youngsters incorporate
more abstract elements (first gender, then social class, and so on)
into their images of self, their self-concepts become more complex
and more clearly delineated. Simultaneously, they rule out as incom-
patible an ever-greater range of occupations, for example, as the
“wrong” sextype, too low level, too difficult. This narrowing of options
is, in effect, irreversible because the rejected options are seldom
reconsidered spontaneously. People reconsider options they have
previously ruled out as unacceptable in sextype or prestige only
when they are prompted to do so by some formative new experi-
ence or some notable or consistent change in their social environ-
ment. For example, a teacher might encourage a working-class
child to consider an occupation the child has always presumed to
be intellectually beyond her grasp.
5.Taken for granted and lost to sight.The joint process of delin-
eating self and circumscribing vocational choices is so fundamen-
tal, gradual, and taken for granted that people typically cannot
spontaneously “see” or report on it, despite its having a continuing
and profound effect on their beliefs and behaviors. Some strong
external stimulus, such as switching schools and peer groups, gen-
erally seems required to illuminate what’s been taken for granted.
Stages of Circumscription. The development of self-images and
occupational aspirations can be usefully segmented into four stages.
Each successive stage requires and reflects a higher level of general
mental development and personal integration. Each stage leads to
further narrowing of the potential social space, relative to a culture’s
full menu of possibilities, as youngsters begin to understand more
complex aspects of themselves and occupations. Each new step in
GOTTFREDSON’S THEORY OF CIRCUMSCRIPTION, COMPROMISE, AND SELF-CREATION 95