sistent directional force in our behavior and thereby become dis-
cernible by the patterns they create. Its emergent pattern of effects
gradually makes our inner compass somewhat available to conscious
reflection.
Perceiving the orderliness in our interactions with the world is
the essence of self-insight, but it is hard-won to the extent that it is
gleaned at all. It is precisely for these patterns that adolescents and
young adults grope in order to discover and come to terms with
themselves, their internal unique selves, in Stage 4 of the circum-
scription process. Although always elusive, such insight is nonethe-
less essential for individuals to be able to direct their lives in a more
deliberate and wise manner—to distinguish their internal selves
from the externally imposed, and to shape their environs for a bet-
ter personal fit. In short, it is only with the dawning and cultivation
of self-knowledge that individuals become more the director and
less the directed in their own lives.
Relation of Inner Compass to
Circumscription and Compromise
Circumscription and compromise are two processes by which we nar-
row our life choices and begin to take some paths in life rather than
others. This progressive narrowing reflects the constraints imposed
on us but also the ways we have identified and used the opportunities
available to us. Circumscription and compromise therefore represent
processes of self-definition and self-creation.
Figure 4.8 helps to make this point by summarizing the relation
of these two processes to the ten principles of trait and niche devel-
opment just outlined. The core theory of circumscription and com-
promise (denoted in italics) focuses on how people’sperceptionsof
themselves (self-concept) and the larger social world (cognitive
map) develop during childhood and adolescence. The five trait-
development principles help to describe the empirical realityof the
individual—the unique self from which self-perceptions arise and
with which self-environment fit must be achieved.
GOTTFREDSON’S THEORY OF CIRCUMSCRIPTION, COMPROMISE, AND SELF-CREATION 129