inundated with information suggesting that the most appropriate
role for women was housewifery, girls began to limit their career
options. Her theory also helped career counselors develop and
understand what was happening in the present (in 1981) and
allowed career counselors and vocational psychologists to make pre-
dictions about the future of career choices for women.
Traditionally, theories have been developed by white males of
European descent; not surprisingly, the theories have been most use-
ful as a basis for understanding the behavior of white males of Euro-
pean descent. Carefully developed theories are useful for males and
females, people from all cultural groups, and people from various
socioeconomic strata. Few current theories live up to this expecta-
tion (Leong, 1995).
To return to Krumboltz’s map metaphor, theories provide
researchers and practitioners with “directions” that will be useful in
exploring career choice and development. As noted earlier, theories
are often stated in terms of testable hypotheses or propositions, par-
ticularly if the theory is based on the modern or positivist tradition.
Postmodern theories are not constructed using testable hypotheses,
for reasons that will become obvious later in the chapter. Testable
propositions allow researchers to explore theorists’ ideas empirically
and advance the level of understanding of career development and
occupational choice. One indication of how clearly the theorists
have conveyed their ideas is the number of research studies that the
theory has generated. However, that number is, in all likelihood,
related to other factors, including the ease with which the constructs
of the theory can be measured and the availability of instruments to
measure them. Therefore, a theory that has great promise may lan-
guish because the theorist has not provided researchers with the
devices needed to test it.
Finally, practitioners, like researchers, need guidelines they can
use as they help their clients make career choices and as they design
career development programs. As already noted, theories based in
sociological thinking have less utility for practitioners, perhaps
because sociologists have not taken the time to extrapolate from
10 CAREER CHOICE AND DEVELOPMENT