The Acquisition of Career Decision-Making Skills. Important
cultural issues are present in each phase of the CASVE cycle. In the
communication phase, members of minority groups must become
aware of and explore the wide range of affective components in the
problem space that result from perceived institutional and cultural
bias, racism, and oppression in education and the workplace. At the
analysis phase, members of minority groups may externalize the
career problem: “I’m undecided and don’t know what to do, but
because of society’s racism and oppression, it really doesn’t matter
what I do.” In synthesis, members of cultural or ethnic groups may
be drawn either to occupations with which they are familiar or to
“glamour occupations” in which there may be limited chances for
success. In the valuing process, a prominent consideration involves
the relative balance in importance between one’s own beliefs and
the influence of significant others or the cultural group in making a
career choice (Fouad & Arbona, 1994). Finally, at the execution
phase, a common issue is the confronting and overcoming of resis-
tances and constraints of cultural or racial bias and prejudice in the
workplace as one reality-tests an occupational choice. At each
phase in the CASVE cycle, cultural issues, if they are present, must
be identified and resolved for effective career problem solving and
decision making to take place.
The Executive Processing Domain. Cultural issues in this domain
involve the nature of metacognitions, especially self-talk, that are
instrumental in regulating lower-order cognitive processes in the
pyramid. Ultimately, self-defeating or negative self-talk severely lim-
its or distorts the formulation and consideration of career options
and opportunities, which may, in turn, lead to inappropriate actions
or inaction. Such phrases as, “I can’t because I’m.... ” or “Yes, but
members of my group.... ” alert a counselor to dysfunction in the
executive processing domain. Members of disadvantaged groups
need to be cognizant of any self-imposed metacognitive constraints
that inhibit progress through the phases of the CASVE cycle. Cog-
nitive restructuring, as well as systemic interventions such as advo-
330 CAREER CHOICE AND DEVELOPMENT