make appropriate career choices taking into account the complexity
of family, social, economic, and organizational factors that influence
an individual’s career development” (Sampson, Peterson, Reardon,
& Lenz, 2000a, p. 156). Capabilityis concerned with internal fac-
tors, whereas complexityis concerned with external factors that in-
fluence career problem solving and decision making.
The Capability Dimension. Capabilityis defined as “the cognitive
and affective capacity of an individual to engage in effective career
problem solving and decision making” (Sampson et al., 2000a,
p. 157). Persons in a high state of readiness have the cognitive
capacity and positive affective states required to effectively engage
the problem-solving task, whereas persons in a lower state of readi-
ness may be inhibited by dysfunctional thoughts and negative
emotions, making them less ready. The capability of persons to suc-
cessfully engage in career problem solving and career decision
making is influenced by their
- Willingness to honestly explore knowledge of self (for exam-
ple, values, interests, and skills) that leads to a clearer sense of
identity (self-knowledge domain) - Motivation to learn about the world of work (occupational
knowledge domain) - Willingness to learn about and engage in career problem solv-
ing and decision making, including the capacity for thinking
clearly about a career problem, confidence in the ability to
make decisions, the commitment to follow through with a
plan of action, and the acceptance of personal responsibility
for decision making (decision-making skills domain) - Awareness of how negative thoughts and feelings can limit
the ability to solve problems and make decisions, the willing-
ness to seek assistance with career choice when needed, and
the capacity to monitor and regulate lower-order problem-
solving and decision-making processes (executive processing
domain).
332 CAREER CHOICE AND DEVELOPMENT