sible, a unified theory is will-o’-the-wisp” (p. 42). Holland (1994),
also addressing the idea of a unified theory, states, “It appears more
productive to renovate old theories or strategies than to stitch
together an integrated theory” (p. 50).
Stitching together theories may not be as easy as it appears on
the surface. As noted earlier, theories are made up of constructs that
are often borrowed from other psychological theories. Although dif-
ferent theories may employ exactly the same terms (for example,
self-concept) they may incorporate many different definitions of
those terms. As noted earlier, Osipow (1990) indicates that the the-
ories constructed by Holland (1985, 1997), Super (1990), Dawis
and Lofquist (1984), and Krumboltz (1979) are all aimed at pre-
dicting personality-occupation congruence. The problem is that
each theorist employing the term personalityhas a different defini-
tion, and it is unlikely that they could agree on a single definition.
For example, Holland’s conceptualization of personality incorpo-
rates his six personality subtypes (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic,
Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) (Holland, 1997), whereas
Super (1990) focuses on self-concepts as the basis for his ideas about
personality (see the contributors to Savickas and Lent [1994] for
more on this topic). Moreover, the theorists identified by Osipow
do not agree on the definition of congruenceand may not agree that
their primary concern is predicting congruence.
In summary, there seems to be little convergence in theorizing
in the area of career development and occupational choice. With
the emergence of social constructionism as a viable force in voca-
tional psychology, convergence among theories and the develop-
ment of an integrated theory seems less likely today than ever.
How Theories Were Selected
This is the fourth edition of Career Choice and Development.In
1982, when the idea for the first edition (Brown et al., 1984) began
to take form, Brooks and I wanted to encourage leading theorists to
present their latest thinking on career choice and development
INTRODUCTION TO THEORIES OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND CHOICE 15