Cognitive Information Processing
(CIP)Mihai JIG ĂU
Institute of Educational Sciences, BucharestHistory
In their work, Career Development and Services. A Cognitive Approach, Peterson,
Sampson and Reardon (1991) present a new approach to career development, which they
called “Cognitive Information Processing – CIP ”.
Cognitive theories, based on learning theories, refer to methods through which people –
by their knowledge structures – process, integrate and react to information.
People’s cognitive structures make a mark on the particular way they develop an image of
the world, self, and the environment they live in. Career-centred behaviour is a reaction to
cognitive representations of the set of factors involved in career development. These
representations are related functionally and can be changed according to the way human
learning and cognitive development occurs. Self-assessment, knowledge related to
professions and the social and professional environment interact and at the same time
modify and mediate career-oriented behaviours.
Counsellors have remarked during interviews certain dysfunctions in the thinking of
clients related to choosing an occupation, and have interpreted them as being:
misconceptions, avoidance behaviour, self-discouraging or self-destructive hypotheses
and statements; irrational expectations, distorted representations or dysfunctional beliefs
regarding their professional future. These factors represent genuine obstacles in the path
of problem solving and decision-making with respect to career choice, alongside opposite
situations: exaggerating one’s self-image: perfectionism, excessive generalization of
personal experiences, etc.