According to the authors, we understand a problem to mean: “indecision, conflict
between potential options and different significant interests, non-constructive associated
emotions, underemployment, unemployment, dissatisfaction at the workplace” (Sampson,
Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, Saunders, 1996). Problem solving means transforming
information in action meant to lead to the decrease or disappearance of the gap between
“what there is and what we wish there to be”. Decision-making includes problem solving
and cognitive and affective processes, which will support planning and implementing the
solutions to problems that have been identified.
In the same context, the cognition signifies the way in which thinking processes
information (data internalisation, coding, storing, concepts and experience usage). Each
person operates with certain knowledge structures or components, which remain
functional due to the long-term memory, essential to career-related decisions. In case of
making decisions regarding personal career development, the data an individual has about
self, occupations, and the world of work in general are analysed.
According to Peterson, Sampson, Reardon (1991) the components making up the
career-related decision-making mechanism takes the hierarchical form of a pyramid (on
three levels):
Executive processing
MetacognitionDecision-making abilities
CASVEKnowledge
Self-knowledge Knowledge on occupations- the base contains the domains of knowledge: about self – self-knowledge
(values, interests, aptitudes) and about the world of occupations (education
and training pathways, data on occupations, trades, professions, jobs); these
categories of information are stored in memory by the dynamic structure and
are reconfigured whenever new information is added;