{"title":"Contextualizing career development: Cultural affordances as the missing link in social cognitive career theory","authors":"Christian Yao , Ishbel McWha-Hermann","doi":"10.1016/j.jvb.2025.104114","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study extends social cognitive career theory (SCCT) by introducing cultural affordances as culturally embedded interpretive frameworks through which individuals make sense of and navigate between distal contextual affordances (e.g., Confucian values) and proximal contextual affordances (e.g., contemporary work values). Based on qualitative interviews with 31 unemployed, university-educated Chinese youths, the study shows how cultural affordances shape individuals' interpretation of career-related opportunities and tensions arising from the interplay between traditional and contemporary values. This extension enhances SCCT's cultural relevance, offering insights into career development in contexts where tradition and modernity intersect.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51344,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Vocational Behavior","volume":"159 ","pages":"Article 104114"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Vocational Behavior","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879125000338","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study extends social cognitive career theory (SCCT) by introducing cultural affordances as culturally embedded interpretive frameworks through which individuals make sense of and navigate between distal contextual affordances (e.g., Confucian values) and proximal contextual affordances (e.g., contemporary work values). Based on qualitative interviews with 31 unemployed, university-educated Chinese youths, the study shows how cultural affordances shape individuals' interpretation of career-related opportunities and tensions arising from the interplay between traditional and contemporary values. This extension enhances SCCT's cultural relevance, offering insights into career development in contexts where tradition and modernity intersect.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Vocational Behavior publishes original empirical and theoretical articles offering unique insights into the realms of career choice, career development, and work adjustment across the lifespan. These contributions are not only valuable for academic exploration but also find applications in counseling and career development programs across diverse sectors such as colleges, universities, business, industry, government, and the military.
The primary focus of the journal centers on individual decision-making regarding work and careers, prioritizing investigations into personal career choices rather than organizational or employer-level variables. Example topics encompass a broad range, from initial career choices (e.g., choice of major, initial work or organization selection, organizational attraction) to the development of a career, work transitions, work-family management, and attitudes within the workplace (such as work commitment, multiple role management, and turnover).