The Construct of Identity and Its Use in Career Theory and Research

Abstract

Erikson's construct of identity has received much attention in the contemporary literature on adolescent development (e.g., Archer, 1989a, 1989b; Blustein & Palladino, 1991). In the vocational literature Bordin (1984) and Holland (1985) have made significant efforts to incorporate a construct of vocational identity into their theories. Although most contributors to the career development literature has acknowledged Erikson as the intellectual father of the construct of identity, none have succeeded in formulating a construct of identity that is more than a caricature of Erikson's thinking. In this article, I suggest that what is needed is a serious look at the requirements for formulating a viable, dynamic, developmental conceptualization of the construct of vocational identity.