Using a vocational card sort as an assessment of occupational knowledge

A seven-step, 36-card, vocational card sort mapping task with concurrent verbalizations is presented which may be used in the initial stages of career exploration to assist counselors in assessing a client's development and integration of occupational knowledge. Based on cognitive theory, each step in the assessment procedure is designed to elicit certain kinds of information pertaining to the manner in which occupational knowledge is represented in long-term memory. A formal cognitive mapping task procedure with concurrent verbalizations, employing a novice and an expert under standardized conditions, is used to demonstrate how the task elicits individual differences in cognitive structure. The article also demonstrates how the technique may be used for the diagnosis of a career problem and for the prescription of career interventions to enhance the development of occupational knowledge. The potential use of the technique for research in the development of occupational knowledge is also discussed.