Donald e. super biography

Donald Super

There are two grand paradigms in vocational psychology. The first perspective for understanding vocational behavior concentrates on how individual differences in ability and interests relate to occupational requirements, routines, and reward. This paradigm, called the matching model, asserts that the goodness of fit between an individual’s abilities and a job’s requirements determines the worker’s occupational success. Furthermore, the match between the individual’s interests and the job’s rewards determines the worker’s job satisfaction. Workers who are successful and satisfied with their routines, in other words adjusted, remain in the job for long periods of time, thus achieving occupational stability. This paradigm lies at the heart of professional activities such as vocational guidance, personnel selection, and military classification.

In the 1940s, Donald Edwin Super made two major contributions to the matching model for understanding vocational behavior. In 1942 he published The Dynamics of Vocational Adjustment, which desc

By:  Kimberly Swanson, MPsy, CAMS, CNA


Dr. Donald E. Super was born on July 10, 1910, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents were Paul and Margaret Louise (Stump) from Missouri. Super received his Doctorate of Science degree from Oxford University.

At the beginning of this career, Super began working at the YMCA as an employment counselor from 1930’s-1940’s (Savickas, 1994). Super was the founding director of the Cleveland (Ohio) Guidance Services was also later the director of Clark University’s Student Personnel Bureau.

Throughout his career, Super was involved with gathering data which was later utilized with the co-existed information that was used for vocational guidance (Savickas, 1994).  Super compiled this data while he was working at the YMCA based on the various occupations within Cleveland Ohio, the “Compilation Project” (Savickas, 1994).  Later Super released his first book on vocational counseling, Dynamics of Vocational Adjustment which was published in 1942.  In his book, he suggested that occupational decision is

Donald E. Super Edit Profile

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Donald E. Super, American psychologist, educator. Diplomate: American Board Examiners in Psychology. Fulbright lecturer University Paris, 1958-1959; recipient Distinguished Research award American Personnel and Guidance Association, 1962, Eminent Career award National Vocational Guidance Association, 1972.

Background

Super, Donald E. was born on July 10, 1910 in Honolulu. Son of Paul and Margaret Louise (Stump) Super.

Education

Bachelor, Oxford University, 1932. Master of Arts, Oxford University, 1936. Doctor of Science (honorary), Oxford University, 1985.

Doctor of Philosophy, Columbia University, 1940. Doctor of Science (honorary), Lisbon University, 1982. Doctor honoris causa, Sherbrooke University, 1989.

Career

Assistant employment secretary Young Men’s Christian Association, Cleveland, 1932-1935. Director Cleveland Guidance Service, 1935-1936. Associate professor psychology Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1938-1942.

Associate professor education

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