Contextualizing career development: Cultural affordances as the missing link in social cognitive career theory

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. • Cultural affordances identified as a culturally embedded interpretive framework linking distal and proximal contextual factors within SCCT • Individual agency both shapes and is shaped by cultural affordances • Cultural affordances evolve to accommodate cultural values and changing work values • Confucian values and modern pressures create tensions for unemployed Chinese youth