


































Global Research in Higher Education 
ISSN 2576-196X (Print) ISSN 2576-1951 (Online) 

Vol. 6, No. 4, 2023 

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe 

25 

 

Original Paper 

The Motivation Theory of Life-Span Development and Its 

Implications for Career Education 

Hairong Ling
1,2

, Junting Cui
1
, Ruotong Cui

1
, Jianhua Wu

2
 & Chunze Song

2,3*
 

1
 School of Education Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China 

 

2
 General Education Center, Communication University of China, Nanjing, Nanjing, China 

 

3
 School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pinang, Malaysia 

 

*
 Chunze Song, General Education Center, Communication University of China, Nanjing, Nanjing, 

China; School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pinang, Malaysia
  

 

Received: November 22, 2023  Accepted: November 27, 2023  Online Published: December 4, 2023 

doi:10.22158/grhe.v6n4p25            URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/grhe.v6n4p25 

 

Abstract 

Based on the Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) and control model, the Motivational 

Theory of Life-Span Development (MTLSD) proposes adaptive development criteria and objectives. It 

asserts that the pursuit of perpetual development is the primary control and that the life cycle is an 

action field with an opportunity and constraint structure of time organization. Opportunity is a process 

characterized by the change processes of escalating and waning and by the adaptation consistency 

processes of goal participation and goal separation. The MTLSD has endeavored to elucidate how 

people actively promote their own personal lifelong development throughout its entirety. This provides 

illumination for China’s career education. The importance of individual initiative in career 

development, the process of opportunity in the continuity of career education, the difference of career 

education in different career (major) life cycles, and the fairness of career education during the 

transitional period of social mobility (opportunity) must be emphasized.  

Keywords 

Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development, career education, primary control, opportunity 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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1. Introduction 

As a comprehensive educational program, career education focuses on a person’s entire career, coming 

from childhood to adulthood, based on career awareness, career exploration, career orientation, career 

preparation, and career proficiency. By doing so, it enables students to develop essential life skills and 

establish a distinct personal life style (1971, US Department of Education). 

It can be said that continuity, originality, and purpose are essential characteristics. Nonetheless, the 

majority individuals have the will and motivation to actively participate in shaping their own lives, 

often following a consistent developmental path, identifying and effectively pursuing long-term goals, 

and, when necessary, moving away from unattainable goals, expressing individual agency. How to 

embody individual initiative, how to control and deal with extant problems in career development, and 

notably how to alter individual motivation in the face of rapid social change, are issues that career 

educators should investigate. Heckhausen et al. (2010) proposed the MTLSD, which combines the 

control model of life-span development with the selective optimization and compensation model, and 

which focuses on the motivational regulation role of individuals in life-span development and their 

regulation strategies. It is a paradigm of individual motivation control and optimization, as well as a 

psychological and sociological response to the evolution of vocation education. 

 

2. The Theoretical Foundation and Central Concepts of the Motivational Theory of Life-Span 

Development 

The MTLSD is fundamentally grounded in the Life span development theory. It was developed in the 

early 1970s by psychologists Baltes and Shaire based on empirical research findings. The theory 

examines the scientific understanding of the general patterns of development, individual developmental 

homogeneity, and individual developmental plasticity, focusing on the growth, stability, and change of 

behavior from conception to mortality. Its fundamental premise is that the development of individual 

psychology and behavior is a continuous, lifelong process. Individual development in this process is a 

multi-functional, multi-dimensional dynamic system that exhibits considerable developmental 

plasticity and compensation. Moreover, it is governed by a multi-stage system that necessitates the 

collaboration of various human development-related disciplines (e.g., biology, medicine, sociology, 

anthropology, etc.) in order to examine and comprehend human development as a whole. 

The SOC model was proposed by Baltes et al. (1990) to explain the overall pattern of successful 

individual development. In actuality, the development of a person’s existence is an interactive process 

of selection, optimization, and compensation. The process of SOC optimization serves as the 

foundation for the development of the MTLSD. In addition to SOC, the control model proposed by 

Rothbaum et al. (1982) is the basis of the MTLSD. The theory suggests that control is a theme in life 

development and consists of primary control, in which the individual endeavors to alter the 

environment to satisfy a desire or need, and secondary control, in which the individual adapts to the 



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environment or “conforms” to it. Individuals employ diverse adaptive strategies based on the situation, 

tasks, and life events, allowing primary control and stimulus control to alternate. 

Based on the SOC and control models, the theory proposes Adaptive Development criteria and 

developmental objectives. Firstly, the MTLSD does not support the use of psychological processes 

such as satisfaction, psychological well-being, and individual understanding of achievement as criteria 

for adaptive development, as this would lead to issues such as being too subjective and deviating from 

objective facts (social rules) and not supporting for forming inter-individual comparison or 

cross-cultural consistency. The most important criterion for adaptive development is the extent to 

which individuals acquire control over their environment, thus encompassing multiple domains and 

time spans of life (Heckhausen, 1999; Hechausen & Schulz, 1995, 1999b; Schulz & Hechausen, 1996). 

Primary Control Capacity is the criterion for adaptive development and, in conjunction with secondary 

control, it maximizes the individual’s overall primary control capacity. In contrast to Rothbaum et al. 

(1982), the MTLSD clarifies secondary control’s function as an auxiliary motivational process that 

supports short-term or long-term primary control efforts, rather than as an alternative or opposing 

process. 

Furthermore, the MTLSD posits that the life course is a temporally organized action domain of 

opportunities and constraints (Heckhausen, 1999). Developmental goals are organizational 

motivational units that play a positive role in shaping individuals’ life trajectories and development. 

Attempts by individuals to regulate their development are organized around the action cycle of 

pursuing developmental goals (Heckhausen, 1999). Similar to other goals, developmental goals 

represent anticipated end states that directionally influence individuals’ behavior. Individuals are 

considered active producers of their development (Freund & Baltes, 2002b), and agency plays a crucial 

role in the developmental process, portraying individuals as active agents in the motivational processes 

of goal selection, goal pursuit, and goal disengagement. 

Of course, not all goals can be pursued throughout one’s entire life, and some are considered normative 

developmental tasks (Havighurst, 1953), such as education and retirement. Simultaneously, the 

age-related structure of historical life courses is influenced by historical changes, with significant shifts 

in age boundaries for key life stages, such as education and reproduction, occurring over the past 

centuries. In many contemporary industrialized nations, formal education extends into late adolescence 

(beyond the age of 20), as opposed to around 15 years old a century ago, and the onset and conclusion 

of reproduction have been delayed compared to two centuries ago. While the variability and flexibility 

of life course trajectories have increased, the fundamental structure of life course events and transitions 

has not been disrupted (Brueckner & Mayer, 2005). Human life courses still provide an age-graded 

sequence of opportunities for pursuing and achieving significant developmental goals (Figure 1), 

offering individuals a timetable to guide goal selection and pursuit. In the future, as society and 

demographics continue to change, life course trajectories will continue to evolve (Mayer, 2004). 



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In addition, the MTLSD views the life course as a temporally organized field of action with a structure 

of opportunities and constraints (Heckhausen, 1999) and developmental goals as organizational units of 

motivation that allow individuals to actively shape their own life course and development. Individuals’ 

attempts to regulate their own development are structured around a cycle of action aimed at achieving 

developmental objectives (Heckhausen, 1999). Developmental objectives are akin to other objectives in 

that they are desired end states that guide the behavior of individuals. Individuals are viewed as active 

producers of their own development (Freund & Baltes, 2002b), and their agency plays an important 

role in the developmental process, acting as an active agent and playing a role in goal selection, goal 

pursuit, goal disengagement, and goal management, which is reflected in the motivational processes of 

goal selection, goal pursuit, and goal disengagement. Obviously, not all objectives can be pursued at all 

periods of life, as some are regarded as normative developmental tasks (Havighurst, 1953), such as 

education, retirement, etc. Simultaneously, the age-related structure of the historical life course has 

been influenced by historical changes in the pertinent structure of the life course, with the age 

boundaries of key life phases, such as education and childbearing, shifting dramatically over the past 

few centuries. In the majority industrialized nations, formal education now extends into late 

adolescence (after the age of 20) compared to around 15 a century ago, and childbearing begins and 

ends later than it did two centuries ago. The increased fluidity and flexibility of life course trajectories 

have not disrupted the basic structure of life course events and transition sequencing (Brueckner & 

Mayer, 2005), and the human life course still provides an age-level sequence of increasing and 

decreasing opportunities to pursue and achieve important developmental goals (Figure 1). These 

trajectories of opportunity provide individuals with a timeline to guide goal selection and pursuit. As 

societies and populations transform, life course trajectories will continue to evolve in the future (Mayer, 

2004). 

 

 



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Figure 1. Age-graded Chart of Various Developmental Goal Opportunities (Heckhausen, 2000) 

 

3. Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development Complementarity and Development of the 

Concept of Career Development  

Developmental objectives, career transitions, career choices, and other essential career development 

concepts have always been present in various career theories, but with the advent of postmodern 

society, traditional career theories cannot adequately explain these changes. The MTLSD provides new 

perspectives and explanatory models for understanding these crucial concepts, thereby better 

explicating the laws of individual career development in postmodern society, and providing theoretical 

support for career education. 

3.1 A Strategy for Primary Control (“Altering” The Environment) Is Secondary Control 

(“Conforming” to the Environment)  

While scholars have made distinctions between primary and secondary control, their functional 

relationship and their transformations and influences in our life development have not been explicitly 

elucidated. The MTLSD explicitly proposes that the establishment of the motivational system is to 

maximize the primary control ability in life domains and across the lifespan. It outlines the 

development trajectory of the availability of primary control and the use of secondary control strategies 

(Figure 2). It is observed that although the ability of primary control follows a reversed U-shaped curve 

(rapid growth in early stages, peaks in midlife, and declines in old age), the efforts in primary control 

remain stable and idealized throughout the entire lifespan. In contrast, efforts in secondary control 

increase with the maturation of social-emotional and cognitive abilities, along with the growing need 

for compensation for failures and control over losses in old age. Regardless of the functionalist 

perspective or the evolutionary psychology perspective, mastering primary control abilities to the 

maximum extent is related to overall well-being, such as searching for food, competing for mates, 



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seeking shelter, and caring for offspring—all representing significant challenges (Heckhausen, 2000b). 

In the lifespan developmental cycle, while development is adaptive, it ultimately aims to achieve 

maximum primary control, considering not only the current ability to control external events but also 

the potential for future exercise of primary control. Life development, in this sense, is achieved by 

maximizing control over various major functional domains in different stages of life (such as learning, 

work, family, health, and leisure) to realize the most adaptive development throughout the entire 

lifespan. In this process, the primary motivation for secondary control strategies (adaptation to the 

environment) is primarily to reduce losses, maintain, and expand the current level of primary control, 

rather than serving as alternative methods or opposing processes. The pursuit of primary control is a 

continuous and universal motivational drive throughout a person’s life. While the ability of primary 

control may decline with age, requiring the activation of secondary control strategies to help cope with 

challenges, the pursuit of primary control persists. When certain primary control goals become 

unattainable, individuals need to disengage from these goals to pursue others that are more achievable. 

In this process, individuals increasingly rely on secondary control strategies, such as adjusting 

expectations, values, and attributions, to ensure that the loss of primary control does not damage the 

motivational resources for general primary control efforts. 

 

 

Figure 2. Hypothetical Life Trajectory Diagram of Primary Control Potential and 

Primary/Secondary Control Effort (Heckhausen, 1999) 

 

 

 

 

Primary 
control efforts 

Primary 
control 
ability 

Secondary 
control efforts 

Childh
ood 

Middle 
age 

Elderly 



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3.2 Goal Management Entails Maximizing Goal Participation and Disengagement  

According to the MTLSD, goal control strategies operate in a goal engagement mode and a goal 

disengagement mode (Heckhausen, 2003; Heckhausen & Farruggia, 2003). Both goal engagement and 

goal disengagement are adaptive processes that are beneficial. In life-cycle development, individuals 

face two major adjustment challenges: selection and compensation (Heckhausen, 1999), successful 

development refers to the simultaneous maximization of gains (desired goals and outcomes) and 

minimization of losses (different desired goals or outcomes), forming a 2*2 matrix with primary and 

secondary control (Figure 3). The operation of the goal engagement and goal disengagement models is 

dependent on the matrices’ control strategies. 

 

 

Figure 3. Matrix of Primary/Secondary Control and Selection/Compensation Composition 

 

Typically, goal engagement involves selective primary control and selective secondary control. 

Selective primary control refers to the pursuit of a goal through the investment of behavioral resources 

(such as time, skills, energy, etc.). Selective secondary control strategies enhance and maintain 

motivation and commitment to the selected goal, especially when faced with unexpected obstacles or 

attractive choices. These strategies include increasing the value of the selected goal, decreasing the 

value of non-selected alternatives, and fantasizing about the control potential to achieve the selected 

goal. Additionally, when an individual’s available behavioral resources are insufficient to reach the 

goal, compensatory primary control may be necessary, involving seeking help or advice from others 

and using technological assistance. 

 

 



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Specifically, compensatory primary control entails obtaining assistance or advice from others, using 

technological aids, etc. When individuals experience a loss of control or when goals become 

unattainable or too costly, individuals may need to disengage from the goal (Heckhausen & Schulz, 

1993; Wrosch Scheier, Carver & Schulz, 2003). Unlike the motivational mindset of goal engagement, 

goal disengagement involves more compensatory secondary control strategies. This can be achieved by 

discontinuing outdated goals, thereby releasing resources to pursue other achievable goals. Furthermore, 

compensatory secondary control includes specific self-protective strategies, such as causal attributions 

for self-protection (avoiding self-blame), focusing on success in other domains, and downward social 

comparisons. All of these strategies are aimed at shifting the potential negative impacts of failure 

experiences to motivate and protect self-resources, achieve emotional balance, and maintain 

self-esteem. 

Carver et al. (1998, 2000) proposed the concept of convergence in their self-regulation and control 

theory, suggesting that commitment and confidence are crucial components of goal engagement. 

Merely abandoning efforts without breaking motivational commitment can lead to maladaptive 

consequences. Abandoning a goal is an active disengagement where commitment and confidence 

decrease. Disengagement is a positive process of adjusting goals, not just a passive reflection of failure 

and loss. (Specific strategies for goal engagement and goal disengagement are outlined in Table 1.) 

 

Table 1. Control Processes for Target Engagement and Target Disengagement 

 Control processes Description 

Target 

participation 

Selective primary 

control 

Investment behaviors, efforts, time, skills 

Selective secondary 

control 

Increased self-regulation of willpower, motivational 

commitment to selected goals, increased perceived 

control, and positive stimulation of imagined goals 

Compensatory 

primary control 

Seeking help or unusual methods 

Overcoming inadequate primary control 

Target 

disengagement 

Compensatory 

secondary control 

(Away from the 

target) 

Devaluing selected targets and reducing their 

importance 

Enhancing the value of conflicting objectives 

Compensatory 

secondary control 

(Self-protection) 

Protecting motivational resources from negative 

impacts 

Redefinition of the empirical meaning of failure or loss 

 

 



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3.3 Opportunity Is a Process That, Along With the Objective, Must Establish an Adaptive Consistency 

Process  

The efforts of primary control require individuals to adapt their goals, choices, and control strategies 

repeatedly to the objectively available opportunities and constraints within a given developmental 

ecology. The patterns of goal engagement and disengagement, along with their respective control 

strategies, should reflect these changes. In this context, opportunities are not merely random 

occurrences at a certain point in time but constitute a process with dynamic fluctuations, showing both 

increases and declines. This process forms an adaptive consistency with goal engagement and goal 

disengagement (Figure 4). The Figure 4 illustrates the trajectory of opportunities rising, peaking, and 

declining for achieving a specific goal (light gray area in Figure 4). It also displays the expected 

trajectory of goal engagement required for goal attainment (dark gray area in Figure 4). Simultaneously, 

as opportunities for achieving significant developmental goals increase, individuals are more likely to 

consider them as personal developmental goals, making the process of optimizing goal selection more 

feasible (first section on the left in Figure 4). However, if individuals postpone goal selection and 

pursuit until after opportunities peak and start to decline, which is suboptimal timing, they would 

require a higher level of goal engagement (dark gray area indicating a peak in Figure 4) to ensure goal 

attainment when opportunities decrease. 

 

 

Figure 4. Developmental Chart of the Opportunity Structure of Goals and the Age of Goal 

Participation (Heckhausen, 2000) 

 

 

 

 



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In this process of aligning opportunities with goals to achieve adaptability, a goal cycle is formed, 

involving goal engagement, disengagement, and control strategies together (Figure 5). Before the 

decision-making process of goal selection, optimization mechanisms such as optimization, opportunity 

matching, and diversity considerations are triggered, leading to the phase of goal engagement. In this 

stage, there will be involvement in selective primary control and selective secondary control. As 

opportunities approach the strict limitation phase (e.g., the physiological deadline), goal contact 

intensifies, at which point selective primary control, selective secondary control, and compensatory 

primary control increase (Figure 5, the transition on the right side of the “Deadline” in the “Urgent 

Goal Contact” section). As opportunities for goal attainment decrease, achieving the goal becomes 

nearly impossible or excessively costly, making personal resource allocation challenging. Further 

efforts towards the goal become highly mismatched, leading to the developmental deadline of the goal. 

Once the deadline passes without achieving the goal, individuals enter the goal disengagement phase 

and use compensatory secondary control strategies to protect motivation resources for future goal 

pursuits (see Figure 5, the section on the right of the “Deadline”). The developmental deadline is a 

crucial milestone in this process, not only exerting urgency to facilitate goal achievement but also 

guiding individuals in their goal disengagement decisions. The advantage of anticipating the deadline is 

significant, as without it, individuals may fall into a state of uncontrollable and futile goal investment, 

leading to conditions such as depression (Klinger, 1977; Nesse, 2000). This also implies that the 

developmental deadline poses a significant challenge to individuals’ self-regulation, requiring a shift 

from intense and urgent involvement in goals before the deadline to goal disengagement and 

self-protection after the deadline. Those who fail to disengage from futile goals after the deadline may 

face the risks of wasted resource investment, setbacks, opportunity costs of not pursuing other viable 

goals, and depression. Although the model emphasizes goals associated with deadlines, it is equally 

applicable to any goal opportunity situation that changes over time. 

 

Figure 5. Stages of Action Model of Development Regulation (Heckhausen, 1999) 



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4. Implications of Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development for China’s Career Education  

4.1 The Importance of Individual Initiative to Career Advancement  

Throughout its existence, the MTLSD has endeavored to clarify the ways in which individuals 

proactively participate in their own continuous development. It could be argued that the emphasis on 

the importance of individual initiative in career development is its central argument. On this premise, 

the theory posits that one’s motivational system is designed to optimize his/her primary control, which 

is the ability to effect social change. Secondary control, which consists of conforming to society, is 

solely a tactic to achieve primary control. This provides a direction for the development and 

implementation of vocation education objectives. First and foremost, vocation education should 

emphasize the development of individual initiative. Career education should focus not only on guiding 

individuals through their career transitions (e.g., further education, employment, etc.), but also on the 

evolution and development of their motivation during this process. Second, it provides a theoretical 

foundation for the guiding concept of “employment before career choice” in career education, which is 

a manifestation of secondary control and a strategy of primary control with the ultimate-goal of 

improving “career choice”. Employment first is a manifestation of secondary control, a primary control 

strategy that ultimately aims to improve “career choice” and has attained primary control. Lastly, career 

education is an effective means of implementing selective secondary control. Individual motivation 

necessitates career education to provide the appropriate external resources to assist individuals in 

overcoming adversity. 

Additionally, the MTLSD created the Optimization in Primary and Secondary Control-A Multiscale 

Questionnaire (OPS-Scales) for measuring developmental regulation in maturity. The scale consists of 

five main dimensions, including optimization, selective primary control, selective secondary control, 

compensatory primary control, and compensatory secondary control, with 22 sub-dimensions (Table 2) 

and 44 items in total. It is necessary and instructive for career educators to determine individual goal 

profiles and control strategies, and the OPS-scale is useful for career goal exploration as a reference 

tool. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table 2. OPS Scale Dimensional Components Table (Heckhausen et al., 1998) 

Optimization Selective primary 

control 

Selective 

secondary 

control 

Compensatory 

primary control 

Compensatory 

secondary control 

Change of 

Target Adaptation 

Development 

(OPTST) 

Investing in 

long-term 

potential targets 

(OPTSL) 

Positive 

Trade-offs 

(OPTTP) 

Negative 

trade-offs 

(OPTTN) 

Maintenance of 

Diversity 

(OPTDM) 

Uniformity 

avoidance 

(OPTDD) 

Putting in the 

effort 

Time 

commitment 

Skills 

development 

Overcoming 

difficulties 

Help from 

others 

Advice from 

others 

Finding new 

ways 

Detour 

Increase in 

target value 

Devaluation of 

other targets 

Enhanced 

perception of 

control over 

selected targets 

Positive 

consequences of 

the achievement 

of the expected 

objectives 

Target 

disengagement 

Self-protection 

attribution 

Social comparison 

Intra-personal 

comparison 

 

4.2 The Importance of Paying Attention to Opportunities throughout the Continuum of Career 

Education  

Unlike career chaos theory and the “opportunity theory”, the MTLSD implies that opportunity is not a 

random, singular event, but rather a voyage that intervenes in the career development cycle alongside 

goal participation. In actuality, the achievement of development is contingent upon the individual 

making the optimal decision and achieving goals at the optimal time, and optimizing goal selection 

requires consideration of opportunities, time constraints, and other factors. When evaluating the 

adaptability of control strategies, consideration must be given to the individual’s optimization of the 

parties and the development of long-term competence in primary control, which can be evaluated using 

at least three criteria: 1) the goal satisfies realistic conditions; 2) the outcome is beneficial (or at least 

not detrimental) to other domains or long-term development, and 3) the goal’s fundamental nature can 



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be preserved (Heckhausen, 2010). 

“When I am fifteen, I will study; when I am thirty, I will be independent; when I am forty, I will have 

no doubts; when I am fifty, I will know heaven’s destiny; when I am sixty, I will follow my heart and 

do what I desire” (The Analects of Confucius). In this description, the concept of lifelong development 

and the time series of development objectives of the Chinese people are reflected. This also contains 

the crucial meaning of opportunity and goal participation: “What to do at what age”. “A gentleman has 

three warnings: in youth, when one’s vitality is unsteady, one should avoid lust; in their prime, when 

one’s vitality is robust, one should avoid conflict; and in old, when one’s vitality declines, they should 

avoid excessive acquisition” (The Analects of Confucius), which illustrates the strategy of physical and 

mental control during the transition from childhood to adulthood. This implies that career education 

should not be a fragmented education, but rather a coherent comprehensive education that takes into 

account the limitations of opportunities and time in the education process, including life opportunities, 

life sequence, and life design, which is typically the most challenging aspect of career education. In any 

case, the MTLSD seeks to highlight the life process of opportunity and goal engagement as a corrective 

to current career education, which is sometimes undesirable and dangerous when we place too much 

emphasis on the immediacy of the goal and ignore the problem of the process nature of time in the 

creation of opportunity and the adaptability and development of individual initiative in such a journey. 

At the same time, the journey of opportunity has a deadline, some physical (e.g., the deadline for 

childbearing) and some temporal (e.g., the deadline for an opportunity), and career education should 

make students aware of this. 

4.3 The Significance of Attention to Various Career (Professional) Life Cycles for Distinctions in 

Career Education  

Although primary control abilities generally follow a bell-shaped trajectory throughout the lifespan, 

there are significant differences in the peaks and slopes of primary control functions in various 

occupational fields (Heckhausen et al., 2017). On one hand, some professions or occupations (such as 

manual labor in fields like construction or clerical work requiring minimal training) can quickly reach 

the peak level of competence. However, the opportunity for further growth in primary control abilities 

in such professions also rapidly stagnates or declines. These occupations align with the increasing 

primary control abilities of adolescents and young individuals, and if the work is not perceived as 

temporary, involuntary, or undesirable, it can lead to early engagement and satisfaction with the job. 

However, opportunities for advancement decrease rapidly after entering the workforce, resulting in a 

bottleneck period of early and lower primary control abilities. In the later stages of the young adulthood 

phase, individuals at the early peak of their careers may have already mastered and exhausted the 

challenges and opportunities in their work environment, while their overall primary control abilities 

continue to rise, leading to a sense of disconnection and scarcity. This sense of disconnection may 

prompt a reevaluation of their profession and specialty, either making corresponding adjustments and 



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changes or adopting secondary control strategies that adapt to the environment. 

On the other hand, some professions or specialties significantly delay the opportunities for growth in 

primary control but provide continuous opportunities for growth throughout the career (such as 

professions requiring meticulous training like academic or artistic careers). These professional roles 

necessitate extensive training, substantially delaying and prolonging the entry into the career. The 

complexity of these professions often makes individuals unable to reach the maximum competence 

within the primary control domain, making the entry into the career a lengthy and challenging process. 

This seriously challenges individuals’ motivation systems, requiring sustained commitment to an 

uncertain and distant goal. 

Thus, individuals are at risk of violating goal consequence management and goal diversity heuristic 

maintenance during both the entry phase of a career and the process of establishing and maintaining a 

position, and the evening peak of a career presents other unique challenges that, if not met, can lead to 

feelings of inadequacy. To mitigate these potential adverse consequences, the opportunity for lifelong 

growth and progress in primary control provides individuals with the means to discover enduring 

significance and intrinsic dedication in their professional pursuits. Therefore, the challenges 

confronting career education and strategies for advising are distinct for various occupational categories 

(professions). This differentiated treatment is typically what makes career education so appealing. 

Moreover, the degree to which an individual’s work situation provides primary control that matches his 

actual primary control has important motivational and socio-emotional implications, indicating the 

importance of assessing an individual’s suitability for the environment, in addition to the significance 

of motivational stimulation and emotional empowerment in career education. 

4.4 The Significance of Transitional Attention to Social Mobility (Opportunities) for Equity and 

Fairness in Career Education  

Almost certainly, the transition from adolescence to maturity is the most significant developmental 

transition throughout the life course. Most modern societies have a high potential for social mobility, 

and individuals confront both opportunities for upward social mobility and risks of downward social 

mobility throughout their lifetimes and across generations. Nevertheless, certain aspects of society may 

limit an individual’s ability to climb the social ladder (Buchholz et al., 2009). For individuals, the 

initial state is monostable, and the developmental path diverges as the time series intervenes to regulate 

it. On the one hand, this distinction, in addition to the individual’s own disparities, could be the result 

of the individual’s social class. Corak (2013), for instance, argues that the primary motivator of 

progressively limited social mobility is what economists refer to as “children’s human capital”. Higher 

incomes result in better neighborhoods, daycare facilities, and schools, which tips the scales in favor of 

children from higher income categories when it comes to university quality and employment 

opportunities. Alternatively, this disparity may be the result of the social system’s design. For instance, 

our education system’s stratification is difficult, but it is not impossible to transfer between levels. 



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These various restrictions in the education system may create barriers between stable paths, making it 

difficult to move from one to another. Internalized ideologies of social inequality and beliefs regarding 

the causes of upward and downward social mobility may also contribute to this phenomenon. The 

impact of these constraints on career development can frequently be a hindrance to career education, 

and opportunities arise in part from dismantling and modifying these constraints. In other words, career 

education is frequently accompanied by supply-side education reform, equity in education, and the 

elimination of barriers to education. 

 

5. Conclusion 

The MTLSD expands upon the criteria for adaptive development and developmental objectives by 

incorporating the SOC and control models. By situating individuals within a more comprehensive 

temporal framework and incorporating life developmental tasks, the theory believes that individuals 

actively generate and propel their own development. This offers theoretical support for the practice of 

career education and a fresh perspective on career exploration. Career education ought to prioritize not 

only the positive implications of an individual’s professional growth but also safeguard and advance 

their subjective agency. There exists a necessity to augment the procedural, coherent, and opportune 

knowledge content pertaining to opportunities within the realm of vocation education. This would 

empower students to comprehensively contemplate the limitations of opportunities and time, and 

subsequently integrate them into the sequence of life design. With due regard to career education, the 

impact of various professional life cycles on human development should be taken into account during 

the construction of the career education system. Aside from valuing individual distinctions, 

consideration should be given to the variety of professional life cycles.  

In conclusion, the MTLSD offers a new perspective on career research, examining human career 

development and design in a more macroscopic time series and providing new theoretical support for 

the practice of career education.  

 

Acknowledgement 

This study was funded by the Philosophy and Social Science Research Project of Universities in 

Jiangsu Province, Project No. 2023SJSZ0277; 2023SJSZ0279; and General project of Jiangsu Province 

Recruitment and Employment Guidance, No. JCXM-C-20230526. 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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