Frank Parsons is best known for founding which field?

• A. Career guidance
• B. Psychoanalysis
• C. Behaviorism
• D. Group therapy

Answer: (A)

This question tests your understanding of who founded the practice of guiding people in selecting work. Frank Parsons is regarded as the founder of vocational guidance, the precursor to what we now call career guidance or career counseling. He argued that helping someone choose a suitable vocation should be a planned, evidence-based process that combines understanding the person with understanding the world of work.

Parsons proposed a practical method: first gather accurate information about the individual—such as abilities, interests, and values; then collect data about the world of work—the requirements, opportunities, and realities of different jobs; and finally help the person make an informed decision and plan concrete steps to reach that vocation. His ideas, crystallized in the early 1900s and popularized in his book Choosing a Vocation, laid the foundation for professional guidance in career decisions.

The other fields referenced—psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and group therapy—represent distinct approaches: psychoanalysis focuses on unconscious processes, behaviorism on observable behavior and conditioning, and group therapy on therapeutic work within a group setting.