Viewing people as both rational and emotional, Donald Super believed that the most effective career counseling would ask the following kinds of questions:

1. What sort of person do I think I am?
2. How do I feel about myself as I think I am?
3. What sort of person would I like to be?
4. What are my values and needs?
5. What are my aptitudes and interests?
6. What can I do to reconcile my self-ideal with my real self?
7. What outlets are there for me with my needs, values, interests, and aptitudes?
8. How can I make use of these outlets?

Super's cycle of interviewing is one of nondirective problem exploration and self-concept portrayal.