Who authored Mirror of Men's Lives, which is credited as the first job classification system?

• A. Sanchez de Arevalo
• B. Frank Parsons
• C. Jesse Davis
• D. Anna Reed

Answer: (A)

The question hinges on identifying the origin of a systematic way to classify occupations. Mirror of Men's Lives, attributed to Sanchez de Arevalo, is described in histories of the counseling field as an early effort to organize work into categories based on the kinds of lives men led. This makes it the first job classification system on record, predating later, more formal approaches to vocational guidance. Frank Parsons later built the modern vocational guidance framework around trait-factor matching and published work like Choosing a Vocation, shifting the focus to systematically guiding individuals toward suitable careers. Jesse Davis and Anna Reed are influential in the development of school guidance and counseling, but not the authors of the first job classification system.