Intergenerational occupational transmission: Do offspring walk in the footsteps of mom or dad,or both?

The purpose of this research was to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in order to investigate intergenerational occupational transmission between parents and their children. A sample of 260 undergraduate students completed a questionnaire measuring TPB variables, and congruence was calculated between the parents' occupations and their offspring's chosen profession. Intention to work in the parents' occupations was predicted by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Congruence between parents' and their children's occupational choice was predicted by intention and perceived behavioral control. The findings provide support to the relational approach in career choice. Implications of the findings for career counselors and young people's career choices are discussed.     

Intergenerational occupational transmission: Do offspring walk in the footsteps of mom or dad,or both?

The purpose of this research was to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in order to investigate intergenerational occupational transmission between parents and their children. A sample of 260 undergraduate students completed a questionnaire measuring TPB variables, and congruence was calculated between the parents' occupations and their offspring's chosen profession. Intention to work in the parents' occupations was predicted by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Congruence between parents' and their children's occupational choice was predicted by intention and perceived behavioral control. The findings provide support to the relational approach in career choice. Implications of the findings for career counselors and young people's career choices are discussed.     

Reality-Testing a Vocational Choice: Congruence Between Self,Ideal, and Occupational Percepts Among Student Nurses

A total of 168 student nurses (24 each at 7 levels of vocational experience and preparation) Q-sorted 50 self-relevant, socially neutral statements to measure self-concept, ideal self-concept, and occupational role percept. Mean r's for congruence between ideal and occupational percepts tended to exceed and to reach higher levels of significance than corresponding r's for congruence between either self and ideal or self and occupational percepts. Congruences between self, ideal, and occupational percepts reach significance at p = .01 for graduate students, who have attained “adult” professional status. However, no significant relationship appears to obtain between either pre-professional or professional nursing experience and congruence between self and ideal, self and occupational role, or ideal and occupational role percepts. Results are interpreted in terms of a self-concept theory of vocational development.     

Occupational specialty congruence: New data and future directions

The present research examined the relationship between within-occupational congruence and satisfaction, and attempted to integrate hypotheses and findings of prior studies with the conceptual implications of occupational specialty congruence. Correspondence between vocational interests within occupations and specialty choice has shown higher correlations with satisfaction than with congruence (Assouline & Meir, 1987). Occupational specialty congruence was derived by comparing preferred functions with the actual functions characterizing a given occupational specialty. In the present study, involving 120 computer software professionals, occupational specialty congruence correlated approximately .45 with satisfaction, using core job function dimensions. Specialty change within occupation, rather than occupational change, may help in cases of poor occupational choice, burnout, or a change in health. Further research should explore the generalizability of the function dimensions employed herein. Identifying core dimensions can aid in designing both career tracks and certification exams.     

Relation of interest and self-efficacy occupational congruence and career choice certainty

A sample of 2145 adults completed the Personal Globe Inventory (PGI) as well as indicating their occupational choice and the certainty of this choice. The PGI yielded interest and self-efficacy scores and these were used with the occupational choice to calculate a congruence score for interests and one for efficacy. The prediction of career certainty by each congruence measure and their interaction was examined using hierarchical regression. The results indicated that while both interest and efficacy congruence were related to career certainty, efficacy congruence did not add to prediction above that obtained using interests congruence alone, however there was a substantial interaction. The agreement of interest congruence and efficacy congruence was related to a strong positive relation between congruence and certainty; whereas low agreement between interest and efficacy congruence was related to a non-significant relation between congruence and certainty. The results demonstrate the need to focus on both interest and efficacy and their agreement in our assessments and interventions.     

Evaluating Decision Makers: The Role of Choice Congruence and Outcome

Two studies were conducted in which decision makers were evaluated by subjects who had agreed or disagreed with the decision maker's choice. Subjects read one of two vignettes describing the alternatives available to the decision maker, indicated which alternative they personally favored, and then learned about the decision maker's choice and the outcome that occurred. Study 1 varied whether the outcomes of the decision maker's choice were positive or negative, and whether the subject's preferred option matched (congruent choice) or did not match (incongruent choice) that of the decision maker. Subjects rated the extent to which they thought the decision maker was worthy of praise (in the case of positive outcomes) or blame (in the case of negative outcomes), and the decision maker's likableness and competence. Results revealed a strong effect of congruence on attributions of praise and blame: More praise was ascribed to an agreeing decision maker and more blame to a disagreeing decision maker. The degree to which the decision maker was seen as likable was affected by congruence only, whereas perceived competence was influenced by both outcome and congruence. Study 2 addresses some methodological issues that were unresolved in Study 1 and replicated the results of the first study, using new stimulus materials and an expanded set of dependent measures.     

Exploration as a predictor of congruence in adolescents' career choices

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that adolescents who explore a variety of career alternatives will make career choices that are more congruent with their personality styles than will adolescents who explore less broadly. The sample of 57 female and 45 male high school seniors (mean age = 17.6 years) completed an ego identity interview, from which each occupation they reported considering was coded for four dimensions: occupational prestige, substantive complexity, interest environment, and gender dominance. Participants also completed the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory and a verbal ability measure. Two indices were constructed to assess the degree of congruence between the adolescent's primary career choice and personality style. Regression analyses indicated that breadth of exploration in the four career dimensions, particularly in gender dominance exploration, was predictive of congruence for males and females.     

Holland's personality constructs as predictors of stability of choice

It was the purpose of this study to test Holland's assertion that stability of vocational choice can be predicted from: (a) congruence of personality with chosen career, (b) differentiation of personality, and (c) internal consistency of personality characteristics. The relationship of each of the three constructs to stability of choice of college major was studied among 167 university students. It was hypothesized that prediction could be improved by combining congruence, differentiation, and consistency in a multiple relationship. The relative importance of the three constructs was examined. Findings supported Holland's contention that congruence and consistency are positively related to stability. No significant relationship was found between differentiation and stability. When combined, all three constructs predict stability, but the efficiency of prediction is not improved by adding differentiation and/or consistency to congruence. As hypothesized, congruence was found to be the most important predictor, followed in importance by differentiation and consistency, respectively.     

Traditionality of choice and sex-role identification as moderators of the congruence of occupational choice in college women

This study examined the relationship of traditionality of occupational preferences and sex-role orientation to personality-occupational environment congruence in college women. Three-letter Holland personality codes were obtained for each of 184 college women based on same-sex normative scores from the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory and on scores from the ACT Unisex Interest Inventory (UNIACT). Subjects' occupational preferences were classified as traditional, moderately traditional, or nontraditional based on the percentages of women in the occupation. Scores on the Bern Sex Role Inventory were used to classify subjects into one of four sex-role categories. Results indicated a strong association between congruence and traditionality of choice; women whose choices were in nontraditional career fields were significantly more likely to be making choices congruent with their personality type than were women choosing traditional career fields. Further, while sex-role orientation was not significantly related to either congruence or traditionality, masculine-typed women were most likely to make nontraditional and congruent career choices, while the majority of feminine-typed, androgynous, and undifferentiated women stated preferences for traditional career fields. Implications for the applicability of Holland's congruence postulate to women's vocational behavior are discussed.     

Self-esteem as an influence on occupational choice and occupational satisfaction

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of self-esteem in occupational choice behavior. It was predicted that self-esteem would be positively related to the degree of self-occupational congruence, and that self-esteem would moderate the relationship between congruence and occupational satisfaction. It was also predicted that self-esteem would moderate the relationship between occupational satisfaction and several indices of social influence. Participants in the study were 228 college undergraduates.     

The congruence problem in John Holland's theory of vocational decisions

John Holland's theory of vocational choice has been a dominant one in careers psychology for many years, especially in North America. A key construct in the theory is congruence between person and environment. Yet research has failed to find as strong a link as might be expected between congruence and outcomes such as satisfaction and performance. This could present a major challenge to the theory. Fourteen possible reasons for the weak associations between congruence and outcome measures are identified and discussed under three broad headings: the theory, the research and the world. It is concluded that the most important reasons are (1) that Holland's measures of people and environments partially neglect some important constructs; (2) that environments have not been conceptualized or measured entirely appropriately; and (3) the data that are used in the calculation of congruence indices are insufficiently precise or comprehensive. It is suggested that Holland's theory and associated measures should be developed further, and that the processual elements of it need more attention.     

A Maximizing Model of Occupational Decision-Making

This paper proposes a theory of occupational choice derived from the tenets of economic decision-making. It asserts that the determinants of occupational choice are: (a) the chooser's occupational utility functions (preference system); (b) the resources or inputs at the disposal of the individual; and (c) the anticipated consequences of employing given resources in various occupations with differing potential for gratification. The strategy employed in the resolution of choice is maximization of net gain. The concept of substitutability of occupational utility functions is introduced, and the genesis of utility is discussed.     

Achieving congruence between employee interests and county jobs: a win‐win proposition

Assisting employees to explore internal job switches rather than leaving an organization is a positive measure aimed at enhancing employee retention and job satisfaction. This article describes how a municipal county government used J. L. Holland's (1992) occupational classification system to help employees achieve congruence between their interests and their job requirements.     

Consistent occupational preferences and satisfaction,self concept,self acceptance and vocational maturity

This study explored the differences on variables of satisfaction, self-concept, self-acceptance, and vocational maturity between freshmen students who made congruent and incongruent occupational choices. The variables were operationally defined by the College Student Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, the Berger scales, and the Vocational Development Inventory. Congruent and incongruent current occupational choice groups were defined operationally using the Self Directed Search. The analysis of variance of the scale scores did not reveal the main effect of congruence to be significant. However, a second analysis using a more rigorous definition of congruence revealed the main effect of congruence to be significant for four satisfaction variables. Findings suggest that subjects in the congruent male group tend to report better maintenance of personal stability and greater satisfaction than subjects in the incongruent female group.     

Formal and Emergent Predictors of Coworkers' Perceptual Congruence on an Organization's Social Structure

This article examines several factors that are hypothesized to influence the perceptual congruence among organizational members. Perceptual congruence is defined as the extent to which members agree on their perceptions of the organization's social structure. This study proposes that employees congruence on the organization's social structure is influenced by similarities in formal structure, demographic attributes, and emergent structure. The hypotheses were tested using cognitive social structure data collected at a city's public works department.     

Employing autobiographical memory perspective to influence self‐congruence and brand preference

This paper advances our understanding of consumer behavior by examining the influence of autobiographical memory perspective on consumer's self‐congruence. While extant research has primarily restricted itself to the consequences of self‐congruence, this work focuses on an antecedent, by examining the psychological processes associated with the consumer's autobiographical memory perspective and the resulting impact on self‐congruence. Through three experiments, we demonstrate that visualizing autobiographical memories from a first‐person versus a third‐person perspective impacts consumers' self‐brand congruence differently under varied circumstances. Specifically, differing degrees of self‐brand congruence are experienced when consumers focus on differences (vs. similarities) between their present and recalled selves, combined with distinct autobiographical memory perspectives. The autobiographical memory perspective is identified as a key determinant of consumers' perceived change in self‐image, which, in turn, has a cascading effect on their self‐brand congruence. Thus, consumers' perceived change in self‐image is identified as the mechanism underlying the main effect. Furthermore, as an important component of self‐image, this research determines and examines a moderating influence of self‐esteem in the relationship between autobiographical memory perspective and self‐congruence. Collectively, these results facilitate our understanding of the autobiographical memory perspective as an antecedent of consumer's self‐congruence, with implications for nostalgia advertising and retro branding.     

Narrative congruence between populist President Duterte and the Filipino public: Shifting global alliances from the United States to China

This research examines what happened when the populist Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reversed his country's global alliance, switching loyalties away from the United States towards China. We use the lens of narrative congruence, to see if political storylines of a populist president are accompanied by similar shifts in storylines among his followers. Our data corpus consists of text from Duterte's speeches and from comments on partisan Facebook pages, representing supporters and opponents of the president. We time‐bound our data corpus to text produced around the time President Duterte announced his realignment towards China. We use text mining and network analysis to identify overlaps among words used by the different social actors. Our findings show that when Duterte switched alliances, Facebookers—regardless of partisanship—accepted this alliance shift. However, our results likewise reveal an imperfect congruence. Duterte's followers move on to a story criticizing Duterte's domestic political enemies, whereas anti‐Duterte Facebookers talk about monetary deals and drug issues in the Philippines' newfound friendship with China. We discuss our findings in the light of a psychology of populism, the use of a discursive social networks approach to study macropsychological phenomena, and discursive resistance in a populist state.     

Effect of positive,negative, and mixed occupational information on cognitive and affective complexity

A series of concentrated research studies over the past 8 years has significantly demonstrated that cognitive complexity in the vocational realm is positively related to congruence or appropriateness of vocational choice. Moreover, research has shown that introducing occupational information significantly reduces, rather than increases, cognitive complexity. The results of the study reported here relate to changes in cognitive complexity as a function of the type of occupational information introduced, namely, information with respect to the advantages of occupations; the disadvantages of occupations, or a combination of positive and negative features of occupations. Our results clearly demonstrated that while positive occupational information alone leads to greater simplicity, negative or mixed information significantly retards the trend toward greater simplicity. Results are discussed from both theoretical and practical perspectives, especially with reference to the typical occupational information provided in routine vocational counseling.     

Vocational Personality Types in College Engineering Students in Relation to Academic Achievement

This study explored whether and to what extent vocational personality types based on Holland (1994) correlate with and explain unique variance of academic success among 117 undergraduate civil engineering students by using the Self-Directed Search–Form R, 4th Edition. Findings indicated that the majority of participants’ 1st-letter code was Realistic (39.3%), 2nd-letter code was Investigative (24.8%), and 3rd-letter code was Social (21.4%), compared with Holland's 3-letter codes for civil engineering (Investigative, Realistic, Enterprising). The study also calculated the degree of congruence between personality type and occupational environment. For career counselors, the findings underscore the importance of using congruence scores to predict engineering students’ academic performance.     

Achievement motivation theory and occupational choice

Two studies are reported which aimed to answer several questions relating to Atkinson's model of achievement motivation. Firstly, how successfully the theory can predict the occupational choices of two different populations and what changes, if any, need to be made to the model to make it more suited to such predictions. Several conceptual errors were found in the theory which make it unsuitable in its present form for predicting occupational choices and suggestions are made as to the possible correction of these. Secondly, a comparison is made between Atkinson's model and the expectancy-valence models currently utilized to describe and predict occupational decision-making. In particular Atkinson's incentive component is contrasted with the valence measure described by expectancy-valence models, and the possible influences of the motive factors (motive to succeed and motive to avoid failure) are considered since these are typically omitted by other models of career choice. Finally, the existence of sex differences in career choice, as well as in the various components of the model are studied and discussed. The changing conceptualization of ‘fear of success’ is also included in this consideration.