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.     

The Relationship Between Career Maturity and Congruence,Consistency, and Differentiation Among Individuals With and Without Learning Disabilities

This study investigated the relationship between career maturity and Holland's (1985a) constructs of congruence, consistency, and differentiation among individuals with and without learning disabilities. In addition, it examined whether a relationship exists between Holland's (1985a) Investigative personality type and career maturity in individuals with and without learning disabilities. Results yielded no statistically significant associations between career maturity and any of the 3 constructs for either group of individuals. Similarly, no relationship was found between Investigative personality types and career maturity. Last, the 2 groups studied did not differ on the 3 constructs.     

Interest traitedness as a moderator of interest-occupation congruence

The moderating effect of interest traitedness on the interest-occupation fit with career certainty relation was examined. A representative sample of from 4676 12th-grade students completed the Unisex Edition of the ACT Interest Inventory (UNIACT). Several different indices of traitedness were examined as they interacted with the interest-occupation fit with career certainty relation. A series of hierarchical regressions revealed that although all traitedness indices manifest a significant moderation effect, the magnitude of the effect was small. Results are discussed with respect to applications to other samples and variables.     

A longitudinal and multi-method examination of interest–occupation congruence within and across time

Remarkably little research has addressed change and stability in person–environment fit across time. The objective of the current study was to address this gap in the literature by investigating Holland interest–occupation congruence across time for a sample of college alumni (N = 167) that were tracked during the first third of their professional career. Congruence was examined in all its complexity, including a repeated assessment of both occupations and interests, the use of objective (O*NET) and subjective (self-report) environment assessment methods, and adopting sophisticated congruence calculation methods (i.e., Euclidean distance and profile correlation). This resulted in a total of 12 interest–occupation comparisons within and across time that could be related to general and career specific well-being. The results first indicated moderate levels of stability in interests and occupations across the 15-year time interval, yet also with room for change. Congruence analyses indicated significant interest–occupation fit at the beginning of the career and 15 years later, with the magnitude of congruence slightly varying depending on which occupation assessment and which congruence method was used. Profile correlation congruence did not change over time in absolute terms and evidenced relative stability. Euclidean distance indices had little relative stability over time but did manifest some absolute changes in levels of congruence. Finally, job change moderated the association between interest–occupation congruence and life satisfaction in such a way that higher levels of satisfaction were reported only when little job change was present.     

The relationship between Holland's SDS differentiation scale and psychological adjustment

The study examined the relationship between Holland's SDS differentiation scales and indices of psychological adjustment on the MMPI. The independent variables were: degree of differentiation as calculated with an Iachan Index, and level of differentiation derived from averaging the six SDS summary profile scores. Two indices of the dependent variable, psychological adjustment, were used: the ego-strength score and the average elevation of eight clinical scales on the MMPI. Fifty-one subjects were recruited. Two multiple regression. analyses revealed a nonsignificant R² of 0.01. The results indicated that the SDS career interest differentiation scales were not related to the MMPI indices, and do not appear useful in predicting degree of psychological adjustment. This finding challenges Holland's theoretical contention that individuals who are undifferentiated may be in need of personal counseling. A second finding was the successful use of the SDS with residential psychiatric patients.     

Holland's theoretical signs of consistency and differentiation and their relationship to academic potential and achievement

The study was designed to assess Holland's theoretical signs of consistency and differentiation as measures of academic aptitude and achievement. Holland postulates that levels of consistency and differentiation on the Self Directed Search (SDS) may be used to assess a person's educational-vocational potential, achievement, or status. Using the SDS and a sample of investigative male subjects (N = 127), Holland's theoretical signs of consistency and differentiation were tested on measures of academic aptitude and achievement over a four year college period. Academic aptitude was assessed by the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and academic achievement by cumulative grade point average (GPA) over a four year college period. The findings show significant differences on SAT scores for the sign of differentiation but no significant differences for GPA over a four year college period. The results also show no significant differences on SAT or GPA for the sign of consistency. Future research is recommended on Holland's theoretical signs before they can be incorporated into a complete and useful diagnostic system.     

Relation of person-environment fit to career certainty

This study examined the person-environment fit-career outcome relation by observing interests, self-efficacy and parental support as person aspects and major and occupational choice as separate indicators of the environment. Career certainty was selected as a career outcome. Two dimensional fit indices (People-Things and Data-Ideas) were examined as was the incremental validity of adding prestige fit indices. In addition, we examined the moderation of these PE fit-outcome relations by ethnicity (Anglos vs. Latino/a’s). Results revealed that the PE fit predictors were moderately related and none of the two dimensional PE fit predictors significantly related to career certainty, while nearly all of the Prestige PE fit-certainty relations were significant. Support was found for the spherical structure of work types and person variables [Tracey, T. J. G., & Rounds, J. (1996b). Contributions of the spherical representation of vocational interests. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 48, 85-95].     

Holland's SDS: Is its effectiveness contingent upon selected variables?

This study was designed to investigate the differential effectiveness of Holland's Self Directed Search (SDS) as a vocational guidance tool for 166 junior-class students in a suburban regional high school. The SDS was administered to 90 girls and 76 boys who were subsequently interviewed and asked to state current first and second vocational choices. The relation between these choices and the students' three-letter SDS codes was translated into numerical Congruence Scores. Students were also grouped according to: (1) their SDS codes' level of consistency with Holland's hexagonal model; (2) differentiation of codes; (3) level of mental ability; and (4) level of achievement. Four two-way analyses of variance were used to assess the effect of these variables on Congruence Scores; in each analysis, sex was the second classification in order to measure interaction-effects. Results indicated no significant mean differences on Congruence Scores attributable to these variables. The effectiveness of the SDS as a career inventory does not appear to be contingent upon them.     

Testing a calling model of psychological career success in Australian young adults: A longitudinal study

Theory-based longitudinal research on career calling is sparse. In a two-wave, cross-lagged panel design we assessed Hall and Chandler's (2005) calling model of psychological career success using 216 young adults (M age = 20.44 years, SD = 2.54). We tested if changes in career calling over time were associated with changes in goal-directed effort (work effort and career strategies) and psychological career success (life meaning and career adaptability) over time, and if goal-directed effort mediated between career calling and psychological career success over time. The standard causal model showed a better fit over the base, reverse, and reciprocal causation models. T1 career calling predicted T2 work effort, career strategies, life meaning, and career adaptability. Only career strategies mediated between T1 career calling and T2 life meaning and T2 career adaptability. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

The predictive power of Holland's investigative personality type and consistency levels using the self directed search

Using the Self Directed Search (SDS), the predictability of Holland's Investigative personality type and the three levels of consistency were assessed. A sample of male Investigative subjects (N = 171) who completed the SDS as freshmen in 1970 was sent a questionnaire 4 years later. The questionnaire asked subjects to state their academic major, occupational plan upon graduation, and occupational plan 5 years hence. Hypotheses concerned the predictability over a 4-year college period of (1) one-, two-, and three-letter SDS and most recent daydream codes and (2) Holland's three levels of consistency. Results indicated that, for Investigative-type freshman males, the SDS has moderately high efficiency in predicting, 4 years later, their ultimate major and their immediate and future vocational plans. The differential predictability of Holland's three consistency levels was supported in 20 of the 27 tests applied.     

Persistent career indecision over time: Links with personality,barriers, self-efficacy,and life satisfaction

Taking control over one's career requires the ability to make career decisions; thus, remaining in a state of career indecision is problematic. However, the stability of career indecision has not yet been investigated using advanced statistical modeling approaches. We present two studies of German university students applying three-wave, longitudinal designs. Study 1 investigated the stability of career indecision by means of latent state-trait analysis within two samples with different time lags (Sample 1: N = 363, 7 weeks; Sample 2: N = 591, 6 months). The results indicated that career indecision was determined by a stable component (i.e., trait career indecisiveness) that was associated with lower core self-evaluations, lower occupational self-efficacy, and higher perceived career barriers. Study 2 (N = 469) examined career indecision over one year. We found that the stable career indecision component explained 5% of the variance in student life satisfaction beyond self-evaluated generalized indecisiveness.     

Structure of interest in a Caribbean sample: Application of the Personal Globe Inventory

The structural validity of the Personal Globe Inventory (PGI, Tracey, 2002) as applied to a Caribbean sample of university students in Jamaica (N = 103) and Trinidad (N = 118) was examined. The fit of the data to Holland's six-type RIASEC, the PGI eight-type model, and the PGI spherical structure was examined using the randomized test of hypothesized order relations. The results demonstrated that the circular structure (i.e. RIASEC and the eight-type model), unlike the spherical structure, fits the Caribbean data well. No structural differences were found between gender and nationality. Further examination of the cultural perception of prestige in a Caribbean sample is warranted. Overall, the results support the structural validity of the PGI in Caribbean applications.     

Vocational interest structures for Asian Americans,Middle-Eastern Americans and Native Americans on the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory

This study examined whether the vocational interests of Asian Americans, Middle-Eastern Americans, and Native Americans, as measured by the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory (SII), followed Holland's (1997) calculus hypotheses for a RIASEC ordering. The structures of interests of these three racial/ethnic groups were examined for fit with two structural models: (1) a less-stringent model requiring a circular RIASEC ordering and (2) a more stringent model requiring equal distances between adjacent interest types. Individuals who completed the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory were included in the sample (N = 22,394), and the overall sample was divided between racial/ethnic groups, gender, and professional status (i.e. student and employed adults). Results from randomization tests of hypothesized order and circular unidimensional scaling analyses found that a circular RIASEC order is applicable to Asian American, Middle-Eastern American and Native American students and employed adults, regardless of gender, when measured by the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory. Results from this study indicate that the current version of the Strong Interest Inventory measures vocational interests in a manner that strongly aligns with Holland's calculus hypothesis for both men and women.     

Young children's interpersonal trust consistency as a predictor of future school adjustment

Young children's interpersonal trust consistency was examined as a predictor of future school adjustment. One hundred and ninety two (95 male and 97 female, M_age = 6 years 2 months, SD_age = 6 months) children from school years 1 and 2 in the United Kingdom were tested twice over one year. Children completed measures of peer trust and school adjustment and teachers completed the Short-Form Teacher Rating Scale of School Adjustment. Longitudinal quadratic relationships emerged between consistency of children's peer trust beliefs and peer-reported trustworthiness and school adjustment and these varied according to social group, facet of trust, and indicator of school adjustment. The findings support the conclusion that interpersonal trust consistency, especially for secret-keeping, predicts aspects of young children's school adjustment.     

The relation of social status to the career decision-making process

The relation of social status to individuals’ career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) and choice certainty was explored using a new, multifaceted measure of social status, the differential status identity scale (DSIS;, Brown, M. T., D’Agruma, H. D., Brown, A., Sia, A., Yamini-Diouf, Y., Porter, S., et al. (2002). Differential status identity: Construct, measurement, and initial validation. In Symposium presented during the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.). CDSE was also examined as a potential mediator between social class and career choice certainty. Pilot data and exploratory analyses supported the psychometric properties of the DSIS and the incremental utility of the DSIS over traditional, sociological indices of social class. Results for our college student sample indicated that greater access to economic resources, social prestige, and social power each related to higher levels of CDSE, but that the three facets did not contribute incrementally to CDSE. In addition, social status was related to career choice certainty, but this relation was fully mediated by CDSE.     

The consistency and structure of aspect-based career preferences

Career aspects (e.g., work environment, using verbal ability, length of training, teamwork) are an elaboration and extension of vocational interests. Aspect-based preferences can serve individuals and their career counselors only if they are reliable and stable. Study 1 estimated the two-week test–retest reliability of 213 college freshmen's preferences in 31 career aspects and the two-year stability of these preferences for 132 of these freshmen. The two-week reliability and the two-year stability of both the within-aspect preferred levels (e.g., “only indoors” most preferred, but “mostly indoors” is also acceptable) and the aspect importance were tested for each of the aspects. The interquartile ranges of the two-week reliability of the aspect importance and of the preferred within-aspect levels were .54–.62 and .63–.74 for the 31 aspects; the interquartile ranges of the two-year stabilities were .38–.48 and .48–.59, respectively. These interquartile ranges reflect the variance in consistency among the aspects. Study 2 explored the structure of the aspects based on the pattern of associations among them. In addition, it examined the consistency of the aspect structures by comparing them in four samples (total N = 40,313). The structure was found consistent across time (Spearman r_s = .88, .76 and .68, two weeks, two years, and 20 years later, respectively), within culture (r_s = .75 and .76, for women and men, respectively), and across cultures (USA and Israel; r_s = .64). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Career counseling: beyond “test and tell”

Behavior-oriented inventories need not be used in a static manner. This article presents a way of using John Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) as an illustration of how such an inventory can be employed dynamically within a developmental career counseling framework. Use of the SDS is discussed in terms of environmental exploration, self-exploration, and integration of information. The breadth of individual behavior styles and the flexibility of work environments are the key concepts in the approach to career counseling described here.     

Career adaptation: The relation of adaptability to goal orientation,proactive personality,and career optimism

This study examines the psychometric properties of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) and its relation to adaptivity (i.e., learning goal orientation, proactive personality, and career optimism) among Australian university students (N = 555). Results demonstrated adequate levels of test–retest reliability (r = .61 to .76) and internal consistency (α = .83 to .94) for the CAAS full scale and subscales over a 4-week interval between measurements. Confirmatory factor analysis also supported the multidimensional and hierarchical model of career adaptability resources. The factor structure generally corresponded with that obtained from other CAAS international validation, thus, expanding its cross-national measurement equivalence. In addition, correlation results supported the predicted positive association between career adaptability and adaptivity in the form of learning goal orientation, proactive personality, and career optimism. Taken together, the present findings confirm the psychometric utility of CAAS in the Australian context and substantiate the proposition that higher personal adaptive readiness relates to better career adaptability among young people.     

Short measurements of personality - Validity and reliability of the GSOEP Big Five Inventory (BFI-S)

In the last decade, an upward trend in the use of short measurements for personality can be observed. The goal of this study was to explore the psychometric characteristics of the GSOEP Big Five Inventory (BFI-S; Gerlitz & Schupp, 2005), a 15-item instrument. We compared the BFI-S with the NEO-PI-R ( [Costa and McCrae, 1992a] and [Costa and McCrae, 1992b]) in a sample of 598 German adults (mean age = 42 years). Despite shortcomings for Agreeableness, the short scales generally showed acceptable levels of: (1) internal consistency, (2) stability over a period of 18 months, (3) convergent validity in relation to the NEO-PI-R and (4) discriminant validity. We conclude that in research settings with a pronounced need for parsimony, the BFI-S offers a sufficient level of utility.