Concurrent validity and Holland's theory

This study was designed to explore two areas: (1) the concurrent validity of Holland's theory for employed men using four different operational definitions of vocational orientation, and (2) the relationships among all possible combinations of same named scales across the four inventories. Concurrent validity was studied by administering the Vocational Preference Inventory, the Self Directed Search, and the Holland Scales (Set I and Set II) to 153 male workers established in occupational environments consistent with Holland's six vocational environments. The results revealed that five scales of the VPI and of the Holland Scales (Set I and Set II) and four scales of the SDS successfully differentiated the occupational groups consistent with Holland's theoretical framework. The correlation coefficients for same named scales for all possible combinations of the four inventories were all found to be significant. In general, the findings of this study tend to support the concurrent validity of Holland's theory for employed men.     

The applicability of Holland's typology to clients

Holland, 1966, Holland, 1973 has generated a vast amount of research seeking to validate or to challenge the hexagonal model and the associated constructs of consistency and differentiation. A review of the studies related to Holland's typology, however, reveals a very small number of studies with clients as subjects. The present study was an evaluation of Holland's model using the General Occupational Themes of the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) (D. P. Campbell & J. C. Hansen, Manual for the SVIB-SCII, 3rd ed., Stanford, Calif.: Stanford Univ. Press, 1981) obtained from college students who had sought vocational counseling. The use of the hexagonal model as a framework for the interpretation of relationships among the SCII General Occupational Themes was supported, and the SCII was found to be a valid instrument for vocational counseling in a client population.     

The predictive validity of Holland's construct of consistency

Holland's construct of consistency was studied for its predictive validity of certain measures of vocational stability. A new measure of consistency used was the difference between two plotted vocational choices on the American College Testing Program's Map of College Majors which 1248 subjects expressed while in high school. This consistency index was found to have no relationship with the similarity of the same subjects' beginning and ending college majors, also measured as a distance on the Map of College Majors. Additionally, no relationship was found to exist between the consistency index and number of college major changes, the number of course withdrawals, academic performance, and scholastic aptitude.     

The WISC-R factoral validity for minority groups and Spearman's hypothesis

The factoral structure of the WISC-R for groups of Anglo, Black, and Mexican-American children was compared and found to be highly similar across groups. The tests appear to be measuring the same abilities in all three groups. The order of subtest difficulty was not significantly correlated with the subtest g loadings for the Black children but was for the Mexican-Americans. These results provide support for Spearman's hypothesis with Mexican-American children.     

Study habits and Eysenck's theory of extraversion-introversion

Predictions derived from Eysenck's theory of personality were tested in two samples by relating extraversion scores to library study locations, frequency of study breaks, and self-report of factors which influence study location. The predicted main effects for study location were found, with extraverts occupying locations that provided greater external stimulation. Positive correlations were consistently found between extraversion and preferred level of noise, preferred level of socializing opportunities, and rated importance of socializing opportunities. The prediction that extraverts would take more frequent study breaks was supported in Sample 1 but not replicated in Sample 2. The data are interpreted as providing direct support for Eysenck's theory of behavioral differences and mixed indirect support for his theory of neurological differences between introverts and extraverts.     

Limit properties of Luce's choice theory

Luce's Axiom is interpreted in terms of a sequence of measures on the unit interval, and their limit properties are discussed. In particular, all limit laws are found to be either absolutely continuous with density x^α for α ∈ (?1, ∞) or else degenerate laws consisting of a point mass at 0 or 1. A close connection between Luce's choice theory and Karamata's theory of regularly varying functions is established and systematically used.     

A test of Holland's theory in a population of accountants

The study examined the SDS scales and work attitudes of 1952 Canadian Chartered Accountants (Anglophones and Francophones) and Californian Certified Public Accountants. Combinations of C, E, and S were found the most frequent personality patterns, and they constitute 27.8% of the total population. Scores on these types were positively related to organizational and professional commitments, as well as to vocational satisfaction. The level of congruence was positively correlated with the vocational criteria only in the American sample. The consistency level correlated with professional commitment in the Francophone sample, whereas the differentiation score showed mixed results.     

The use of conditional probabilities in applications of Holland's theory

The hexagon of J. L. Holland (1973, Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Careers, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall) is a useful heuristic device for predicting congruency and consistency among the six personality/environment types specified by his theory. One limitation of the traditional hexagon is the implicit bidirectionality: the hexagon displays a single distance between two types. People in applied areas may assume a symmetry which does not exist. Examples are given of situations in which a consistent asymmetry occurs; e.g., in the illustrative data presented, C (Conventional) types are more likely to have E (Enterprising) as a secondary interest than E types are to have C as a secondary interest. Implications of such asymmetries are discussed and suggestions made concerning counseling and other applications.     

Holland's theory and non-college-degreed working men and women

The main concern of this study was to investigate differences between men and women employed in traditional male occupations using the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) and the Self-Directed Search (SDS). The VPI and the SDS were administered to 103 male and female non-college-degreed workers in three occupations (bus-taxi drivers, police officers, and car sales agents) corresponding to three of Holland's environmental categories (Realistic, Social, and Enterprising). In general, the results indicate that the VPI and SDS scales to some extent discriminate among occupational groups, but expected patterns do not always occur within and between occupational groups.     

The influence of a model's reinforcement contingency and affective response on children's perceptions of the model

Following their observation of a videotaped model, boys and girls were asked to rate various characteristics of that model. In each of two experiments, the subjects were 90 primary grade children. The model's reinforcement (reward, punishment, or no consequences) and affective response (positive, neutral, or negative) constituted the independent variables. In both experiments, children who observed an affectively neutral model receive punishment, perceived his affective state as more negative than children who observed this model receive reward or no consequences. The converse attribution (i.e., inferring consequences based on depicted model affect) did not obtain. Also, data from both experiments supported the conclusions that (a) the punished model was less attractive than no-consequences and rewarded models, and (b) the model was perceived as less competent when he demonstrated negative affect or received punishment.     

Attribution theory and unemployment: Kelley's covariation model,self-esteem,and locus of control

The validity of applying Kelley, 1967, Kelley, 1973, 28, 107–128) to understanding the perceived causes of success and failure of others' job seeking activities was first tested in a laboratory study before testing the same theory on the self-attributions made by 82 unemployed in a field study. The field study also examined the relationship of self-esteem and locus of control to attributions for success and failure. In general Kelley's theory was supported by the results from the laboratory study but only two of the twelve predicted relationships were found in the field study. Low distinctiveness (weak workrelated skills) was associated with strong attributions to lack of ability and low consistency (past job seeking activities successful) with strong attributions to bad luck. As predicted the unemployed with high self-esteem and an internal locus of control attributed failure to lack of effort and credited their success to ability. Unemployed with low self-esteem and an external locus of control attributed success to unstable factors, but failure was not attributed to lack of ability. Possible reasons offered for the lack of support for Kelley's theory in the field study included the influence of group identity, individual differences in the perception of the stability and locus of causes, the greater realism of the field setting, and the inadequacy of the assumptions underlying the model.     

On construct validity: A critique of Miniard and Cohen's paper

Miniard and Cohen's conclusion that our measures of attitudes and subjective norms lack construct validity is rejected. It is shown that the data from their study are entirely consistent with data from previous investigations and that the data provide additional evidence for the predictive validity of our theory and for the construct validity of our operations.     

An application of Strong's validity criteria to basic interest scales

E. K. Strong, Jr.'s (Vocational interests of men and women, Stanford, Calif.: Stanford Univ. Press, 1943) four propositions for interest-inventory validity andJ. L. Holland's (Making vocational choices: A theory of careers, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1973) hexagonal classification system were synthesized in order to adapt a traditional procedure for determining the construct validity of occupational interest scales to the validation of basic interest scales. The procedure was tested using a sample of 4035 males and 3671 females whose interest inventory results as high school students and whose majors as college seniors could be assigned Holland codes. Results of the study indicate that this procedure can be used to assess the construct validity of inventories using basic interest scales.     

The effects of television on children's stereotyping of women's work roles

Sixty-seven elementary school students, ages 5 through 10 years, from three ethnic groups were systematically exposed, over a 1-month period, to specially produced television commercials. One treatment group viewed prevideotaped cartoons interspersed with commercials of women in “traditional” roles, while a second group viewed the same cartoons but with commercials which portrayed women in traditionally male or “reversed” roles. Children were measured on pre-and post-tests on (1) their occupational knowledge, (2) the extent to which they stereotyped occupations, and (3) their own preferences for traditionally male and female jobs. Results indicate that children do learn about occupations from television content, that they also learn to stereotype or nonstereotype various occupations based on the sex of the TV model, and, finally, that girls will change their preferences for various occupations based on the particular roles they view women portrayed in.     

Extending Holland's theory to the later years

Sixty-five men and women, aged 50 to 88 years, completed Holland's Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) and a work history questionnaire. Each participant was assigned one-letter Holland personality type codes for his or her first full-time job, longest full-time job, last job (if retired) or present job (if employed), and hobbies. In general, VPI scale scores and high point codes were consistent with the occupational codes but less consistent with the hobby code. The usefulness of Holland's vocational theory to the aged population is discussed.     

Person-environment congruence and employee job satisfaction: a test of Holland's theory

Person-environment congruence as assessed by Holland's model of vocational preference was tested in a sample of 362 employees from five environmental typologies (Realistic, Investigative, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional). Employees were classified as having congruent or incongruent person/environment pairings according to their occupation and their responses to Holland's Self-Directed Search. It was hypothesized that congruent employees would be significantly more satisfied with their jobs than incongruent employees. The results indicated that congruent employees were significantly more satisfied with the job facet satisfaction measures of work, pay, promotions, supervision, and coworkers as well as overall satisfaction compared to incongruent employees. In addition, the results revealed several Environment × Congruence interactions, indicating that the effects of person-environment congruence vary across different environmental typologies. The results are discussed in the context of establishing a fit between individual attributes and organizational environments.     

Two tests of Maslow's theory of need fulfillment

In a two-part test of Maslow's theory of human motivation, two relationships were explored: (1) the relationship between need importance and need deficiencies, and (2) the relationship between need deficiencies and life satisfaction. The subjects were groups of women college graduates in three types of occupations: professional-managerial, clerical-sales, and homemaking. In the first study, group differences in actual deficiencies did not support the hypothesis that need importance is negatively correlated with need deficiencies. Rankings of the deficiencies for the three groups, however, were consistent with the hypothesized relationship, as were the small but significant correlations that were obtained between need importance and deficiency values. In the second study, the findings gave partial support to Maslow's theory in that a significant relationship was found between need fulfillment and life satisfaction for two of the three occupational groups. The findings of both studies are discussed in relation to considerations in women's career development.     

Holland's theory and non-college-degreed working black and white women

The main concern of this study was to investigate differences between black and white American women employed in traditional female occupations who took the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) and the Self-Directed Search (SDS). The VPI and the SDS were administered to 110 black and white non-college-degreed workers in three occupations (laboratory technicians, sales clerks, and clerk-typists) corresponding to three of Holland's environmental categories (Investigative, Enterprising, and Conventional). In general, the findings for the three VPI and SDS scales and for these six occupational groups are mixed. On the SDS scales, findings indicate that black and white women in the same occupation seem to be far more similar than different. On the scales of the VPI, however, white and black women in the same occupation seem to be more different than similar.     

Concurrent validity of Holland's theory for non-college-degreed working women

This study, using the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) and the Self-Directed Search (SDS), explored the concurrent validity of Holland's theory for employed non-college-degreed women. The VPI and SDS were administered to 114 women workers in occupational environments consistent with Holland's vocational environments. The results revealed that three scales of the VPI and five scales of the SDS successfully differentiated the occupational groups consistent with Holland's theoretical notions. In general, the findings lend some support to the concurrent validity of Holland's theory for employed non-college-degreed women.