Relationships Between Inventoried Interests and Inventoried Needs

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of interests, as defined by the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) scales, to psychological needs, as defined by the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (MIQ) and the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) scales. The 3 instruments were administered to a group of 279 University of Minnesota male student volunteers. A correlational analysis disclosed about one-third of the relationships between the SVIB and the two needs measures significant at the .01 level. Of the MIQ scales, Advancement, Authority, Security, Social Service, Social Status, and Working Conditions were most often related to the SVIB; while of the EPPS scales, Dominance clearly had the most numerous and the highest relationships with SVIB groups, and Order, Exhibition, Autonomy, Abasement, and Endurance also had some relationships. Although relatively low in magnitude, the results of this study tend to support 5 previously identified occupationally related personality need dimensions.