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An examination of the relation between vocational identity, consistency, and differentiation
Abstract
This study examines the theorized relation between vocational identity, and the concepts of consistency and differentiation (Holland 1985). A total of 211 male and 353 female academically superior high school juniors participated. Measures of vocational identity were computed using the Vocational Identity scale of the My Vocational Situation. Multiple measures of consistency and differentiation were computed by using the interest scores obtained from the Self-Directed Search. Correlation techniques were used to examine the relation between the three constructs. The results suggested that vocational identity was not related to consistency or differentiation. The findings were discussed in terms of their implications for Holland's theory and for counseling.
... Research also shows that the degree of vocational identity has positive connections to more fundamental aspects in career decision-making like emotional stability or progress in decision-making . Other research shows that vocational identity is also closely related to career decidedness which led some researches to conclude that it might be just another measure for the same basic construct (e.g., Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992). Thus, vocational identity seems to be a measure related to the career choice readiness process domain and therefore belongs to another domain than the other secondary constructs. ...
... This result gives further ground for the suggestion that Holland's vocational identity scale might be a measure of career decidedness (cf. Leung et al., 1992). ...
... Some previous studies did not find these relations. For example, other studies found that differentiation does not show significant positive correlations with career decidedness (Alvi, Khan, & Kirkwood, 1990) or vocational identity (Leung et al., 1992) and that congruence is not positively related to career maturity Ohler, Levinson, & Hays, 1996), career decidedness or vocational identity (Leung, 1998). ...
... Consequently, due to better decisions, they also achieve better career outcomes, such as satisfaction and work achievement. Interest profile differentiation is defined as the difference between the dominant interest type and other interest types (Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992), and is expressed by various measures. Traditionally, the measure of differentiation is calculated by subtracting the lowest scoring from the highest scoring of the six interest types, as proposed by Holland (1968). ...
... Additionally, when other career development indicators were taken into consideration, the relationship between differentiation, consistency, and career maturity remained unconfirmed. Leung et al. (1992) found that vocational identity is not related to the differentiation and consistency of vocational interests. Nauta and Kahn (2007) found no relationship between differentiation and self-efficacy in career decision making, nor did they find a relationship between self-efficacy and consistency of vocational interests in a sample of college students. ...
... Therefore, the findings do not support Holland's (1985) assumption that consistency serves as an indicator of career maturity. Our results are in line with previous findings that also found no correlation between consistency and career maturity (Guthrie & Herman, 1982;Ohler et al., 1996;Šverko et al., 2015), or between other constructs related to career maturity, such as vocational identity (Leung et al., 1992), and career choice readiness (Hirschi & Läge, 2007). We also observed very weak positive correlations between career maturity and profile elevation. ...
This book is the product of a series of reflections by career counseling and guidance specialists on a question central to society: "How can career and life design interventions contribute to fair and sustainable development and to the implementation of decent work all over the world? ". This question was formulated by Professor J. Guichard, the director of the UNESCO Chair in Lifelong Guidance and counseling at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. The researchers involved in this Chair’s activities proposed answers which form the chapters of this book. These reflections emphasize the need to focus on the study and implementation of certain central psychological processes which can enable individuals to face the main challenges of our society. The contributions also propose new avenues of intervention for career counseling and guidance. The entire book is the bedrock of a program of research and interventions to be implemented in order that the field of career counseling and guidance plays a key role for individuals who must design their lives in a rapidly changing, and ever more complex context. This book is therefore a major scientific contribution and marks a turning point for researchers and practitioners in career counseling and guidance, and for all professionals who support the self-construction of individuals in the 21st century.
The authors draw on a diverse range of disciplines and research traditions and offer readers a rich array of insights, helping them reflect on how career guidance can be mobilised to serve citizens in a world that is increasingly challenged by complex, seemingly intractable problems. A central, crosscutting concern is the ways in which career guidance can foster well-being by facilitating access to meaningful and fulfilling work in contexts that promote equity, social justice, and dignity for all.”
Prof. Ronald G. Sultana, Director, Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research, University of Malta.
"The primary strengths.....are the authors' capacity to provide forward thinking perspectives on the important issue of sustainable lifelong interventions and career design in its broadest sense. The volume offers depth in a way of thinking that is pertinent to the 21st century and provokes both an in interest in the further study of this domain as well as providing tools and references for novice and experienced researchers and professionals."
Prof. Maurice Taylor, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Canada
... Consequently, due to better decisions, they also achieve better career outcomes, such as satisfaction and work achievement. Interest profile differentiation is defined as the difference between the dominant interest type and other interest types (Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992), and is expressed by various measures. Traditionally, the measure of differentiation is calculated by subtracting the lowest scoring from the highest scoring of the six interest types, as proposed by Holland (1968). ...
... Additionally, when other career development indicators were taken into consideration, the relationship between differentiation, consistency, and career maturity remained unconfirmed. Leung et al. (1992) found that vocational identity is not related to the differentiation and consistency of vocational interests. Nauta and Kahn (2007) found no relationship between differentiation and self-efficacy in career decision making, nor did they find a relationship between self-efficacy and consistency of vocational interests in a sample of college students. ...
... Therefore, the findings do not support Holland's (1985) assumption that consistency serves as an indicator of career maturity. Our results are in line with previous findings that also found no correlation between consistency and career maturity (Guthrie & Herman, 1982;Ohler et al., 1996;Šverko et al., 2015), or between other constructs related to career maturity, such as vocational identity (Leung et al., 1992), and career choice readiness (Hirschi & Läge, 2007). We also observed very weak positive correlations between career maturity and profile elevation. ...
Decent work is defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as work that enables an individual to satisfy vital needs as well as needs for self-fulfillment and identity. This chapter emphasizes that for some young people, decent work corresponds to work whose main purpose is to contribute to the sustainability of society and the environment. A case of young graduates wishing to work in the “Social and Solidarity Economy” is presented with the results of a qualitative research study. These results reveal the importance of a set of prosocial attitudes among young people as being associated with the main purpose they wish to give to their work. On the basis of these observations, two sets of career counseling interventions are envisioned to help young people who seek a professional life that contributes to a human-sustainable society.
... Consequently, due to better decisions, they also achieve better career outcomes, such as satisfaction and work achievement. Interest profile differentiation is defined as the difference between the dominant interest type and other interest types (Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992), and is expressed by various measures. Traditionally, the measure of differentiation is calculated by subtracting the lowest scoring from the highest scoring of the six interest types, as proposed by Holland (1968). ...
... Additionally, when other career development indicators were taken into consideration, the relationship between differentiation, consistency, and career maturity remained unconfirmed. Leung et al. (1992) found that vocational identity is not related to the differentiation and consistency of vocational interests. Nauta and Kahn (2007) found no relationship between differentiation and self-efficacy in career decision making, nor did they find a relationship between self-efficacy and consistency of vocational interests in a sample of college students. ...
... Therefore, the findings do not support Holland's (1985) assumption that consistency serves as an indicator of career maturity. Our results are in line with previous findings that also found no correlation between consistency and career maturity (Guthrie & Herman, 1982;Ohler et al., 1996;Šverko et al., 2015), or between other constructs related to career maturity, such as vocational identity (Leung et al., 1992), and career choice readiness (Hirschi & Läge, 2007). We also observed very weak positive correlations between career maturity and profile elevation. ...
Globalization of the economy and changes in labor markets have resulted in a loss of references for people having to face up to new professional challenges and changes which are sometimes brutal. Some people seek more security, satisfying work and better futures outside of their countries of origin, so decide to migrate and often encounter obstacles as well as experience uncertainty. The objective of this chapter is to underline the usefulness of three types of life and career counseling interviews to help the young migrants in their search for decent work and better living conditions. Migrant young people from Southern to industrialized countries are particularly exposed to issues of professional inclusion, with their case chosen as illustration to emphasize the ways such interventions can be used by career counselors. The situation of migration is conceived globally, from the departure to installation in a receiving country. These three methods for life and career designing are presented and exemplified at the different steps of the process: the “meaning of life” interview, “explanation interview” and “Life and career design dialogues” (LCDD). The chapter introduces the main characteristics of each method and underlines the ways they may be implemented in regard to both the global purposes of the migrant young people and specificities of the situation for each method within the migration process. These interviews methods are compared and discussed in the concluding section.
... Consequently, due to better decisions, they also achieve better career outcomes, such as satisfaction and work achievement. Interest profile differentiation is defined as the difference between the dominant interest type and other interest types (Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992), and is expressed by various measures. Traditionally, the measure of differentiation is calculated by subtracting the lowest scoring from the highest scoring of the six interest types, as proposed by Holland (1968). ...
... Additionally, when other career development indicators were taken into consideration, the relationship between differentiation, consistency, and career maturity remained unconfirmed. Leung et al. (1992) found that vocational identity is not related to the differentiation and consistency of vocational interests. Nauta and Kahn (2007) found no relationship between differentiation and self-efficacy in career decision making, nor did they find a relationship between self-efficacy and consistency of vocational interests in a sample of college students. ...
... Therefore, the findings do not support Holland's (1985) assumption that consistency serves as an indicator of career maturity. Our results are in line with previous findings that also found no correlation between consistency and career maturity (Guthie & Herman, 1982;Ohler et al., 1996;Šverko et al. 2015), or between other constructs related to career maturity, such as vocational identity (Leung et al., 1992), and career choice readiness (Hirschi &Läge, 2007). ...
Career maturity is a multidimensional construct that represents an individual’s ability to cope with career construction tasks during a particular period of life. In adolescence, a simple indicator of career maturity is the existence of a clear career choice and a commitment to a specific career. Holland’s theory proposed that differentiation and consistency of vocational interests also reflect career maturity, as individuals with differentiated and consistent interests have fewer difficulties in career decision-making and are therefore more likely to express high career maturity. However, the majority of studies have found very weak or negligible correlations between career maturity and differentiation, or between career maturity and consistency of interests. In this study, along with traditional measures of differentiation and consisteny, we used newmeasures derived from the complete RIASEC profile of vocational interests based on the cosine function. Therefore, in this study we explored the relations between career maturity and three career-development constructs—differentiation, consistency of interests, and profile elevation—using both traditional and new measures. We assessed a sample of 568 adolescents in the final year of secondary school (age 17–18) with the Personal Globe Inventory, the Career Choice Clarity Scale, and the Student Career Construction Inventory through an online testing platform. Our results indicate generally low and unsubstantial correlations between various measures of career maturity and measures of differentiation, as well as low correlations between career maturity and consistency. Correlations between measures of career maturity and profile elevation are also low. The results of this study suggest that Holland’s secondary constructs are unrelated to measures of career maturity.
... Holland (1985a) theorized that a relationship exists between differentiation and vocational identity. Using several measures of both differentiation and vocational identity Leung, Conoley, Scheel, and Sonnenberg (1992) found that differentiation and vocational identity were not related in a sample of 564 high school juniors. Leung et al. (1992) distinguished between high and low undifferentiated profiles based on Swanson and Hansen's (1986) recommendation and also found no significant correlations with vocational identity. ...
... Using several measures of both differentiation and vocational identity Leung, Conoley, Scheel, and Sonnenberg (1992) found that differentiation and vocational identity were not related in a sample of 564 high school juniors. Leung et al. (1992) distinguished between high and low undifferentiated profiles based on Swanson and Hansen's (1986) recommendation and also found no significant correlations with vocational identity. Leung et al. (1992) recommended that both differentiation and vocational identity continue to be measured separately in future research. ...
... Leung et al. (1992) distinguished between high and low undifferentiated profiles based on Swanson and Hansen's (1986) recommendation and also found no significant correlations with vocational identity. Leung et al. (1992) recommended that both differentiation and vocational identity continue to be measured separately in future research. Pusateri (1995) found significant relationships between vocational identity, differentiation and profile elevation. ...
... Some studies found no significant association between differentiation and vocational identity. Leung, Conoley, Scheel, and Sonnenberg (1992) examined the theorised relationship between vocational identity and differentiation with a sample of 464 academically superior high school students, and found no association between the two constructs. Gottfredson and Jones (1993) correlated differentiation and vocational identity with 250 female and 495 male Navy recruits. ...
... The researchers emphasised that the interpretation of students' vocational interests can be facilitated by using differentiation and profile elevation scores together (Bullock & Reardon, 2005; Gottfredson & Jones, 1993). Several important studies examined profile elevation using samples with homogenous characteristics such as high achievers in high school (Leung et al., 1992), gender specific groups (Gottfredson & Jones, 1993), and individuals with undifferentiated profiles (e.g., Bullock & Reardon, 2005; Gottfredson & Jones, 1993). The implications of these studies would be more applicable to the particular groups under study. ...
... Therefore, an examination of the interaction between these variables would be a desirable way to understand the concomitant relationship between differentiation and profile elevation on the one hand and vocational identity on the other. Some previous studies have restricted the analysis of the three concepts of differentiation, vocational identify, and profile elevation (e.g., Hirschi & Lage, 2007; Gottfredson & Jones, 1993; Leung et al., 1992) to pairwise comparisons. That is, associations between two concepts among three at a time were considered. ...
This study examines the varying relationships between vocational identity and differentiation of vocational interests while taking into account levels of profile elevation as the moderator. The participants were 130 high school students who attended a vocational guidance programme at a youth counselling centre in Korea. The relationship between differentiation and vocational identity was found to be weak positive. Differentiation appeared to be an indicator of vocational identity for students with low and medium profile elevation, but not for those with high profile elevation. The results are compared to previous findings and the implications for Holland's theory and vocational guidance and counselling are discussed.
... Research also shows that the degree of vocational identity has positive connections to more fundamental aspects in career decision-making like emotional stability or progress in decision-making (Holland, Johnston, & Asama, 1993). Other research shows that vocational identity is also closely related to career decidedness, which led some researchers to conclude that it might be just another measure for the same basic construct (e.g., Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992). Thus, vocational identity seems to be a measure related to the career-choice readiness process domain and, therefore, belongs to another domain than the other secondary constructs. ...
... This result gives further support to the suggestion that Holland's vocational identity scale might be a measure of career decidedness (cf. Leung et al., 1992). ...
... Some previous studies did not find these relations. For example, other studies found that differentiation does not show significant positive correlations with career decidedness (Alvi, Khan, & Kirkwood, 1990) or vocational identity (Leung et al., 1992) and that congruence is not positively related to career maturity (Healy & Mourton, 1983;Ohler, Levinson, & Hays, 1996), career decidedness (Camp & Chartrand, 1992) or vocational identity (Leung, 1998). Contrary to these findings, in our study especially vocational identity and career decidedness showed significant correlations to differentiation, congruence, and coherence. ...
This study examined the relationship between the secondary constructs of Holland's (1997) theory of vocational interests and career choice readiness (career maturity) attitudes with 358 Swiss secondary students. The hypothesis was tested that the secondary constructs consistency, coherence, differentiation, and congruence are measures for the degree of vocational interest development. Thus, they should belong to the content domain in career choice readiness and should show meaningful relations to career-choice readiness attitudes. The hypothesis was confirmed for congruence, coherence, and differentiation. Interest-profile consistency showed no relation to career-choice readiness attitudes. Vocational identity emerged as a direct measure for career-choice readiness attitudes. Realism of career aspirations was related to career-choice readiness attitudes and coherence of career aspirations. Profile elevation was positively connected to more career planning and career exploration. Differences between gender, ethnicity, and school-types are presented. Implications for career counseling and assessment practice are discussed.
... On the one hand, the study by Holland (1997) showed a positive cumulative effect of these two factors on the predictability of professional careers. On the other hand, studies by Villwock, Schnitzen, and Carbonary (1976) and Leung, Conoley, Scheel, and Sonnenberg (1992) did not confirm these relations. These conflicting results led researchers to find another independent variable that would hold more promise in prediction work congruence. ...
This methodologically sound psychometric tool has been handed to Ecuadorian psychologists and teachers as a guide in the career counselling field. The tool will have a significant impact on the democratization of youth, assisting them to make well-targeted choices when planning their education and career. The authors’ study may be viewed as pioneering work, due to its consideration of the significant cultural and geographic regional differentiation among graduates from the Pacific coast, the Andes, the Amazon rainforest and the Galapagos Islands. Reaching to the classics of literature on the subject (primarily Holland, Super, Prediger and Strong), the authors have performed a momentous work, which is the construction of a psychometric tool that will be helpful in diagnosing career interests in the entire population of Ecuadorian youth. Worth additional acknowledgement are the high reliability indicators of the career interests questionnaire conducted on a representative and large study group, as well as the defined psychometric accuracy of the scale. This publication makes a civilizational quantum leap in the education of Ecuadorian youth, guaranteeing them a career choice that corresponds to their interests and ambitions. This pioneering publication on the Polish and world markets confirms the fact that Polish psychologists have the capability to „export” the psychometric school of thought to the Latin American region, with all of the scientific, social and humanitarian consequences involved.
... Predstavlja kristalizaciju interesa, odnosno jasnu usmjerenost pojedinca prema samo nekim profesionalnim aktivnostima. Ta distinktivnost profila izražava se razlikama između dominantnoga tipa interesa i drugih tipova interesa (Leung, Conoley, Scheel i Sonnenberg, 1992), za što se rabi više mjera (indeksa). Holland je (1985) pretpostavio da će pojedinci diferenciranijih profila interesa jasno znati što im se sviđa, a što ne, te da će zato moći donijeti bolje profesionalne odluke iz kojih će uslijediti bolji profesionalni ishodi (npr. ...
Holland postulated that interests should become more differentiated and more consistent as career maturity increases, but previous studies provided ambiguous results on relations between these constructs. This paper presents two studies conducted on samples of students in higher grades of Croatian elementary schools which were 10 to 15 years old (Nstudy 1 = 522; Nstudy 2 = 497). The first study was conducted online and Pictorial and Descriptive Interest Inventory (PDII) and Test of Occupational Knowledge (TOK) were applied. The second study was based on a paper and pencil assessment and Occupational Preference Scale OPS-96 and TOK were used. Both studies showed coherent results. Career maturity systematically increased with the age of respondents and female students demonstrated a higher level of career maturity. Differentiation and consistency of interest did not increase with age, while girls expressed a higher level of differentiation and consistency than boys. Career maturity correlated weakly and positively with interest differentiation, but not with consistency. It was concluded that differentiation and consistency should not be considered as measures of career maturity, and it is recommended that specific career maturity measures are used in career counselling of elementary school students. © 2016, Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar. All rights reserved.
... Holland, Savickas, and others (Armstrong and Vogel, 2009;Becker and Carper, 1956;Leung, Conoley, Scheel, and Sonnenberg, 1992;Meijers, 1998;Vondracek and Skorikov, 1997) agree that vocational interests represent a significant aspect of the self at work, or in other words, a vocational identity. A conceptual model of vocational interests as being an aspect of vocational identity has been recurrently asserted and supported in the empirical literature (Armstrong and Vogel, 2009;Hazari, Sonnert, Sadler, and Shanahan, 2010;Vondracek and Skorikov, 1997). ...
... The scale measures the degree of occupational commitment (clarity and stability of occupational preferences, as described by the authors) but does not differentiate between foreclosed occupational commitments and commitments based on exploration and assessment of possible alternatives, the process shown to be of major importance in career development (Blustein, Pauling, DeMania, & Faye, 1994;Grotevant & Cooper, 1986). The absence of the developmental dimension in the construct of identity measured by MVS may explain why, for example, contrary to expectations, vocational identity does not relate to either consistency or differentiation of occupational interests (Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992). These processes obviously have opposite relations to the two types of commitment described earlier. ...
This article examines age-related trends in general ideological identity status and identity in the domains of vocation, religion, lifestyle, and politics during early adolescence and relationships between adolescent vocational identity and identities in the other domains. A cross-sectional study of 1,099 high school students in Grades 7 through 12 revealed a developmental progression in adolescent vocational identity characterized by an increase in the proportion of students classified as identity achieved and moratorium and a decrease in the proportion of students classified as identity diffused and foreclosed. Statuses in the general ideological, religious, lifestyle, and political identity domains appeared to be related to, but clearly lagged behind, identity status development in the domain of vocation. No sex differences were found in the age-related trends in vocational identity status and its relationships with the other identity domains. The results are interpreted as indicative of the leading role of vocational development in adolescent identity formation. Applicability of the construct of vocational identity status to career assessment is discussed.
... Solberg, Good, Fischer, Brown, and Nord (1995) found a strong correlation between vocational identity and career self-efficacy (.54) and vocational identity and career decision-making self-efficacy (.61). However , some researchers described vocational identity as "fiizzy" (Brisbin & Savickas, 1994; Brown & Lent, 2000; Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992; Lewis & Savickas, 1995; Savickas, 1985; Schulenberg, Vondracek, & Kim, 1993; Skorikov & Vondracek, 1998; Vondracek, 1991 Vondracek, ,1992 Vondracek, ,1995 Vondracek & Skorikov, 1997). However, given the internal consistency in our study (.87), we found the MVS to be an efficacious instrument. ...
Self-efficacy, a core construct of Bandura's social cognitive theory, has wide appeal and usefulness in the health and social sciences. Self-efficacy is frequently used across disciplines to assess an individual's beliefs about her likelihood to engage in a certain behavior. Because of the behavioral-change approaches common in rehabilitation counseling interventions, self-efficacy is an important construct to operationalize, measure, and apply for best research and clinical outcomes. Several factors contribute to inaccurate or inappropriate assessment, measurement, interpretation, and application of this important construct; numerous scales used to measure efficacy, various contexts, related constructs, and moderating effects of efficacy make best use of efficacy measurement and application difficult. This article outlines the theory of self-efficacy, distinguishes its closely related constructs, summarizes common moderating effects, and provides important considerations for clinical practice and research. (Contains 2 tables.)
... Other variables studied in relation to interest differentiation measured by the SII and other instruments included vocational stability (Holland, 1968;Rose & Elton, 1982;Villwock, Schnitzen, & Carbonari, 1976). vocational identity (Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992), occupational level (Spokane & Walsh, 1978), career decidedness (Alvi, Khan, & Kirkwood, 1990;Erwin, 1987;Holland, Gottfredson, & Nafziger, 1975;Lowe, 1981;Lunneborg, 1975), occupational knowledge and information-seeking behavior (Miller, 1982), and job satisfaction (Peiser & Meir, 1978;Wiggins, Lederer, Salkowe, & Rys, 1983). ...
242 female and 167 male university freshmen completed the Strong Interest Inventory (SII). At 12-yr follow-up, Ss completed a career pattern questionnaire. A differentiation index was computed for each S. No relationship was found between SII profile flatness and vocational achievement. Findings suggest greater difficulty in selecting a major and less career certainty during college for Ss with less differentiated freshmen-year interest on the SII. Most Ss felt certain about their career choice at follow-up. More frequent job changes were evident for Ss with undifferentiated Occupational subscale scores on the SII. Data show that males with better-defined freshman-year interests on the General Occupational Themes subscale of the SII reported greater dissatisfaction with careers; males with flatter fresh man-year profiles more likely reported being satisfied with their jobs at follow-up. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... Correlates of interest differentiation have been examined for some years but Holland concluded that "differentiation continues to be weak construct" (Holland, 1997, p. 148). Indeed, there are several studies which question the utility of the differentiation construct by failing to find, for example, significant relations to psychological maladjustment (Buboltz & Woller, 1998), vocational identity (Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992), career maturity (Miner, Osborne, & Jaeger, 1997), career decidedness (Lowe, 1981), or job stability and supervisor's evaluation (Meir, Esformes, & Friedland, 1994). ...
Interest differentiation and elevation are supposed to provide important information about a person’s state of interest development, yet little is known about their development and criterion validity. The present study explored these constructs among a group of Swiss adolescents. Study 1 applied a cross-sectional design with 210 students in 11th grade. Study 2 applied a 1-year longitudinal design with 289 students in 7th to 8th grade. Gender, personality traits, and career exploration were significant predictors of state and development of differentiation and elevation. Increase in differentiation predicted increase in career decidedness above traits. Elevation could not predict increase in exploration behavior over traits. The results provide support for differentiation and elevation as important aspects of adolescents’ vocational interests.
... Generally, higher levels of consistency, differentiation and congruence are proposed to indicate more self-clarity and identity and to positively relate to stability in career development (Holland, 1997). Although not completely consistent, existing research (Hirschi & Läge, 2007;Leung, et al., 1992;Nauta & Kahn, 2007;Vondracek & Skorikov, 1997) often showed significant relations between those constructs and Holland's model of identity commitment. Based on those findings it was hypothesized that the interest structure variables -differentiation, coherence, elevation, and congruence -would significantly differentiate among students in Marcia's (1980) four vocational identity statuses, controlling for age, school-track, gender, and nationality. ...
Vocational identity is one core component of identity construction in adolescence. The current study investigated whether vocational interest structure in terms of differentiation, coherence, elevation, and interest–aspiration congruence would differentiate among students in vocational identity achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, and diffusion. Swiss students at the beginning of eighth grade (N = 341) participated in the study. Groups were created using cluster analysis based on the dimensions of career exploration and career commitment, and group differences were explored with discriminant analysis. Controlling for sociodemographic variables, higher interest differentiation and elevation distinguished students in achievement/moratorium from those in diffusion. More interest elevation differentiated moratorium from foreclosure.
... Environmental identity was linked to job satisfaction in one study (Perdue, Reardon, & Peterson, 2007) but otherwise has received little empirical attention. A puzzling finding is that although vocational identity was conceptualized by Holland (1985Holland ( , 1997c as leading to similar outcomes as consistency and differentiation, some research (Leung, Conoley, Scheel, & Sonnenberg, 1992) has found no association between vocational identity and the consistency and differentiation of RIASEC profiles. ...
This article celebrates the 50th anniversary of the introduction of John L. Holland’s (1959) theory of vocational personalities and work environments by describing the theory’s development and evolution, its instrumentation, and its current status. Hallmarks of Holland’s theory are its empirical testability and its user-friendliness. By constructing measures for operationalizing the theory’s constructs, Holland and his colleagues helped ensure that the theory could be implemented in practice on a widespread basis. Empirical data offer considerable support for the existence of Holland’s RIASEC types and their ordering among persons and environments. Although Holland’s congruence hypotheses have received empirical support, congruence appears to have modest predictive power. Mixed support exists for Holland’s hypotheses involving the secondary constructs of differentiation, consistency, and vocational identity. Evidence of the continued impact of Holland’s theory on the field of counseling psychology, particularly in the area of interest assessment, can be seen from its frequent implementation in practice and its use by scholars. Ideas for future research and practice using Holland’s theory are suggested.
Sklad interesa pojedinca i radne okoline (kongruentnost) temelj je profesionalnog savjetovanja. Prema Hollandovoj teoriji izbora zanimanja, kongruentnost bi trebala voditi pozitivnim profesionalnim ishodima, poput zadovoljstva na poslu, radne uspješnosti i motivacije za rad. Dosadašnja istraživanja kongruentnosti i ishoda kao rezultat dobila su vrlo niske povezanosti kongruentnosti i zadovoljstva poslom. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati odnos kongruentnosti zaposlenika i radne dobrobiti, pri čemu je proširen raspon kriterija na nekoliko mjera radne dobrobiti: radnu angažiranost, afektivnu dobrobit, zadovoljstvo poslom i zadovoljstvo životom. Dodatan problem istraživanja bio je ispitati moderatorsku ulogu strukture interesa u odnosu kongruentnosti i radne dobrobiti. Sudionici u istraživanju bili su zaposleni građani iz raznih hrvatskih tvrtki koji rade više od 30 sati svaki tjedan (N = 526). Sklad interesa zaposlenika i njihove radne okoline računan je putem RIASEC rezultata na Upitniku profesionalnih interesa i RIASEC procjena radnih okolina. Rezultati su pokazali da je kongruentnost, kada je operacionalizirana suvremenim indeksima, nisko pozitivno povezana s energičnosti i predanosti na poslu kao subskalama radne angažiranosti te s doživljavanjem ugodnih emocija na poslu. Pri tome se mjera kongruentnosti temeljena na Euklidskoj distanci pokazala najboljom operacionalizacijom konstrukta. Mjere strukture interesa uglavnom se nisu se pokazale značajnim moderatorom odnosa kongruentnosti i radne dobrobiti. Iznimka je moderatorska uloga konzistentnosti interesa koja djeluje na način da je odnos kongruentnosti i zadovoljstva životom snažniji za pojedince koji imaju nekonzistentne profile interesa. Ključne riječi: kongruentnost interesa i radne okoline, radna dobrobit, diferenciranost i konzistentnost profesionalnih interesa, visina profila
Tested hypothesis derived from Holland's (1997) theory of vocational choice: relations between combination of levels personality dimensions (Consistency, and Differentiation) and three work related personal variables (Self-Control, Acquiescence and Pragmatism). Holland's Vocational Preference Inventory -VPI (Polish version 1998 by Nosal, Piskorz i Świątnicki) was used to identify consistent-inconsistent and differentiated-undifferentiated vocational patterns. Measures of Self-Control and Acquiescence were also computed using the VPI. Wojciszke’s The Pragmatism Scale (derived in part from the Self-Monitoring Scale and based on M. Snyder's -1974, 1979 - theory of the pragmatic and principled selves.) was used to identify level of Pragmatism. Ss were 100 person, 66 women and 34 men, ages 23 do 61 years (M = 34,86, SD = 10,88) with higher level of education. They represented conventional and social types of vocation. Ss' scores on VPI inventory using cluster analysis were grouped into three combinations of personality profiles - Consistent/Differentiated, Inconsistent/Undifferentiated, and Inconsistent/Undifferentiated. By using clusters as independent variables was found that Inconsistent/Undifferentiated profiles had the lowest Acquiescence scores and Consistent/Differentiated had the lowest Self-Control scores. Inconsistent/Differentiated profiles were associated with the highest Pragmatism.
Vocational identity develops through the interplay between process and content dimensions. A three-wave longitudinal study investigated how identity process dimensions (in-breadth exploration, in-depth exploration, commitment making, identification with commitment, self-doubt, flexibility) and content dimensions represented by career goals (intrinsic goals, extrinsic goals) are interconnected across time. Participants were 327 full-time college students in South Korea at Time 1, 253 at Time 2, and 227 at Time 3. They rated values associated with their current career goal and completed the Vocational Identity Status Assessment 3 times with a 6-month interval. The autoregressive cross-lagged path analysis found positive reciprocal associations between intrinsic career goals and identification with commitment. Furthermore, intrinsic career goals positively predicted in-depth exploration, and self-doubt negatively predicted intrinsic career goals. These findings support the reciprocal relationships between vocational identity process and career goals in general, and between intrinsic career goals and the commitment dimension of identity more specifically.
Esta publicación busca llenar la brecha y apoyar a las personas que brindan orientación a jóvenes, para que descubran sus pasiones y que los inspiren en sus carreras en base a información vocacional y profesional actual y válida. El presente texto empata con la demanda educativa contemporánea y demanda de servicios de orientación vocacional y profesional, y de esa manera apoyar en la planeación del mejor camino hacia el trabajo ideal para cada persona. Para cumplir estos objetivos, se ha tomado en cuenta los complejos mecanismos y
limitaciones; la presente introducción resalta algunos de los asuntos asociados con su contexto. Este libro aspira a brindar un contexto a la nueva herramienta de evaluación: Inventarios de Preferenciales Profesionales de Jóvenes en Ecuador (IPPJ) con algunos consejos necesarios en su aplicación y para brindar conocimientos declarativos útiles respondiendo a las preguntas de qué, dónde, cuándo y cómo. La herramienta IPPJ es una guía para el asesoramiento de personas jóvenes, sobre la toma de decisiones con respecto a su futuro profesional de manera eficiente y exitosa dentro del contexto socioeconómico actual del Ecuador. La mayor parte de herramientas que se usan con frecuencia en este campo han sido desarrolladas en los Estados Unidos o en Europa, lo que hace que su aplicación sea limitada o cuestionable al ser aplicada en contextos socioculturales distintos a los de su origen. Es la primera vez que se realiza un proyecto de investigación sobre las referencias vocacionales y profesionales, con una muestra significativa de jóvenes en el Ecuador. Esto ha sido posible
gracias a participación de más de cuatro mil personas entre estudiantes y un grupo de profesionales en psicología, y en asesoramiento vocacional y profesional, quienes participaron
en la construcción de la evaluación, en el estudio piloto, en el estudio principal, en la reevaluación y en el estudio de normalización. El proyecto es el resultado del exitoso esfuerzo del equipo de la Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación a través del Sistema Nacional de Nivelación y Admisión (SNNA), el Ministerio de Educación, VVOB y un equipo de 25 profesionales de la psicología y del asesoramiento vocacional y profesional. La investigación y publicación se realizó durante el periodo de la beca SENESCYT 2015/2016 dentro del programa Prometeo por su autor y con el apoyo financiero de VVOB y el Ministerio de Educación.
Este manual describe algunos de los retos que enfrentan la juventud en
Ecuador en la transición de los estudios al mundo del trabajo, explicando
el papel de las nociones psicosociales que influyen en la toma de decisiones
tales como la personalidad, las opciones vocacionales y aquellas
profesiones que ofertan las instituciones de educación superior.
El primer capítulo del presente documento aborda las decisiones de carrera
y la identidad vocacional de la juventud. A su vez, describe la especificidad
de la Orientación Vocacional y Profesional en Ecuador y el impacto
de los factores culturales en la práctica de la orientación.
El segundo capítulo expone los supuestos teóricos del modelo de Holland
como punto de partida para comprender los aspectos prácticos de
la aplicación de la herramienta IPPJ. A su vez, indaga cómo profundizar
y desarrollar el análisis de los intereses vocacionales con el uso de los indicadores2
que posee el cuestionario de aplicación, destacando las posibles
vías metodológicas para una interpretación más profunda e integral
de los perfiles que aporta el IPPJ. En este capítulo se establece la
importancia de analizar: (1) Diferenciación, (2) Intensidad, (3) Consistencia,
y (4) Congruencia, como condiciones indispensables a considerar
durante un proceso de Orientación Vocacional y Profesional eficiente.
Por último, el tercer capítulo pone énfasis en los aspectos operativos de
la aplicación del IPPJ, respondiendo a preguntas como: ¿A quién está dirigido
el IPPJ?; ¿Cómo utilizar el IPPJ? (procedimiento de aplicación);
¿Cómo calcular los resultados?
The book reports an attempt to develop and validate a research instrument (Youth Professional Interest Questionnaire) capable of measuring the six occupational interests of students - managerial, methodological, social, innovative, scientific and artistic. A conceptual base for the instrument were works of Holland, Gardner, and Strelau. The item pool collected by four career counselors contained 150 statements that were answered using 5-point Likert scale with response that ranged from 1 –to 5. The YPIQ was administered to three samples of 600 Polish primary, secondary and high school students (total 1800), with an age of 14-19. All samples consisted of 50% girls and 50% boys. Principal components factor analysis with promax rotation, was run on the first sample. Six criteria were considered in determining the number of components to rotate: the number of components with eigenvalues 1.0, the scree test, the percentage of variance accounted by each component, the percentage of total variance accounted for, the number of interpretable components, and the Monte Carlo Analysis. Strong support appeared for the construct validity showing six components that paralleled the six scales in the inventory. A confirmatory factor analysis was run to test the structure of YPIQ. The model contained six latent variables (corresponding to scales) and allowed for correlated factors and uncorrelated residuals. The fit indices were acceptable. Results of analysis which was run on the second sample indicated that the final version of instrument containing 60 statements exhibits satisfactory levels of convergent, discriminant and predictive validity, as well as reasonably high test-retest reliability and consistency. Results were compared to other lengthier instruments like Multidimensional Questionnaire of Preferences (Matczak et al., 2006)) and Questionnaire of Temperament (Strelau, Zawadzki, 1998) designed to measure similar dimensions. The standard scores are based on the third, random sample from the national data base. The YPIQ provides a possibility of conducting diagnostic screening of graduates from primary schools, secondary schools and high school students. The results of the questionnaire are helpful in choosing a career, directions of education, and vocational training.
This study analyzed the psychometric properties of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) in a Spanish speaking sample and then its relationships with adaptive readiness (i.e., self-regulation), career construction and adapting responses (i.e., vocational coping behaviors), and adaptation results (academic engagement, burnout, and vocational identity). The measures were completed by 577 Spanish university students. The psychometric properties of the newly translated CAAS Spanish Form included internal consistency values ranging from good to excellent for the total score and for the subscales. The results obtained through the confirmatory factor analysis verified the presence of the four CAAS dimensions: concern, control, curiosity, and confidence, which were the same factors observed in other international studies with other languages. The significant correlations obtained between the CAAS and the adaptive readiness, adapting, and adaptation measures confirmed the validity of the CAAS scores. In addition, this study tested a theoretical model of mediation between variables, adding further support to the distinction between the three dimensions leading to adaptation.
Knowledge of traumatic events and how trauma symptoms relate to social and psychological well-being continues to grow. One aspect of an individual's functioning that may be affected by exposure to traumatic events is the ability of the individual to engage in career- and work-related activities (D. H. Coursol, J. Lewis, & L. Garrity, 2001). The current study examines the relationship between trauma symptoms and the career development process of 131 college students. Results indicate a significant relationship between higher levels of trauma symptoms and higher levels of dysfunctional career thoughts and lower levels of work personality. Implications for career counselors are discussed.
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.
This study was designed to address gaps, extend previous research, and increase the interpretability of scores individuals earn on the Self-Directed Search. The study investigated the relationships among interest profile elevation, personality, and interest secondary constructs. Study participants consisted of 209 college students enrolled in an introductory career development course at a large southeastern university. The summary scores of the six domains of the Self-Directed Search (SDS) were used to measure interest profile elevation and interest secondary constructs (i.e., consistency, congruence, coherence, and two measures of differentiation). The NEO-FFI was used to measure the five factors of personality (i.e., Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness).
This study was organized by three domains: 1) Interest Profile Elevation and Personality; 2) Interest Profile Elevation and Interest Secondary Constructs; and 3) Interest Secondary Constructs and Personality. In the first domain, interest profile elevation was significantly related to Extroversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness. The latter two also predicted significant variance in interest profile elevation demonstrated in significant linear and stepwise regressions. The MANOVA, conducted in this domain, was statistically significant and subsequent pair-wise comparisons showed that the highest quartile of Openness was significantly different from the other three quartiles in relation to interest profile elevation. The orthogonal contrasts demonstrated that Openness had a linear and quadratic relationship with interest profile elevation. Conscientiousness was shown to have a significant quadratic relationship with interest profile elevation.
In the second domain, interest profile elevation was significantly related to differentiation high-low, differentiation Iachan, and consistency. These three constructs also accounted for significant variance in interest profile elevation as demonstrated in significant linear and stepwise regressions. Interestingly, the two measures of differentiation were correlated with interest profile elevation in the opposite direction and appeared to account for significant but unique variance in interest profile elevation.
The third domain, interest secondary constructs and personality, was analyzed using a canonical correlation. This resulted in one significant root, labeled maturity, with differentiation high-low, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Extroversion accounting for 20% of the variance in this root. Limitations, implications for counseling, and recommendations for future research were also presented.
Reports a qualitative study of the incidence of Holland codes in three generations of one family over a 10-year time span. Results show that the stability of codes was high whether or not the codes were consistent. Compatibility indexes between family members and significant others were wide ranging. (RJM)
Reviews the literature on vocational choice, decision-making, vocational assessment, and career counseling interventions for the years 1991–1993. The 325 articles chosen for review were those that focused on pre-entry behavior for individuals, as opposed to vocational behavior after employment or from an organizational perspective. The literature is summarized in each major section, with general summary comments made about the literature at the end of the paper. General methodological concerns are delineated, and recommendations are made for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Dateien im PDF-Format. Trier, Universiẗat, Diss., 2004. Computerdatei im Fernzugriff.
This report is the first of several studies which will explore a theory of vocational choice and personal dispositions by testing some of its hypotheses. The data for the present study were obtained from two assessment studies planned primarily to predict college grades and post-college achievement; the samples for which the data were obtained have been designated as the 1958 and 1959 samples throughout the report. The scope of a theory of vocational choice has been explored by testing some of the hypotheses derived from its major formulations: the model orientation (direction of vocational choice) and its attributes, and motivation to achieve (level of vocational choice) and its attributes. In accordance with the original statement of the theory, six occupational preference scales from the vocational preference inventory (VPI) were used to estimate the personal orientations of large national samples of high school seniors of superior academic aptitude. The results show that students with different dominant personal orientations (defined by coded scales from a vocational preference inventory) have significantly different attributes, including academic aptitudes, fathers' occupations, self-concepts, extracurricular activities and interests, college majors, career choices, achievements, and parental attitudes and values. The attributes of students with a given dominant personal orientation generally correspond to the attributes hypothesized for the corresponding model orientation. The personal orientations show different degrees of susceptibility to outside influence.
We examined 13 career subscales contained in 4 measures of career indecision to determine how different measures relate to one another and how many dimensions may exist across these different instruments. Ss completed career instruments and measures of state and trait anxiety, which were included to aid in the interpretation of factors. Correlations provide some evidence of the convergent validity of the subscales. A factor analysis yielded a three-factor solution accounting for 55.9% of the variance. The first and most general factor was interpreted as a component that represented information about occupations and self. The second factor was interpreted as a more indecisive component and was positively correlated with anxiety. The third factor seemed to be an affective comfort component but failed to relate to anxiety as was expected. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Factor analyses were performed on the scale scores and items of the Career Decision Scale, My Vocational Situation, Vocational Rating Scale, and Decisional Rating Scale. Analysis of the scales revealed three factors that we named
Crystallization, Decision-Making Obstacles, and
Indecision. Five factors emerged from the analysis of the items, clarity, certainty, indecision, decision-making obstacles, and informational deficit. Only the first three factors were stable. The two factor structures were related. Crystallization comprised clarity and certainty items, and Decision-Making Obstacles comprised a more limited range of decision-making obstacles and informational-deficit items, plus additional items from the My Vocational Situation Vocational Identity scale. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Tested hypotheses about person-environment congruency, consistency, and differentiation from J. L. Holland's (1973) theory of careers. Ss were 1,878 undergraduates from 1 college and 1 university who had been given the Self-Directed Search before their freshman year followed by a satisfaction questionnaire 1 or 3 yrs later. 2 analyses were conducted. The 1st was a 3-factor multiple analysis of variance with school, sex, and congruency level as the independent variables. The 2nd was a 4-factor multiple analysis of variance with school, sex, consistency, and differentiation as independent variables. 3 college satisfaction measures were the dependent variables. Statistically significant main effects (p < .05) were found for school, sex, and congruency but not for consistency and differentiation. Results support Holland's congruency hypothesis but not the differentiation and consistency hypotheses. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
To assess the construct validity of the Vocational Identity (VI) scale of My Vocational Situation questionnaire by J. L. Holland et al (1980), 3 personality and 4 vocational measures were administered to 86 White college students and were correlated to the VI scale. Results provide evidence of both convergent and discriminant validity for the VI scale. Specific findings indicate that (1) VI is negatively related to social anxiety and intolerance of ambiguity; (2) Ss with a strong VI possess a high level of career maturity and prefer to use a rational decision-making style; (3) Ss whose vocational interests are of the investigative type tend to develop a strong VI; and (4) Ss with a well-differentiated VI are more likely to endorse the values of using special abilities, being creative and original, and exercising leadership in a job. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The authors examined a recently developed Scale of Vocational Identity (Holand, Daiger & Power, 1980b) in relation to selected personality variables from the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and preference for interest inventory feedback modes involving varying levels of counselor contact (profile only, audio tape, direct contact). Ninety-two participants took the identity scale, and a subgroup of 46 took the CPI. Within limitations, the results suggest that high identity subjects report higher levels of capacity for status and sense of well-being than low identity subjects, but no relationship was found between identity and treatment preference. The majority of subjects (regardless of level of identity) however, preferred the direct contact with counselor treatment. The results add some meaning to the concept of vocational identity but do not reveal significant attribute/treatment interactions.
The effects of a career course taught by 11 instructors (two sections each) for college students, who were undecided about a major field or career, were evaluated in a pre-post design using the Vocational Identity, Occupational Information, and Barrier scales of the My Vocational Situation (J. A. Holland, D. C. Daiger, & P. G. Power, Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1980). Large main effects were observed for the Identity and Occupational Information scales, but not for the Barriers scale. No interactions by instructor or student characteristics were found by using a simple ANOVA procedure or by using a split plot factorial design. The implications for new research and career instructors were discussed.
Five indices of differentiation for Holland's model were compared for two sets of data. Iachan's indices were most similar to each other and to the Spokane and Walsh index. It was suggested that, in general, Iachan's indices should be used as measures of differentiation. However, if differentiation within the three-letter summary code is of interest, then the Spokane and Walsh index (difference between the first and the third highest scores) would be more appropriate. In terms of the criterion of relationship with career decision, none of the indices proved to be better. Alternative explanations are offered for the lack of relationship between differentiation and career decision.
This study assessed the validity of using systematic life history information (scored biodata) to predict three vocational decision-making criteria in a sample of 200 college students: vocational decidedness and its two components, vocational identity and vocational maturity. Using multiple regression analysis, significant typologies were identified that were predictive of each of the vocational criteria. However, results indicated that the overall construct of vocational decidedness differs somewhat for males and females, in terms of both the interrelationships among the component parts and the specific life history factors that were identified as antecedents of each criterion.
Responds to D. Brown's (see record
1988-12338-001) critique of the current status of the present author's (1985) theory of careers by correcting some common misinterpretations of the theory and clarifying some misunderstandings of general theoretical matters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Evaluated the effects of strategies designed to raise the career aspirations of gifted females within the context of the Guidance Laboratory for Gifted and Talented Students; 23 gifted females and 25 gifted males in the 11th grade served as Ss. Results show that females raised their career aspirations from pre- to posttest and that boys did not, perhaps because the males already had high aspirations. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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.
This study concerns Social personality types and assesses the relationship of Holland's secondary construct of consistency to persistence in college and academic achievement. The sample consisted of 211 Social subjects who completed the Self Directed Search (SDS) as college freshmen in 1970. Evidence of persistence/nonpersistence and cumulative grade point averages were determined from college records. Hypotheses concerned the relationship of consistency to (a) termination status (persistence/nonpersistence), and (b) cumulative grade point average, for both persisters and nonpersisters. Results indicate that the relationship between consistency and termination status was significant, with high- and medium-consistency subjects persisting in college at a higher rate than low-consistency subjects. The relationship between consistency and CGPA was also significant. Results indicate that for both persisters and nonpersisters in college, subjects with higher levels of consistency achieve higher CGPAs than do subjects with lower levels of consistency. Implications of these findings for academic retention and counseling, as well as for future research, are indicated.
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.
Using students and faculty in six graduate departments, the study attempted to: (1) assess the utility of various operational definitions of constructs used in Holland's theory of vocational choice; and (2) predict satisfaction and achievement in graduate school using Holland's variables of congruence, consistency, and homogeneity. It was found, generally, that parts of the theory may not be particularly applicable to graduate school environments and, specifically, that (1) regardless of their theorized orientation, most all departments constituted primarily an intellectual environment; (2) satisfaction and achievement were unrelated; and (3) while neither congruence and consistency, nor homogeneity were predictive of graduate school outcomes, the three variables combined were indicative of satisfaction and achievement in graduate school.
In J. L. Holland's (1985, Making Vocational Choices (2nd ed.), Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall) theory of vocational choice, the construct of differentiation refers to the degree to which an individual's interests are clearly defined and is operationalized in the present study as the numerical difference between an individual's highest and lowest scores on the General Occupational Theme scales (GOT) of the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) (D. P. Campbell and J. C. Hansen, Manual for SVIB-SCII (3rd ed.), Palo Alto, CA: Stanford Univ. Press). Techniques for measuring differentiation do not account for the elevation of an interest profile; thus, subjects with strong interests (all high scores) are treated as equivalent to subjects with weak interests (all low scores). The present study examined the custom of treating all undifferentiated subjects as if they were equal, by dividing subjects into High-Score Undifferentiated (HSU) and Low-Score Undifferentiated (LSU) groups, based on the elevation of the highest GOT score. Compared to the LSU subjects, HSU subjects (a) were more likely to have SCII profiles which were internally consistent, (b) had a higher mean cumulative grade point average, (c) had a higher mean Academic Comfort score, and (d) were more likely to persist in college. These results suggest that accounting for score elevation does reveal differences between HSU and LSU subjects and that future studies should not treat undifferentiated subjects as a homogeneous group.
J. L. Holland's (1985, Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall) formulation of the new construct vocational identity did not deal with its relation to other developmental constructs in vocational psychology. The present study investigated the association of vocational identity with vocational development by administering the Vocational Identity Scale, the Medical Career Development Inventory, and the Ego Identity Scale to 143 first- and second-year college students with the same career aspiration. The results indicated that vocational identity related to both degree of vocational development and progress in egoidentity achievement. In particular, vocational identity associated most with the task of crystallizing tentative preferences and progressively less with the other tasks in the vocational development continuum. Interpretation of sex differences in the results led to recommendations for research on stability of vocational identity and the identity formation process.
This study examined the relationships between students' level of consistency in choosing a major in college and their persistence, stability, and achievement in a 5-year follow-up. In contrast to the findings of most previous studies, it was found that consistent students tend to persist in college, not to change majors, and that they have higher achievement than inconsistent students. It was suggested that the current findings, which support Holland's theory, were different from the results of previous studies because of the use of behavioral definition for consistency level (actual student major choices) rather than responses to various inventories. The significance of these findings were discussed.
This study examined by canonical variate analysis the relation between congruence, differentiation, and consistency, and academic aptitude and vocational interests for 280 women with stable vocational choices over 4 years and 327 women with unstable vocational choices over 4 years. Findings offered support for the importance of congruence in stable women; differentiation and consistency operated similarly for women with stable and unstable choices.
Holland's (Making vocational choices: A theory of careers, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1973) congruency, consistency, and differentiation terms were used as independent variables to predict job satisfaction (JS) within the scope of a single occupation, rather than on the comparison between occupations. Based on the responses of 126 registered nurses on the specially designed List of Courses in Nursing (LCN) Inventory the congruence hypothesis was confirmed, while the consistency and differentiation hypotheses were only partially supported. The hypothesis on the additive relationship among congruence, consistency, and differentiation with JS was confirmed. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Four-hundred men, classified into personality type and level on the basis of their full-time employment, completed six measures of interests and personality. These men, 25–35-years of age, also gave a brief occupational history and indicated their degree of satisfaction with their present employment in a test of Holland's theoretical statements and procedures concerning field, level, and consistency. The results indicated that the employed men (a) tended not to consistently possess the personality orientation appropriate to their jobs, (b) did not rate themselves on personality characteristics in accordance with Holland's theory, (c) tended to work at occupational levels predictable from the summation of intelligence and self-evaluation, and (d) when classified as “consistent,” using Holland's procedures, did not express greater job satisfaction or have greater job stability than individuals designated as “inconsistent.”
This study examined the effects of two different career interventions on career undecided reentry women. A total of 34 women were randomly assigned to either a Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) or a Vocational Card Sort (VCS) treatment program. The effects of treatment were assessed 3 weeks after the interventions and again 6 months later. The domains assessed included vocational needs, treatment satisfaction, career indecision, and career choice change. Statistically significant effects were found for both treatments, with the women experiencing less career indecision following the interventions. The career choice changes that were found suggested that the interventions were equally effective, and the women expressed equal satisfaction with both treatments. The results overall support the usefulness of both the SCII and VCS with reentry women. These results are discussed along with their implications for counseling practice as well as future research.
“Consistency” in Holland's theory refers to the extent to which more closely related scale types are found together in codes of the Self-Directed Search sort. This paper describes two new measures of consistency. One is based on the hexagonal model and is for use with 3-point codes. The other is based on conditional probabilities and is for use with 2-point codes.
A general class of differentiation indices is introduced for profiles of scores. Their ordinal properties and an application to Holland's classification system are examined. Comparison with other suggested indices is performed both theoretically and empirically.
My vocational situation: Description of an experimental diagnostic form for the selection of vocational assistance
- J L Holland
- D C Daiger
- P G Power
Holland, J. L., Daiger, D. C., & Power, P. G. (1980b). My vocational situation: Description of an experimental diagnostic form for the selection of vocational assistance. Palo Alto, CA: Counseling Psychologists Press.
Review of My Vocational Situation The ninth mental measurement yearbook Career indecision in re-entry and undergraduate women
- P W Lunneborg
Lunneborg, P. W. (1985). Review of My Vocational Situation. In J. V. Mitchell (Ed.), The ninth mental measurement yearbook. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. MacKinnon-Slaney, F. (1986). Career indecision in re-entry and undergraduate women. Journal of College Student Personnel, 27, 114-119.
The assessment of career decision making
- Slaney
Slaney, R. B. (1988). The assessment of career decision making. In W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Career decision making. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
My vocational situation A counselor's guide to career assessment instruments
- B W Westbrook
Westbrook, B. W. (1988). My vocational situation. In J. T. Kapes & M. M. Mastie (Eds.), A counselor's guide to career assessment instruments (2nd ed.). Virginia: National Career Development Association.
Toward making self-concept theory operational
- Super
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