Examined the concurrent validity of Holland's theory for men and women employed in an enterprising occupation as well as the degree of personality-environment correspondence and relationships of personality type to job satisfaction. Findings suggested that within an employed sample, Holland's theory is valid for women as well as for men. (Author)

The Work Values Inventory and Self-Directed Search were used to predict retention of students in office occupation majors at Utah Valley Community College. The predictive model distinguished among students either retained (graduated, on-track, and "jobbed-out") and noncompleters. Noncompletion was correctly predicted for about 73 percent…

Concern on how interest inventories are being used in career counseling and other preventive interventions has resulted in heightened sensitivity to the impact of interest inventories and the emergence of the concept exploration validity. Various aspects of exploration validity were assessed using three different interest inventories. The…

The psychological meaning and predictive value of a person's vocational aspirations were examined by applying Holland's typology to the vocational aspirations of high school juniors (N=1,005), college juniors (N=692), employed adults (N=140), and a second sample of college students studied over a 1 year interval (N=624). The aspirational data were…

Graduating seniors in the School of Business who were in either accounting, marketing, or behavioral studies and were seeking a career consistent with their area's concentration were compared for their scores on the Self-Directed Search. The accounting group was consistently differentiated from the other group. (Author)

Tests Holland's assertion that stability of vocational choice can be predicted from: (a) congruence of personality with chosen career; (b) differentiation of personality; and (c) internal consistency of personality characteristics. The relationship of three constructs to stability of choice of college major was studied among 167 university…

Describes correlational analyses between Self-Directed Search (SDS) and the second edition of the Occupational Aptitude Survey and Interest Schedule (OASIS-2). Scales generally correlate significantly at an acceptable level for establishing criterion-related validity. Implications for practitioners using the OASIS-2 are discussed. Includes 26…

Several Predictors of occupational choice derived from a theory of careers were examined. Hypotheses that a person's competencies, activities, self-estimates, interests, and vocational choices can be organized to understand and predict subsequent choice were tested. Findings support both the theory and the validity of the Self-Directed Search.…

The impact of an occupational card sort, the Occu-Sort (O-S), on the thoughts and activities of rural, suburban, and urban junior/senior high school students was assessed to determine the sex bias/fairness of that card sort as a career interest inventory, as well as the reliability and validity of the occupational code structure. Participants were…

Prediger confuses observations about the data with Holland's theoretical statement, performs some uninterpretable analyses, omits much relevant data, and provides an incomplete account of what psychometric authorities have said about raw scores in interest inventories. (Author)

Addresses problems associated with Prediger's article questioning the usefulness and fairness of the unnormed Self-Directed Search (SDS) for females. Discusses issues of sex differences and same-sex test norming. (RC)

An investigation explored the use of Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) by 185 readers and 152 non-readers (ages 14-21) with learning disabilities or mild mental retardation. The SDS was reliable for both readers and non-readers, able to validly measure preferences, and sensitive to preferences with respect to disability group membership.…

The validity of some theoretically-derived vocational diagnostic signs was examined to learn if a person's self-knowledge, occupational knowledge, and decision-making ability were predictable. Diverse samples of high school juniors (N = 1005), college juniors (N = 692), and employed adults (N = 140) were administered the Self-Directed Search (the…

High school males (N=66) and 60 high school females were tested for anxiety and vocational maturity levels. The experimental subjects were given the Self Directed Search (SDS). Statistical analysis indicated that the SDS was an effective instrument in reducing career indecision. (Author)

Describes study using Self-Directed Search vocational interest inventory with 75 Canada Native high school students. Finds the inventory reliable and stable for use with Indian students. (LFL)