We examined a longstanding assumption in vocational psychology that people-things and data-ideas are bipolar dimensions. Two minimal criteria for bipolarity were proposed and examined across 3 studies: (a) The correlation between opposite interest types should be negative; (b) after correcting for systematic responding, the correlation should be…

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…

An emic approach was used to test the structural validity and applicability of Holland's (1997) RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) model in Iceland. Archival data from the development of the Icelandic Interest Inventory (Einarsdottir & Rounds, 2007) were used in the present investigation. The data…

In this national sample of female carpenters (N=411) who began their apprenticeship with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters during the 1990s in the United States, the author provides a profile of female carpenters' vocational interests (The Self-Directed Search). The vocational interests of 137 male carpenters also were gathered for comparison.…

Use of two types of scales in combination helps the counselor identify aspects of an occupational interest pattern that the client does or does not share with members of an occupational group. (Author)

The study concludes that the best way to avoid sexual bias in the SVIB is to design one form of the inventory that controls for sex differences. (Author)

A study of the relationships between the two inventories reveals many potential problems for counselors. Frequent inconsistencies and contradictions are found wherein like named scales appear to be measuring different things, while dissimilar scales often have strong positive relationships. The implications for counselors are discussed. (Author)

Vocational interest patterns of male economists on the SVIB were compared with data from non economists most closely resemble those of psychologists and to a lesser extent those of political scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists. An economists' scale was developed for the SVIB. (Author)

The item content of the empirical (Occupational and Nonoccupational) schales on the Strong Vocational Interest Blank for Men was described by means of the 22 categories formed by the new Basic Interest scales. (Author)

Forty subjects (highly qualified and experienced in clinical judgment) were used to psychologically scale the extent to which SVIB scores and profiles supported an expressed vocational choice. Moderately high agreement was demonstrated across judges, although they differed considerably in the weights assigned to scores and configural patterns.…

Examined interpretations of 100 career counselee's responses to Self-Directed Search (SDS). Found that agreement between scales identified as relevant was as high as agreement among counselors, insignificant correlations between counselors' judgments of counselee's degree of interest crystallization and Holland's (1985) measure of consistency, and…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Big Five personality factors, measured by the NEO Personality Inventory Five-Factor Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992), and vocational confidence across Holland's hexagon, measured by the Skills Confidence Inventory (SCI; Betz, Borgen, & Harmon, 2005), were useful in discriminating among…

The use of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank with disadvantaged women showed that the Strong Interest Blank can be useful in recognizing individuality in disadvantaged women and in helping them to choose satisfying job training experiences. (Author)

A classification system and spatial map of occupations were developed using the Basic Interest Scale profiles of 198 occupational incumbent samples (31,010 women; 32,421 men) from the Strong Interest Inventory. Profile shape was found to be similar for incumbents of both genders, allowing for an analysis of combined-gender samples. Using…