New approach to the prediction of medical specialization: Student-based Strong Vocational Interest Blank scales.

Studied longitudinal data from 1583 undergraduates in an attempt to devise means of predicting eventual specialization for medical students. Specialty membership was determined in a follow-up study 11 yr. after the SVIB was administered. SVIB scales for surgeons, obstetricians, pediatricians, and psychiatrists were developed, using the items which differentiated the specialist groups as freshmen. Senior-based scales were also tested, but predicted no better than those using freshman responses. The resulting student-based scales were reliable on retest, but on measures of distributional overlap, they did not perform as well as standard SVIB occupational scales. However, their predictive validity was superior to that of previously developed SVIB scales for medical specialists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strong Vocational Interest Blank in-general samples.

Throughout the history of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB), the aggregation of "in-general" samples to represent an "average" has been of concern because an adequate in-general sample is necessary for the development of valid occupational scales for the SVIB. 6 in-general samples have been generated over the years to fit different developments of the SVIB. In the present study 20 experimental homogeneous scales were used to measure the similarities and differences among the 6 in-general samples. Generally, all samples were strikingly similar, with the greatest differences appearing between male and female in-general samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proposed scoring changes for the Strong Vocational Interest Blank.

A study of the effect of replacing with new items 102 items in the current SVIB on the validity and reliability of the SVIB. 8 occupational groups were used. The results showed that the validity and reliability remained essentially the same after dropping the items. Also, the weighting system of the SVIB was compared with scales using unit weights. The results indicated that the unit weights keys were virtually identical to the weighted keys on 3 criteria: validity, reliability, and scale intercorrelations. Thus, the SVIB when revised should be scored using unit weight scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparability of old and revised forms of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank for Women.

Administered the old and revised forms of the SVIB for Women (W) to a volunteer sample of 124 female Ss aged 15-66 yr. old. The scores on the 29 occupational scales common to both forms of the SVIB-W were highly related (Median r=.83) for most of the scales. The level of scoring on some of the scales changed markedly, however, largely dependent upon the year of sampling of the original occupational group members. Because of the latter, correlations between individual profiles for the 2 forms were only moderately high (Median r=.71). Conclusions based upon profile analyses of the old form should not be generalized to the new form. A short form of the Basic Interest Scales, scorable on the old SVIB-W, may serve as a bridge between the old and new SVIB-W for use in longitudinal research projects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations among scores on Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, California Psychological Inventory, and Strong Vocational Interest Blank for an industrial sample.

The significant intercorrelations among scores on the EPPS, the CPI, and the SVIB are reported for a group of 102 salaried employees of the 3M Company. Comparison of the CPI and EPPS scales generally shows correlations in the expected directions, and correlations between occupational interests and personality variables make "good clinical sense." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strong Vocational Interest Blank Scores of high school seniors and their later occupational entry.

"Three groups of University graduates were compared, graduates from medicine, law, and accounting, on the basis of SVIB scores obtained in Grade 12. The scores of the three groups were significantly different from one another, and pattern analysis of each student's interest profile revealed that the three groups had different profile patternings as well as different scores on the individual scales. These differences suggest that careful use of the SVIB is justified with high school seniors." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Same-sex and cross-sex reliability and concurrent validity of Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory.

Reliability and concurrent validity data for the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) were developed for a total of 180 high school and college students, scored on appropriate sex norms and scales. These data were compared with data for the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB), data reported in the SCII Manual, and data for the same sample scored on the opposite sex's norms and scales and scored disregarding sex. 2-wk test-retest reliability correlations were approximately .90. Agreement between high scores and self-reported curriculum and occupational preferences ranged from 32% to 60%. The SCII had same-sex reliability and concurrent validity near those of the SVIB. Cross-sex scores were not significantly less reliable and valid. Scoring on all Occupational scales produced significantly higher concurrent validity. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The SVIB for women and demographic variables in the prediction of occupational tenure.

8 demographic variables and selected scales of the women's SVIB were incorporated in 2 types of prediction equations for 198 occupational therapists and 255 physical therapists. A double cross-validation design was used to develop and test 4 multiple regression and 4 reciprocal averages equations. 5 of the demographic variables correlated significantly with tenure, but none of the SVIB scales proved to be stable predictors. The method of reciprocal averages prediction yielded equations which proved more stable across samples and differed less shrinkage than those produced by the multiple regression technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An 11-year follow-up of measured interest and vocational choice.

408 university graduates were followed up 11 yrs after they had taken the SVIB, the American College Testing Programs Examination, and the Opinion, Attitude, and Interest Survey as freshmen. Expressed choice predicted future occupation more accurately than measured interest, and the accuracy of both was greatest when they were congruent. Congruence of either measured interest or expressed choice with future occupation was unrelated to occupational satisfaction. The predictive accuracy of the single highest occupational scale on the SVIB was greater than that obtained from a grouping of SVIB scales. The SVIB was as efficient a predictor for a group of undecided freshmen as it was for a group of decided students. The method used to predict future occupation from the SVIB profiles of freshmen yielded lower "hit rates" than the retrospective method used in most validity studies. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concurrent prediction from the Strong Vocational Interest Blank.

Compared the concurrent predictive accuracy of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank for Men (SVIB), Form T-399, for the same Ss (N = 163) on 3 sets of scales developed for the SVIB to reflect J. L. Holland's occupational-personality types: the SVIB-Holland scales, the Basic Interest scales, and the Occupational scales. Data are reported to provide comparison between the SVIB-Holland scales and Holland's Self-Directed Search with different Ss, between the Basic Interest scales and Occupational scales for the same Ss, between the criteria of single highest scale and scores above a cutoff, and between the 3 types of scales. When cutoff scores were used, the SVIB-Holland scales and the Basic Interest scales predicted occupation held for some 60% of these Ss; about 1/3 of these accurate predictions were considered to be attributable to chance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpreting other-sex scores on the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory.

To promote understanding of other-sex scores on the new Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, correlations between occupational scales common to both forms of the old Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) with "masculinity" of interests were studied in a sample of 116 female counseling clients. Differences in mean scores for scales appearing on both SVIB forms were highly related to the masculinity of interests of the people in those occupations, compared to others of the same sex. Recommendations are included for using Masculinity-Femininity scores to guide clients with high scores on occupational scales normed on the other sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor analysis of Strong Vocational Interest Blank items.

Attempted to identify independent interest dimensions that were equivalent across different S samples, as a first step toward mapping the vocational interest domain. The responses to 347 female form items and 357 male form items from the SVIB were obtained, using the appropriate form for the following 5 single-sex samples: women in general, men in general, female occupational, male occupational, and male rehabilitation client (Ns?=?1,000; 1,000; 2,500; 3,600, and 1,874, respectively). The SVIB items were intercorrelated separately for each sample and the correlation matrices were factored by a principal axes technique, using the highest off-diagonal correlations as communality estimates with rotation to a varimax criterion. Factors between same-sex samples were compared using Tucker's coefficient of congruence. The analyses resulted in 11–23 factors, depending on the sample, of which 9 and 8 were judged to be equivalent across the 2 female and 3 male samples, respectively. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity studies of the Strong vocational interest inventories.

The concurrent validity of the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) and the predictive validity of the SVIB were studied in an 18-yr follow-up of a university counseling center group of male college graduates. Results were compared with a previous 12-yr follow-up of the same Ss using C. McArthur's method (1954). The SCII had concurrent validity greater than the SVIB (T399) even after correction was made for a higher percentage of high standard scores on occupational scales. Predictive validity for 18 yrs was not quite as good as for 12 yrs. Although group data were similar for the predictive validity studies, classifications of individuals between studies varied substantially. A 6-yr predictive validity study for the SVIB (T399) had validity comparable to predictive studies using an earlier edition of the SVIB. Job satisfaction and satisfaction with type of work were statistically different, but resulted in no practical difference when used as a correlate with standard occupational scale score. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of medical school attendance from college freshman SVIBs.

This study compared the SVIB profiles of 2 groups of college freshmen, 1 group which eventually applied to medical school and another which did not, but all of whom scored an A on the Physican scale. Significant differences were found between the 2 groups on 8 occupational scales, the largest of which were on the Artist and Architecture scales which were highly negatively related to subsequent application to medical school. The results give further evidence of a lack of a common interest factor in Group I of the SVIB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vocational interests of college freshmen and their social origins.

The relationship between interests as measured on the SVIB and socioeconomic status of college students was explored. 9 groups of entering college freshmen were selected on the basis of father's occupation and educational level of both parents. Differences among distributions of the 9 groups on each of 48 SVIB scales were tested for significance using the analysis of variance test. Conclusions are: measured vocational interests of college students were not independent of social origin, college students of lesser cultural background tended to identify with occupations requiring quantitative and technical training, extent of overlap between social groups on SVIB scales was high. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internal-external control of reinforcement and the Strong Vocational Interest Blank: A comparison study.

Studied the relationship between the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB), Form T399, and Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale (I-E scale). A previous study by D. G. Zytowski (see record 1967-07353-001) suggested a relationship between locus of control and occupational interest. To verify this, he correlated the SVIB with the I-E scale and concluded that such a relation did exist. Because the SVIB has been revised since Zytowski's study, a comparable study using the newer SVIB form was completed. Using a college freshman sample of 736, Pearson correlation coefficients were computed between the I-E scale and the SVIB; several correlations were significant at the .10 level; however, the largest correlation was -.16. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Probability and utility assumptions underlying use of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank.

Decision implications of E. K. Strong's (1955) assumption of equal base rates for his men-in-general and individual occupational groups are explored, using the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) Physician's scale as an example. It is demonstrated that when realistic base rates are assumed, total decision error rate using the SVIB-even when optimal cutting scores are employed-is at best about equal to that resulting from prediction using base rates alone. Use of the SVIB as recommended by Strong implicitly assumes that false negative errors are much more serious than are false positives. When "reasonable" utility or gain matrices are assumed, use of the SVIB can reduce total error rate despite the limitations imposed by low occupational base rates; this effect is greater when statistically optimal cutting scores, rather than those recommended by Strong, are used. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Female college students' scores on the men's and women's Strong Vocational Interest Blanks.

Administered the men's and women's forms of the SVIB and a career orientation questionnaire to a sample of 90 undergraduate women. Significant differences were found between mean scores on Occupational scales common to both forms and on mean number of B+ and A ratings on the men's and women's forms. Occupational scale scores and number of B+ and A interest ratings were examined in relationship to career vs. homemaker orientation. Ss differentiated on the basis of career orientation obtained significantly different mean numbers of B+ and A interest ratings on the women's SVIB. Implications for vocational counseling are discussed, and use of both forms of the SVIB is recommended in vocational counseling with college women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential interest patterns in salesmen.

Significant intergroup differences on 7 of the scales of the SVIB were found among 3 types of salesmen (specialty salesmen, route salesmen, sales engineer—each n = 100); common characteristics were found for 5 of the scales. "The results of this study support the trend away from the concept of salesmen in general toward the concept of special sales occupational groups." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)