Career-Sustaining Behaviors, Satisfactions, and Stresses of Professional Psychologists.

A random sample of licensed psychologists from Illinois (N=286) responded to a survey about career-sustaining behaviors (CSBs) and about satisfactions and stresses they experience at work. The highest rated CSBs were spending time with partner/family, maintaining a balance between personal and professional lives, and maintaining a sense of humor. Overall, more satisfied respondents reported greater importance of CSBs. Female respondents reported significantly greater use of CSBs than male respondents and were more likely to endorse behaviors that were relational or educational in nature, such as participating in personal therapy, spending time with friends, discussing work frustrations with colleagues, seeking case consultation, maintaining regular contact with referral networks, participating in continuing-education programs, reflecting on positive experiences, and engaging in quiet leisure activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The validation of expressed interests as compared with inventoried interests: a fourteen-year follow-up.

Of 63 sophomores in 1939-40, who took the Strong VIB and a social history interview, occupational choice follow-up data were available in 1953 for 60 Ss. "Apparently the Strong… is most applicable to men reared in the middle class success culture. The Strong seems less applicable for those upper-middle and upper class groups who possess an alternative culture. Among this group, expressed interests are more accurate predictors than the test scores. The inventory predicts Ambitious Careers (feeling… that higher occupational goals can be attained) while the expressed interests predict Responsive Careers (feeling of acceptance with job progression which parents or relatives expect worker to follow)." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Publication rate and interests in certain psychologists.

"To obtain data which might bring into focus some of the more interesting characteristics upon which psychologists differ among themselves, a questionnaire was sent to male APA members in the 1951 APA Directory who listed themselves as employed by a college or university and as members of Phi Beta Kappa. Results are presented in 8 tables. Items which discriminated significantly between persons with "high" and "low" publication rates are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vocational interests of male and female social workers.

For a sample of 496 male social workers, a key was constructed for the Strong VIB that differentiated them from a Men-in-General group with only 16% overlap. A key for female social workers (N = 464) differentiated them from Women-in-General with only 29% overlap. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measured vocational interests in relation to intraoccupational proficiency.

What is the relationship between vocational interests and occupational proficiency? Based on a study of shorthand skill involving 1100 female students, the data were subjected to statistical tests of significance and the linear regression predictive technique for cross-validation purposes. Tests employed included an interest inventory, a shorthand proficiency test, and an intelligence test plus a scale constructed to differentiate responses of superior and inferior criterion groups. The latter "worked": "Members of an occupational group can be classified on the basis of interests, with respect to quality of occupational performance." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interest and interests: The psychology of constructive capriciousness.

This article develops a perspective on interest and interests as aspects of motivation, emotion, and personality. Interest is viewed as a capricious emotion with few, if any, immediate adaptational functions; it serves long-term adaptational goals by cultivating knowledge and diversifying skills and experience. Interests are viewed as idiosyncratic intrinsic motives that promote expertise. Theories of how interests arise are reviewed and organized. A model of how the emotion of interest participates in the development of enduring interests is proposed. The author concludes that apparently frivolous aspects of motivation and personality such as idle curiosity and avocations seem to play complex roles in human experience and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability of interests within an occupation over thirty years.

This study compared the interests of 103 bankers, studied in 1934, with those of the 103 bankers who, in 1964, held the identical jobs in the identical banks. Each banker was paired with his counterpart. The results show a substantial consistency in measured interests between the 2 groups. Data are also presented for a test-retest group (N = 48) tested 1st at age 38 and again at age 68. Striking consistency in interests was noted here also. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The measurement of vocational interests by a stereotype ranking method.

An interest test based on the assumption that interests reflect steretoypes is described. Employing job titles to be checked, it is intended for use as the basis for an interview but can be used with norms. "It can be administered to groups or individuals, is relatively quick and has been shown to have promising reliability and validity, though more evidence on these aspects is required." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of partially vested interests on judgment.

In a study of the evaluation of group positions under various conditions of vested interests, 16 groups composed of 118 Ss spent approximately 12 hr. in autonomous ingroup activities prior to intergroup problem solving. An assigned problem served as the basis for creating different positions among groups. Competition was between pairs of groups. The judging pairs, who evaluated competing solutions, were composed with 2 degrees of vested interests: no vested interest or the condition of neutrality and partially vested interests with 1 person holding membership in a group whose solution was being judged and the other person from a neutral group. A vested interest in an inferior position led to judgments different from those obtained from nonvested pairs. In the latter situation, when the judging pairs included persons from the group with an inferior position, they were successful in elevating the evaluations of their position significantly above those given under baseline conditions of neutrality to a point where it, in effect, tied the better solution for adequacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Men and things, women and people: A meta-analysis of sex differences in interests.

The magnitude and variability of sex differences in vocational interests were examined in the present meta-analysis for Holland’s (1959, 1997) categories (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional), Prediger’s (1982) Things–People and Data–Ideas dimensions, and the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) interest areas. Technical manuals for 47 interest inventories were used, yielding 503,188 respondents. Results showed that men prefer working with things and women prefer working with people, producing a large effect size (d = 0.93) on the Things–People dimension. Men showed stronger Realistic (d = 0.84) and Investigative (d = 0.26) interests, and women showed stronger Artistic (d = ?0.35), Social (d = ?0.68), and Conventional (d = ?0.33) interests. Sex differences favoring men were also found for more specific measures of engineering (d = 1.11), science (d = 0.36), and mathematics (d = 0.34) interests. Average effect sizes varied across interest inventories, ranging from 0.08 to 0.79. The quality of interest inventories, based on professional reputation, was not differentially related to the magnitude of sex differences. Moderators of the effect sizes included interest inventory item development strategy, scoring method, theoretical framework, and sample variables of age and cohort. Application of some item development strategies can substantially reduce sex differences. The present study suggests that interests may play a critical role in gendered occupational choices and gender disparity in the STEM fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Permanence of measured vocational interests of adult males.

For 109 males tested on the Strong VIB in 1931 and in 1941, permanence of interest was measured by (a) test-retest rank-order correlations over 44 occupational scales for each subject, (b) total score test-retest correlations for the 44 scales, (c) mean test-retest score difference for each scale, and (d) differences in group patterns from test to retest. "… vocational interests of adult males… are remarkably stable when permanence is measured by the 4 methods… ." (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)     

Planes, trains, automobiles--and tea sets: Extremely intense interests in very young children.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 44(1) of Developmental Psychology (see record 2007-19851-021). The DOI for the supplemental materials was printed incorrectly. The correct DOI is as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1579.supp.] Some normally developing young children show an intense, passionate interest in a particular category of objects or activities. The present article documents the existence of extremely intense interests that emerge very early in life and establishes some of the basic parameters of the phenomenon. Surveys and interviews with 177 parents revealed that nearly one third of young children have extremely intense interests. The nature of these intense interests is described, with particular focus on their emergence, commonalities in the content of the interests, and the reactions of other people to them. One of the most striking findings is a large gender difference: Extremely intense interests are much more common for young boys than for girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aptitudes, interests, and personality characteristics of farmers.

A group of 50 farmers were administered the DAT, the Kuder Preference Record, and the MMPI, and scores were related to two criterion measures—the Brayfield-Rothe job satisfaction index and instructor's rankings of on-the-job performance. Their personality test pattern was within the normal range, job satisfaction and job performance were unrelated, but distinctive aptitude and interest test profiles emerged. "Numerical ability and scientific interest were found to be positively and significantly related to performance on the job. Literary interest was negatively but significantly related to job satisfaction. The Depression and Social Introversion-Extroversion scales on the MMPI were negatively but significantly correlated with job satisfaction." 16 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Masculine striving" as a clue to skilled-trade interests.

A new verification scale for the Minnesota Vocational Interest Inventory (MVII) was hypothesized to serve as a Masculinity-Femininity scale when Ss answer honestly. Verification scores were compared for 117 Ss who took the MVII under normal instructions and under instructions to affect a masculine- or a feminine-oriented boy of 16. Most of the Ss were arts and science college freshmen, ? were females, and 11 were still in high school. With the normal set, males scored higher than skilled tradesmen, below the mean for chance derived scores, and far below the females. Both males and females with a masculine set scored low, the same as tradesmen. Males with a feminine set scored the same as females under a normal set, but females with a feminine set averaged the same as chance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An analysis of vocational interests at two levels of management.

The differences in the vocational interests of top and middle management level personnel of a large, multiplant industrial corporation were studied. Each S was classified according to work level, field, and work role (line or staff). Top management Ss were found to have a higher socioeconomic level of vocational interest than middle management Ss. Clarity of interest patterning was not related to work role, nor, except in one case, was it related to managerial level of work. No differences were found in the decisiveness with which top and middle management Ss responded to interest-test items. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The vocational interests of American Psychological Association presidents.

The Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) is one of the most widely used psychological instruments. The SVIB was developed by comparing the interests of men in specific occupations with a group of Men-in-General: To accomplish this it was, of course, necessary to collect completed SVIBs from men in a variety of occupations. For this purpose, between about 1925 and 1955, E. K. Strong, Jr., collected about 10,000 SVIBs from men scattered over roughly 50 occupations. Strong's materials constitute an immensely valuable treasure of data, useful for scientific purposes. For example, by using some inventories completed many years ago, it has been possible to study the stability of interests within an occupation over 30 years. As Strong was concerned with men who were successful and satisfied in their occupations, he inevitably collected SVIBs from prominent leaders in many fields. As time moves on, the characteristics of these men assume some historical significance. It is perhaps the first time that systematic psychometric data have been available on the outstanding leaders of earlier eras. This article discusses the representation of the psychology profession in the Strong files, and presents a detailed table reflecting the completed SVIB inventories for 50 of the past 70 APA presidents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vocational interests of naval aviation cadets: Final results.

As a validity study of the Kuder Preference Record, 605 cadets entering flight training were administered the inventory. "The KPR demonstrated small but statistically significant validity for prediction of all categories of attrition. However, when differences in mechanical ability were controlled, this inventory did not show a significant relationship to the pass-fail criterion." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of the structure of leisure interests of college students, working-age adults, and retirees.

In this study, the authors investigated the extent to which factor and spatial structures of leisure interests (a) are similar to or distinct from the structure of vocational interests and (b) differ across 3 cohorts: college students (Mage = 19.6 years, SD = 1.23), working-age adults (Mage = 29.7, SD = 1.18), and retirees (Mage = 72.3 years, SD = 5.40). Factor analytic, multidimensional scaling, and covariance structure modeling strategies were used to assess the structure of leisure interests as measured with the Leisure Interest Questionnaire (J. C. Hansen, 1998). Only partial convergence was found for the structure of leisure interests with J. L. Holland's (1985) model of vocational interest structure, suggesting that researchers should be cautious about using vocational interests as markers for leisure interests. However, the similarity in structure of interests across the three samples was greater than hypothesized. Implications for research on leisure interests and for counseling practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development and correlates of academic interests from childhood through adolescence.

Study goals were to assess: (a) the development of academic interests from middle childhood through late adolescence; (b) the degree to which junior high and high school transitions, parents' educational expectations, interests, and education were related to changes in academic interests; and (c) the longitudinal links between youths' academic interests and school grades. Participants were mothers, fathers, and 2 siblings from 201 White working-class and middle-class families who were interviewed in their homes on up to 9 annual occasions. Multilevel model analyses revealed overall declines in youths' interests over time, with boys showing more rapid decline than girls. Mothers' educational expectations were positively related to youths' interests, and youths' interests declined less when fathers had more education. The transition to junior high, but not high school, was linked to decline in interests, but this was buffered by mothers' academic interests. Declines in youths' academic interests were linked to declines in school grades. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)