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)     

Validity of some ability and interest scores.

The averages by department of supervisors' scores on the Kuder Preference Record and the California Test of Mental Maturity were correlated with three departmental criteria: work-rework ratio, acceptance rate, and production (standard hours) ratio. For the sample of 28 departments (217 supervisors) none of the subtest scores was significantly correlated (rank-order correlations) with any of the three criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of interest inventories with native Americans: A case for local norms.

Examined the appropriateness and usefulness of the Kuder General Interest Survey, Form E, with a homogeneous Native American population by comparing the distribution of scores obtained by 66 male and 68 female 9th-grade Native Americans with the corresponding norms, by sex and grade in school, provided in the manual. A comparatively large proportion of the current Ss produced unacceptable scores on the verification scale. Comparisons on the 10 interest scales reveal statistically significant and substantial differences on 6 scales for males and 7 scales for females. Males and females differed on 6 of the interest scales. Results raise questions about the appropriateness of the items on the Survey for the population investigated and suggest the advantage of using local norms for interpretations with such homogeneous and divergent cultural groups. Conclusions are discussed in terms of the Survey construction and within the context of nondiscrimination in interest measurement. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of interest inventories with Native Americans: A case for local norms.

Examined the appropriateness and usefulness of the Kuder General Interest Survey, Form E (Kuder-E), with a homogeneous Native American population by comparing the distribution of scores obtained on the Kuder-E by 66 male and 68 female 9th-grade NAs with the corresponding norms, by sex and grade in school, provided in the test manual. A comparatively large proportion of the NAs produced unacceptable scores on the verification scale. Comparisons on the 10 interest scales of the Kuder-E revealed statistically significant and substantial differences on 6 scales for males and 7 scales for females. In the NA sample, males and females differed on 6 of the interest scales. Results raise questions about the appropriateness of the items on the Kuder-E for the population investigated and suggest the advantage of using local norms for interpretation with homogeneous and divergent cultural groups. Conclusions are discussed in terms of the construction of the Kuder-E and within the context of nondiscrimination in interest measurement. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A vocational interest scale for biologists.

A Biologist scale for the SVIB (Form M) was developed following procedures outlined by E. K. Strong, Jr. 4 groups were employed: (a) criterion (N = 251) systematically selected from Volume 2 of American Men of Science, (b) cross-validation (N = 89) selected at an American Institute of Biological Science convention, (c) 2 concurrent validation groups (Ns = 121, 306) selected from the Pennsylvania State University student body. Results indicated that the scale differentiated the interests of: (a) the biologists from Strong's men-in-general group (P1), (b) the biologists from the interests measured by 36 other SVIB scales, (c) the concurrent validation groups in the expected direction. Reliabilities of .88 (criterion) and .87 (cross-validation) were obtained. It was concluded that the scale has sufficient validity and reliability to be a useful counseling device. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control, consistency of vocational interest patterns, and academic achievement.

Administered the SVIB, the W. James I-E Scale, and the American College Testing Program Examination (ACT) to 356 male university freshmen. Ss were classified as internals or externals on locus of control and as consistents or inconsistents on vocational patterns based on J. Holland's classification schema for scales on the SVIB. ACT scores were used to control for ability. Internals had a significantly higher GPA than externals; consistents had a higher GPA than inconsistents, but no significant interaction effects between vocational interest patterns and locus of control were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The incremental validity of vocational self-efficacy: An examination of interest, self-efficacy, and occupation.

The authors examined the incremental validity, beyond vocational interest, of the General Confidence Themes of the Skills Confidence Inventory (N. E. Betz, F. H. Borgen, & L. W. Harmon, 1996a) as measures of vocational self-efficacy in identifying tenured and satisfied membership in 21 occupational groups for 1,105 employed women and men. The General Occupational Themes of the Strong Interest Inventory (L. W. Harmon, J. C. Hansen, F. H. Borgen, & A. L. Hammer, 1994) were used to measure interest. The results replicated T. J. G. Tracey's (1997) finding that self-efficacy and interest form similar structures. Results also demonstrated the explanatory power of self-efficacy and interest and the incremental validity of self-efficacy. The authors suggest that the Skills Confidence Inventory is (a) a valid measure of tenured and satisfied occupational membership, (b) a distinct measure from interest but similar in structure, and (c) a potentially useful career assessment measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrative interpretation of vocational interest inventory results.

Examined the effectiveness of 3 procedures for interpretation of vocational interest inventory results. After completing the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, 83 undergraduates participated in a 1-hr test interpretation and responded to 2 sets of dependent measures—(a) Counselor Evaluation Inventory and the Counselor Rating Form, and (b) the Career Choice Inventory and the Career Decision Scale. Three different approaches to relate test information to clients were represented by the experimental groups: (a) traditional individual interpretation (with test materials), (b) integrative individual interpretation (without test materials), and (c) traditional group interpretation (with test materials). Two control conditions were also employed. The dependent measures assessed clients' self-knowledge of vocational interest patterns, degree of vocational choice certainty, and ratings of counselor performance and of the counseling experience. The data provide limited support for the hypotheses that (a) integrative interpretation would be most effective and (b) significant interactions would exist between counselors and interpretation procedures. Failure to find significant differences between the traditional–individual and traditional–group approaches suggests that the more economical group technique could be used effectively. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mathematically facile adolescents with math-science aspirations: New perspectives on their educational and vocational development.

This longitudinal study tracked 1,110 adolescents identified as mathematically precocious at Age 13 (top 1%) with plans for a math-science undergraduate major. Participants' high school educational experiences, abilities, and interests predicted whether their attained undergraduate degrees were within math-science or nonmath-nonscience areas. More women than men eventually completed undergraduate degrees outside math-science, but many individuals who completed nonmath-nonscience degrees ultimately chose math-science occupations (and vice versa). At Age 33, the 2 degree groups reported commensurate and uniformly high levels of career satisfaction, success, and life satisfaction. Assessing individual differences is critical for modeling talent development and life satisfaction; it reveals that equal male-female representation across disciplines may not be as simple to accomplish as many policy discussions imply. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ordinal position research related to vocational interest.

Reviews studies on the relationship of birth order to vocational interests in an attempt to support the hypotheses that firstborns are more directing, controlling, and organizing than laterborns, and that laterborns are more sociable, empathic, and sympathetic than firstborns. The research was inconsistent, contradictory, and speculative. Recommendations for further studies are presented, including (a) investigation of birth-order personality differences within rather than between vocations; (b) additional study of the influence of sibling associations on the development of interests and personality and the effect of personality on occupational preferences; (c) research using Adlerian concepts; and (d) continued emphasis on methodological and theoretical considerations. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors associated with vocational interest profile stability.

Which of 12 types of information available about a college freshman are useful in predicting Strong Vocational Interest Blank profile permanence? The author's stability measure was significantly related with "number of P patterns and Depth index," but no high prediction of interest stability was found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the virtues of raw-scored interest inventories: Reaction to O'Neil, Price, and Tracey (1979).

J. M. O'Neil et al (see record 1979-27466-001) compared career-related outcomes following administration of the raw-scored Self-Directed Search (SDS), the "norm-scored" Strong-Campbell (SCII), and the 2 instruments in combination. The study was intended to address issues of sex bias in vocational-interest assessment. Ss who took the SDS were provided with the usual self-directed administration, scoring, and interpretation of raw scores. However, it is pointed out here that Ss in the SCII and SDS-SCII treatment groups received no SCII norm-based scores or interpretations. As discussed in this article, the principal conclusions in the earlier report regarding the relative effects and sex restrictiveness of "norm-scored instruments" and "raw-scored instruments" are not warranted by the study design. (6 ref) (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)     

Universality of vocational interest structure among racial and ethnic minorities.

Some multicultural theory holds that it is quite possible for subgroups within the United States to have such divergent thought patterns from the White majority that mainstream psychological inventories are inappropriate measures. Differences in the circular structure of J. L. Holland's (1959, 1997) Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional vocational interests were investigated across racial and ethnic groups (African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Caucasians; N?=?49,450), separated by sex. Three-way individual-differences scaling revealed that the 10 groups' responses reflected a markedly similar underlying structure, consistent with conventional interpretations of vocational interest patterns. The common structure of vocational interests is theoretically related to R. R. McCrae and P. T. Costa's (1997) claim of personality structure as a universal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forced-choice vs. L-I-D response items in vocational interest measurement.

A forced choice form of an interest inventory was compared with an L-I-D form using the same items, for groups of Navy yeomen (clerical workers) and college students. Unit-weight and multiple weight keys were developed for each inventory to differentiate yeomen from students. The forced-choice keys were superior to the L-I-D keys in separating groups in seven of ten comparisons. The average superiority of forced-choice keys was a 5.9% decrease in overlapping. There was little difference in validity shrinkage for the two kinds of items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Applying vocational interest models to naturally occurring occupational perceptions.

The authors examined the structure of naturally occurring occupational perceptions. They first assessed the stability of individuals' perceptions of 18 occupational titles, both across time and 2 samples. They then tested whether J. L. Holland's (1992) spatial model, D. J. Prediger's (1982) dimensional model, or I. Gati's (1979) classificatory model could be identified in the data. Findings are discussed in light of previous research and suggest the marked stability of the occupational perceptual structure as well as support for Gati's (1979) classificatory model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The predictive validity of measured interest for Navy vocational training.

An experimental interest test, yielding scores on 5 homogeneous scales, was administered to a sample of recruits on their 3rd day in the Navy. Recruits were assigned to Naval school training, on the basis of expressed interest and aptitude test scores, by classification personnel who did not have access to interest test scores. Follow-up results are reported for 19,147 recruits assigned to 51 schools, each of which had a related scale on the interest test. For students in each of the 51 schools, the mean score on the related interest scale was significantly higher than the corresponding mean score for the general recruit population. For 41 schools, the related interest scales had statistically significant predictive validity against a school grade criterion. Related interest scales contributed significantly to operational aptitude tests in predicting school success. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of diverse procedures for reporting interest scores: An analysis of longitudinal data.

Compared the criterion-related validity of 4 procedures for reporting the results of interest inventories measuring basic types of interests. For each of the reporting procedures (raw scores, combined-sex, same-sex, and opposite-sex norms), the correspondence between the high-point interest codes and actual criterion group membership was determined. Two samples were involved. One consisted of 2,594 community college students who took the Vocational Interest Profile in 1970 and were surveyed in 1975. The other consisted of 1,825 college-bound high school students who took the American College Testing Interest Inventory in 1972 and were surveyed 3 yrs later. The criterion-related validity of scores based on same-sex norms is as high as or higher than that of the other procedures for both males and females. A significant characteristic of reports based on same-sex norms is that they suggest similar vocational options to males and females, whereas the other reporting procedures typically suggest options traditional for a person's sex. Implications for counselors are noted. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validities of three vocational interest keys for U. S. Navy yeomen.

"Scores of a group of 135 Navy yeomen on the Office Worker key of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank and on the Yeoman and Shipping-Stock Clerk keys of the Minnesota Vocational Interest Inventory were analyzed to determine the validities of these keys for yeomen." Both the Yeoman and Shipping Clerk keys appeared to have high validity, as determined by mean differences and percent of overlapping of scores of the present yeoman group with scores of criterion and reference groups for each key. The Office Worker key of the Strong VIB did not seem to be as satisfactory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)