Tracking Holland Interest Codes: The Case of South African Field Guides

Holland believes that specific personality types seek out matching occupational environments and his theory codes personality and environment according to a six letter interest typology. Since 1985 there have been numerous American studies that have queried the validity of Holland's coding system. Research in South Africa is scarcer, despite critical expansion and development in occupational fields such as the ecotourism industry. The present article describes the Holland interest codes of male and female student and working field guides. The results indicate that the interest code typology of both groups does not match the prescribed code for this occupation in the South African Dictionary of Occupations (Taljaard & von Mollendorf, 1987). Recommendations are made for further cross-cultural and cross-national research as well as for the possible revision of dictionaries of occupations in different countries.

Constructing Holland’s Hexagon in South Africa

The purpose of this study was to document the development of the South African Career Interest Inventory and to examine the structural validity of Holland’s circular/hexagonal model in the South African context. The validity of Holland’s model was investigated in a sample of 985 university students in Study 1 and 175 university students and adults in Study 2. The randomization test of hypothesized order relations and covariance structure modeling were used to investigate the fit of a tight circular ordering and four circumplex models. The randomization test found good fit for the tight circular ordering in both the studies. Covariance structure modeling demonstrated unsatisfactory fit across the four circumplex models in Study 1 but satisfactory fit in Study 2. The results suggest that the structural validity of Holland’s circular ordering model in South Africa is tenable. Recommendations for research and practice are presented.

A Case of Mistaken Identity? Latent Profiles in Vocational Interests

Vocational interest surveys have traditionally employed a typology (i.e., the Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional [RIASEC] model) to distinguish individuals. Within this framework, respondents are identified as representing various types of people based on their interests in work-related activities. However, much of the existing literature on vocational interest testing has focused almost exclusively on traditional variable-centered approaches to understanding the nomological network around vocational interest variables. Therefore, the focus of the current article is an application of a person-centered approach, latent profile analysis (LPA). Using LPA, we found evidence of eight qualitatively and quantitatively distinct subgroups or types of individuals differentiated on the basis of interests in the RIASEC variables. Further, across the five-factor model and Dark Triad personality variables, minor, yet theoretically sound, differences across the eight vocational interest subgroups were found. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Career paths and personality in pharmacy

BACKGROUND

Pharmacists choose different career paths which may have different requirements in terms of demands and environments, irrespective of knowledge and intellectual capability. A contributing factor could be personality whereby pharmacists seek to work in an environment which is compatible with their personality.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationship between personality and career paths taken by pharmacists.

METHODS

Data regarding pharmacists' personality profile as determined by The Gordon Personal Profile Inventory (GPPI) were gathered using an anonymous survey. The inventory booklet was mailed to all pharmacists registered to practice in Malta who were at the time residing in the country. Demographic data and information regarding areas of practice was also gathered. Analysis was carried out using variety of statistical tests including t-test, Manova and Multiple Correspondence Analysis.

RESULTS

Most of the types of pharmacists considered, lie somewhat close to the average categories of the GPPI attributes, with those who work in importation and wholesale being the ones who stand out most from the rest by scoring high on self esteem, ascendency, original thinking, vigour, sociability. Those who work in industry and, especially, in hospitals are the two categories of pharmacists who seem to score low on the GPPI traits in general, while those who work in the Community scored high in personal relations and are a little more likely to score higher in cautiousness and responsibility.

CONCLUSION

Pharmacists are not a homogeneous group of individuals. It is evident that their personality is a significant factor in the career path that they have chosen. Not all pharmacists possess personalities that are conducive to patient-oriented practice. Those that do not primarily possess the latter personality traits, appear to have chosen to practice in non-traditional areas where, possibly, they have found a good fit with their personality and other factors.

Relationship between personality traits and vocational choice

Summary.-The relationship between occupational preferences and personality traits was examined. A randomly chosen sample of 735 students (age range = 17 to 23 years; 50.5% male) in their last year of high school participated in this study. Participants completed Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor-5 Questionnaire (16PF-5 Questionnaire) and the Kuder-C Professional Tendencies Questionnaire. Initial hierarchical cluster analysis categorized the participants into two groups by Kuder-C vocational factors: one showed a predilection for scientific or technological careers and the other a bias toward the humanities and social sciences. Based on these groupings, differences in 16PF-5 personality traits were analyzed and differences associated with three first-order personality traits (warmth, dominance, and sensitivity), three second-order factors (extraversion, control, and independence), and some areas of professional interest (mechanical, arithmetical artistic, persuasive, and welfare) were identified. The data indicated that there was congruency between personality profiles and vocational interests.

Linking Leisure Interests to the RIASEC World of Work Map

The present study presents an interpretive framework for linking leisure interests, measured by the Leisure Interest Questionnaire (LIQ), to J. L. Holland's (1997) circumplex model of the world of work. Published data representing correlations between the LIQ and Holland's RIASEC interest types were obtained from Hansen and Scullard (2002). Leisure interest measures were integrated into the RIASEC circumplex using the technique of property vector fitting. By explicitly testing the structural hypothesis in Holland's model, a clearer picture of the relations between work and leisure interests emerge. Visual presentation of leisure interests in the context of the RIASEC circumplex may facilitate the use of the LIQ in applied settings. In particular, an exploration of leisure interests as part of a larger discussion of interests and aspirations may enhance the career-counseling process with clients who are struggling with clarifying their career development plans.

Holland's Theory and Implications for Academic Advising and Career Counseling

John Holland's typological theory of persons and environments is regarded as the most influential in the field of career counseling (Brown, 2002), but few have carried the theory over to the field of higher education and academic advising (Smart, Feldman, & Ethington, 2000). Therefore, Holland's theory and the subsequent research on it were explored to determine if the theory would be an appropriate means of understanding the behavior and organization of college faculty members and students. A practical approach for integrating a Holland-based system of academic advising and career counseling is discussed.