We investigated differences in the circular structure of Holland's interest types across racial-ethnic groups (African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Caucasians; N = 11,610). The samples consisted of college-bound persons who completed the revised Unisex Edition of the ACT Interest Inventory (UNIACT;Swaney, 1995), as well as a comparison group of 10th graders ( N = 4,133) in the 1992 UNIACT norms sample. Analyses using a randomization test of hypothesized order, targeted principal components, and three-way multidimensional scaling suggest that Holland's model adequately represents the interest structures of both sexes in all the diverse samples. 0

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This article reports new research supporting the two bipolar work task dimensions that underlie the World-of-Work Map (WWM) and Holland's hexagon-working with data versus ideas (D/I) and working with things versus people (T/P). Three databases provided diverse perspectives on basic work tasks: (a) general nature of work (expert ratings for 1,122 occupations), (b) detailed nature of work (job analysis data for 1,573 occupations), and (c) interests of workers (mean interest scores for 640 career groups; total of 213,854 persons). Separate and combined database analyses supported the D/I and T/P dimensions. Across database pairs, correlations between D/I scores ranged from .75 to .78. Correlations between T/P scores ranged from .74 to .81. Because these correlations provide good support for the D/I and T/P work task dimensions, the scores were used to update and refine the WWM. Update procedures and use of the WWM in career planning are summarized.

The Unisex Edition of the ACT Interest Inventory (UNIACT; Swaney, 1995) is the chief component of a comprehensive, integrated approach to assessment for career planning and replanning. The World-of-Work Map (Prediger, 1976), an extension of Holland's hexagon (Holland, Whitney, Cole, & Richards, 1969), provides the basis for linking UNIACT results and results from 12 other, widely used interest inventories to occupational options and to results from assessments of work-relevant experiences, work-relevant abilities, and job values. A case study illustrates the interpretation of Holland-type interests in the context of experiences, abilities, job values, and current occupational choice. Guidelines followed in the development of UNIACT's interpretation procedure are explained, and issues related to interest inventory response style and sex fairness are addressed. UNIACT's validity data, which include three-letter (Holland) codes for 648 career groups and results from studies supporting the hexagon's Data/Ideas and Things/People Work Task Dimensions, are summarized.UNIACT is intended for persons in the early stages of career planning or replanning. The primary purpose of UNIACT is to help counselees identify personally relevant career (educational and occupational) options, as illustrated in this article's case study. UNIACT was designed for counselees who have not made a solid connection between the work world and the things they like to do-every day. It is intended to help counselees make that connection by (a) determining their preferences for everyday activities involving data, ideas, people, and things, and (b) identifying job families that have related work tasks. In effect, UNIACT says, &dquo;Because you have those kinds of everyday interests, you might want to look into these kinds of jobs.&dquo; The recently updated UNIACT Technical Manual (Swaney, 1995) presents specifics regarding UNIACT's development and psychometric characteristics, including validity data for 648 career groups (79,040 persons). A brief overview of UNIACT's psychometric characteristics is provided near the end of this article. We acknowledge, with appreciation, the helpful suggestions provided by Chet Robie and Jane Staples regarding a draft of this article. Description of UNIACT Program ApplicationsUNIACT is a component of eight ACT programs spanning a range of formats and populations. Across these programs, UNIACT's annual usage has reached 4.2 million persons. Comparison of this figure with recent figures for widely used career assessment instruments (Walsh, 1990) suggests that UNIACT is by far the most used interest inventory in the world.Four of the programs in which UNIACT is a component (EXPLORE, PLAN, ACT Assessment, and ASSET) feature assessments of academic development (Grade 8-adults), while supporting career exploration and planning. The programs focusing exclusively on career exploration and planning are listed below. Since 1983, each program has provided a comprehensive approach to career assessment that integrates UNIACT ...

Since its introduction nearly 25 years ago, Holland's (1985)