a test of holland's theory of vocational personalities and work environments

Abstract

Holland's (1997) theory of vocational personalities and work environments is one of the most well-respected and widely used theories of career development . It is frequently the basis for the use and interpretation of assessment instruments used by employment counselors, career counselors, and other professionals . Holland believed that there are six major personality types and that people and occupations can be categorized according to combinations of these types . Congruence, or the degree of similarity between an individual's personality and any given work environment, can be determined and can be used to predict job satisfaction, job performance, and job stability . Differentiation, or the variability among scores representing each of the personality types, can also be assessed and influences the prediction of these vocational outcomes . However, there is empirical ambiguity regarding some of the theory's basic constructs . In a large-scale meta-analysis, Spokane (1985) reviewed 40 correlation and 23 change studies on congruence . The overall finding was that congruence was significantly and positively correlated with academic performance and persistence, stability of choice, perceived congruence, personality (ego-strength), and job satisfaction . In spite of the relationships, the correlations rarely exceeded .25 to .35 .In response, Assouline and Meir (1987) conducted an analysis of 41 congruence studies . Results yielded negligible residual variance for studies measuring congruence stability and congruence achievement, with correlations of .15 and .06, respectively . In contrast, there was a great deal of variability in congruence-satisfaction

The effects of vocational interest on study results: Student person – environment fit and program interest diversity

“…The Holland RIASEC model has a long standing tradition as one of the most influential models of vocational interest [16,2,17]. The RIASEC theory’s basic principle is very straightforward.…”

An Exploration of Collegiate Outdoor Recreation Professionals’ Personality Traits and Job Task Affect

“…In other words, the higher level of congruency between a person's environment and personality type, the less likely they were to experience interpersonal conflict with coworkers. In another study examining congruence, Toomey, Levinson, and Palmer (2009) studied a group of school psychologists and found no significant correlations between congruence and overall job satisfaction; however, the authors did find a significant correlation between differentiation and extrinsic job satisfaction, which offers support for Holland's theory.…”

“…Congruence is defined as "the degree of similarity between an individual's personality and any given work environment" (Toomey, Levinson, & Palmer, 2009, p 82). As the most tested career theory (Ehrhart & Makransky, 2007;Nauta, 2010;Toomey, Levinson, & Palmer, 2009), the RIASEC model offered inspiration for the current study.…”

Career maturity and college students : a case study comparison of student-athletes and non-athletes at a Division I institution

“…It can be categorized as a trait and factor theory, as it emphasizes that individuals need to establish congruence between their cultivated traits, their environments, and the requirements for specific occupations (Brown, 2002;Ireh, 2000). Also, it is commonly used as a framework from which career counseling professionals interpret the variety of assessment instruments they use with clients (Toomey, Levinson, & Palmer, 2009). …”

“…For instance, Holland's theory, the most widely used career development theory among college and university career counselors (Toomey et al, 2009), emphasizes the interaction between individuals' characteristics and their environments as career drivers (Brown, 2003;Feldman et al, 2004;Ireh, 2000;Nordvik, 1996;Pike et al, 2011). The…”