Stability of Engineering Interests Over a Period of Four Years

Gehman, W. Scott; Gehman, Ila H.

doi:10.1177/001316446802800214

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Regarding interest stability in different academic environments, Gehman and Gehman (1968) distinguish three different engineering subjects, reporting stabilities from r = .444 to r = .616. However, the difference between these correlations was not significant, most plausibly caused by the low sample sizes between 23 and 37 students per subject.…”

Section: Empirical Evidence Of Interest Stability and Change Consider...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Stability of Vocational Interests During University Studies

Ertl

Hartmann

Wunderlich

2023

Journal of Individual Differences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Students’ vocational interests can be described by Holland’s theory of occupational choice. Holland distinguishes six interest dimensions here: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. Although these attributes are relatively stable during adolescence, their stability increases dramatically during university studies. Because vocational interests are often a factor in career counseling and the choice of what to study, it is essential to investigate the extent to which they develop during the first years of college. This study examines the NEPS first-year student cohort to investigate the stability of students’ interests and aspirations. The paper analyzes 2,442 male and 3,435 female students who studied within one of six major study clusters and provided data about their vocational interests at Wave 1 (study entry) and Wave 9 (about 4.5 years later close to the end their studies). The study’s results show strong and highly significant correlations for all interest dimensions, as well as a high stability of students’ aspirations. The correlations were strongest for artistic interests and weakest for conventional interests and were distinguishable between most dimensions. Furthermore, the analyses showed notable differences with respect to gender and field of study. Further analyses went beyond a variable-centered towards a person-centered approach showing that students with a stable interest vector also displayed higher profile correlations and a higher person-environment fit. The analysis shows that 28% of the sample are still developing their interests. This indicates notable adaption processes during university time that should be factored into course design, career counseling, and further research.

show abstract

Section: Empirical Evidence Of Interest Stability and Change Consider...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Stability of Vocational Interests During University Studies

Ertl

Hartmann

Wunderlich

2023

Journal of Individual Differences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Those given after 1960 may have had information returned to the takers as reported by Form D, that is, using a different kind of score and far fewer occupational scales. Some of the Duke University engineering students were given a second, follow-up administration (Gehman & Gehman, 1968), but to the investigator's knowledge, no other group was given a follow-up. It should be noted that the year of administration varies from 1954 to 1961, and that the age at administration is reflected by educational levels varying from Grade 8 to college senior.…”

Section: Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictive validity of the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey: A 12- to 19-year follow-up.

Zytowski¹

1976

Journal of Counseling Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

More than 1,000 men and women were located 12 to 19 years after taking an early form of the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey either in high school or college. Satisfactory data were available for 882 subjects. Fiftyone percent were employed at the time of the follow-up in an occupation that would have been suggested to them had their inventory been interpreted to them. This compares favorably with other validity findings for occupationally scaled interest inventories and represents about 90% of the possible validity as derived from concurrent validity figures. College major scales from a high school level administration correctly predicted 55%. Subjects in occupations consistent with their early interest profiles did not report greater job satisfaction or success but did show greater continuance in their occupational career. Better prediction is achieved when the occupation is one named on the profile and when the person has gone to or graduated from college or entered a high-level or scientifictechnical occupation.

show abstract

The Stability of Vocational Interests From Early Adolescence to Middle Adulthood: A Quantitative Review of Longitudinal Studies.

Low

Yoon

Roberts

et al. 2005

Psychological Bulletin

366

369

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The present meta-analysis examined the stability of vocational interests from early adolescence (age 12) to middle adulthood (age 40). Stability was represented by rank-order and profile correlations. Interest stability remained unchanged during much of adolescence and increased dramatically during the college years (age 18-21.9), where it remained for the next 2 decades. Analyses of potential moderators showed that retest time interval was negatively related to interest stability and that rank-order stability was less stable than profile stability. Although cohort standings did not moderate stability, interests of the 1940s birth cohort were less stable than those of other cohorts. Furthermore, interests reflecting hands-on physical activities and self-expressive/artistic activities were more stable than scientific, social, enterprising, and clerical interests. Vocational interests showed substantial continuity over time, as evidenced by their higher longitudinal stability when compared with rank-order stability of personality traits. The findings are discussed in the context of psychosocial development.

show abstract

Stability of Engineering Interests Over a Period of Four Years

Cited by 4 publications

References 2 publications

Stability of Vocational Interests During University Studies

Stability of Vocational Interests During University Studies

Predictive validity of the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey: A 12- to 19-year follow-up.

The Stability of Vocational Interests From Early Adolescence to Middle Adulthood: A Quantitative Review of Longitudinal Studies.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About