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Extending Holland's theory to the later years
Journal of Vocational
Behavior
Extending GORDON
18, 104-I 14 (1981)
Holland’s
Theory to the Later Years
D. WARREN, JANE L. WINER, AND KATHLYN
C. DAILEY
Texus Tech University Sixty-five men and women, aged 50 to 88 years, completed Holland’s Vocational Preference inventory (VPI) and a work history questionnaire. Each participant was assigned one-letter Holland personality type codes for his or her first full-time job. longest full-time job, last job (if retired) or present job (if employed), and hobbies. In general, VPI scale scores and high point codes were consistent with the occupational codes but less consistent with the hobby code. The usefulness of Holland’s vocational theory to the aged population is discussed.
The potential of Holland’s theory (1973) for understanding and serving the needs of individuals at the end of their careers depends in part on establishing the validity of the six personality types for people far older than those typically the object of vocational research. One approach to establishing such validity is to examine normative data for older than typical populations on Holland’s basic instrument, the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) (Holland, 1978). In Holland’s original presentation of the VP1 (1958), subjects ranged in age from I5 to 77. Although the Holland classification of occupations has been studied with regard to individuals of all ages (e.g., Gottfredson, 1977), the oldest reported sample administered the VP1 is the group studied by Harvey and Whinfield (1973); the mean age of that sample was 42. Holland (1979) reported research suggesting that the Self-Directed Search (SDS) (Holland, 1977b) is age-fair. The VP1 constitutes one scale of the SDS, so it would not seem inappropriate to administer the VP1 to an older than typical sample. If the VPI, and ultimately Holland’s theory, were shown to have validity with regard to vocational and leisure behavior for those of advanced age, then counseling services for the aged could make use of the variety of instruments and procedures based upon that theory. It should be noted that as retirement becomes more and more an optional feature of the lifetime career, leisure counseling may become less important than vocational counseling as a service for the aged. Older workers have been found to maintain output equal to that of younger workers, to have superior attendance records, and to be less likely to change jobs (Atchley, 1972); these factors, along with projected decreases in the number of younger 104 OOOI-8791/81/010104-11$02.00/O Copyright All rights
@ 1981 by Academic Press, Inc. of reproduction in any form reserved.
POTENTIAL
OF HOLLAND’S
VPI IN THE LATER
YEARS
105
workers, may lead to those traditionally considered to be in their retirement years becoming preferred employees. The present investigators hoped to provide some tentative norms for the VP1 for subjects older than typically reported and to provide further validation data for Holland’s theory as applied to the career life span. METHOD
The sample consisted of 30 women (mean age = 69.0. SD = 10.4) and 35 men (mean age = 67.5, SD = 7.0) in a small community in the Texas Panhandle. These 65 individuals were the respondents from among a group of 100 individuals solicited from the retired employees of a diversified manufacturing concern and volunteer workers serving juvenile delinquents. As expected, most of the participants were retired (N = 48: mean age = 70.4, SD = 8.0, range = 50 to 88). but 17 participants were currently employed (mean age = 61.9, SD = 7.8. range = 52 to 79). The 65 participants completed and returned a VPI and a questionnaire concerning their life work history. These materials were mailed to the 100 individuals in the original sample and were accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed return envelope and a cover letter that briefly explained the purpose of the study and asked for assistance. Return of the completed materials was assumed to imply consent to participate in the study: failure to return the materials was assumed to imply lack of consent. Therefore, those individuals who did not return the materials were not contacted or asked to participate; such follow-up was judged to constitute undue pressure. Thus. the 65% return rate is based upon the initial contact alone. Although subjects were free to contact the investigators. none did; we assume. therefore, that the standard instructions on the VP1 and the instructions on our questionnaire were understood by the participants. Holland’s VP1 is a personality inventory composed of I I scales which can be used to determine vocational interests and personality types. Of the I1 scales, the six type scales (Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Artistic (A), Social (S), Enterprising (E), and Conventional (C)), are the most commonly reported. The VP1 has been used in numerous settings with a wide variety of subjects. Data concerning subjects younger than those reported here are extensive and are reviewed in the VP1 manual (Holland, 1973). The manual reports internal consistency coefficients for the I I VPI scales ranging from .I4 to .89 (p. 8) and test-retest reliability coefficients for periods of 2 weeks to 4 years ranging from .27 to .98 (p. 8). Summaries of research which attempted to establish the VPI’s construct, concurrent, and predictive validities also appear in the manual.
106
WARREN,
WINER,
AND DAILEY
The work history questionnaire completed by the participants asked several questions directly related to occupational history. These centered on the participant’s first job, longest job, last job, and present job, if applicable. An additional question concerned leisure time activities and hobbies. Holland’s (1977a) Occupations Finder was used to assign a one-letter high point code to each participant’s job title or duties from each phase of his or her work history. There is no definitive classification of hobbies and leisure activities according to Holland type. Taylor, Kelso, Cox, Alloway, and Matthews (1979) developed a Leisure Checklist of 36 items keyed to Holland’s six types, but the current investigators needed to classify self-reported hobbies and leisure activities. The assignment of Holland codes to hobbies and leisure activities was accomplished according to the following procedure. First, it was decided to define any answer to our question which appeared as a valid hobby or leisure activity. Lack of financial remuneration as a defining characteristic was judged unsatisfactory. Craft hobbiests, for example, may produce salable items; sporting individuals may win money; and skilled individuals may provide services or give lessons for pay, all while considering themselves to be at leisure rather than at work. For the sample of primarily retired persons reported here, there may have been a tendency to overreport leisure rather than work out of fear of revealing income in excess of that permitted Social Security recipients, but we have no data to support that possibility. Second, the investigators coded the hobbies and leisure activities based upon consensual judgment aided by Holland’s (1973) definitions of the six types, items on the SDS, high point codes (as listed in the Occupations Finder) of occupations which seemed similar in activity to the hobby, and discussion. Activities which involved physical effort, solitary involvement, working with one’s hands or working with machinery for purposes of utility rather than aesthetics, and being outdoors were coded as Realistic. Examples of the Realistic category, which was the most numerous, are taking walks, gardening, electronics, utility sewing (such as sewing draperies), utility carpentry (such as building shelves), yard work, and rock hunting. Investigative activities included reading, playing chess, and working crossword puzzles. Activities whose major feature seemed to be aesthetic, in either creating or performing, were classified as Artistic. Examples include aesthetic sewing (such as needlework, embroidery, and macrame), aesthetic carpentry (such as decorative woodworking), flower arranging, writing stories or poems, and singing (including singing in the church choir). Helping other people was classified as Social; examples include working with juvenile delinquents, working with scout troops, and being a hospital volunteer. Being with other people for company or amusement was also classified as Social; examples include visiting family and friends, church activities other than choir, bridge club, and golf.
POTENTIAL
OF HOLLAND’S
VPI IN THE LATER
YEARS
107
“Watching television” was classified as Social on the grounds that television is an approximation of contact with people; if a specific type of program had been mentioned, then the classification would have varied by program content. Individuals who were officers in civic organizations, who took part in fund raising efforts, or who were members of committees were classified as Enterprising. Our sample included no individuals coded as Conventional in their leisure activities, but criteria for the Conventional classification included an emphasis on structure and order (such as stamp collecting or keeping records for a team). Given the exploratory nature of the investigation, reliance on singleletter codes rather than codes of two or more letters to label the occupations and hobbies appeared to be justified. As subjects’ work histories were not perfectly consistent (for example, an individual whose first job was classified R might have spent most of his or her career in a C-type job). the number of participants classified as a given Holland type varied from one phase of the work history to another. RESULTS Five of the six Holland types were found to be represented in the sample when Holland type was defined occupationally; no participant reported any work experience in an Artistic occupation. The Artistic type was represented in the hobby category, but the Conventional type was not. Table 1 presents the number of participants classified as each of the Holland types as defined in five ways: first full-time job, longest full-time job, present job (if still employed), last job, and hobbies. In addition, Table 1 presents the means and standard deviations of the raw scores of the VP1 scales for each Holland type for each definition and for the sample as a whole. Table 2 presents the number of men and women represented by each type, variously defined. In general, the data suggest that participants whose occupations were of a given Holland type achieved higher scores on the appropriate VP1 scales than on inappropriate VP1 scales. The congruence between occupational history and VP1 results is presented for each phase of the occupational history. An examination of the participants’ VP1 scale scores and the Holland type of the first full-time job reveals that congruence exists between the two measures for all represented types except Conventional. That is, with the exception of the C group, each Holland type group, as defined by the first full-time job, achieved its highest mean score on the appropriate VP1 scale. The C group, as defined by first full-time job, achieved a mean raw score of 2.4 on the E scale of the VP1 and a mean raw score of 2.3 on the C scale. This difference is minimal. and the two types adjoin in the hexagonal arrangement of Holland types. When participants were classified by high point on the VP1 (yielding seven groups, in that participants for types R, I, A, S, E, and C numbered I I, 7. 13, 8, 10. and 13.
Present job
R 1
5 0
15 4 0 13 22 II
Longest full-time job
N
25 4 0 15 9 12
Type
First full-time job
Definition
4.2 -
1.2 2.6 0.5
4.4 2.8
3.8 2.8 1.4 I.9 0.8
M
R
3.2 -
4.2 1.7 2.0 2.7 1.5
3.6 1.7 2.7 2.1 1.6
SD
2.0 -
3.9 4.5 1.7 2.4 1.6
3.0 4.8 1.6 3.0 I.9
M
I
2.8 -
4.3 3.3 2.1 3.3 4.1
2.2 4.0 4.0
3.8 3.4
SD
2.2 -
2.6 0.3 1.5 I.8 2.8
2.2 0.5 1.3 3.3 1.9
M
A
1.3 -
3.7 0.5 2.4 3.3 4.1
3.3 0.6 I.6 4.7 4.0
SD
2.4
2.6 0.8 2.9 1.9 1.5
I.8 0.8 2.9 3.1 I .4
M
VP1 Raw scores
TABLE I VP1 Raw Scores for Holland Types Defined Five Ways
S
3.4 -
3.7 1.0 3.5 2.9 2.3
3.0 I.0 3.7 3.4 2.2
SD
SD 3.6 I.5 3.1 4.2 2.0 3.6 1.8 2.1 3.7 2.1 3.0 -
M 3.2 4.3 2.1 3.9 2.4 2.7 4.0 1.5 4.4 1.9 1.8 -
E
1.4 -
2.3 1.3 I.7 2.7 2.0
2.2 1.0 2.3 2.3 2.3
M
C
1.5 -
3.5 0.5 3.4 2.4 1.6
3.2 0.8 3.1 2.0 I.9
SD
35 30 65
Male Female Combined
T-u131
I5 7
II 4 0
25 2 9 15 4 0
A s E c
K
0 6 5
Hobbies and leisure
Last ;ob
A s E c
3.5 I.1 2.4
4. I 2.0 2.0 I. I 0.5
0.6 2.4 0.7
2.x 2.8
I.3 3.2 0.0
3.4 2.0 3.0
3.1 2.8 2.4 I.2 I .o -
I.1 2.6 1.9
3.7 1.7
2.4 2.4 0.0
2.4 4.5 2.6 1.1 1.3 I.3 2.8 2.0
4. I 7.8 3.4 1.5 I.3 3.7 3.3 3.5
4.3 5.5 3.0 0.X 1.3 7.2 I.9 2.6
I.9 0.3
0.x 2.6 0.0
0.7 2.5 3.7
4.3 3.3
2. I 3.0 0.0
I.1 3.5 5.1
0.7 3.0 2.4
2.9 4.5
2.0 2.x 0.0
2.3 4.0 3.3
4.1 4.9 3.5 0.9 I.0 -
0.X 3.9 4.9
3.8 0.5
1.0 3.6 0.0
-
I.7 2.6 2.1
2.5 3.6 3.0
3.3 2.1 4.4 1.8 0.6 -
2.7 I.5 3.0 1.5 I.5
1.4 I.5 I.9
3.0 I.0 I.1 3.0 2.7
4.x I.2 0.0
1.5 0.X
5.5 2.0 0.0
3.7 2.1 3.0
3.6 2.5 3.2 2.3 4.0 -
0.9 3.8 2. I
2.1 4.0
2.3 5.x 0.0
-
3.4 2.9 3.2
3.5 0.7 3.5 2.8 3.1
0.9 4.3 2. I
2.8 I.8
2.7 2.2 0.0
2.5 I.9 2.2
2.5 2.5 2.4 I.9 3.0
I.1 2.5 2.6
I.9 1.3
2.x 2.6 0.0
2.6 2.x 2.7
2.5 3.5 3.9 2.4 2.2
I.5 2.7 I.5
3.4 0.5
4.7 2.6 0.0
110
WARREN, WINER, AND DAILEY TABLE 2 Frequencies of Holland Types by Gender
Definition
Type
First full-time job
Longest full-time job
Total N
Men
Women
25 4 0 I5 9 I2 R I A S E C
Present job
Last job
Hobbies and leisure
R I A S E C
25 2 9 I5 4 0
respectively, with 3 participants obtaining no high point code), the relationship between tested Holland type and first full-time job was found to be statistically significant h” = 41.7, df = 24, p s .05). An examination of the data comparing VP1 raw scores and Holland type as defined by the longest full-time job demonstrates virtually the same relationship as found in the comparison of VP1 raw scores and first full-time job. Each Holland type group, as determined by the longest job, achieved its highest mean score on the appropriate VP1 scale with the exception of the Conventional group. Unlike the previous case, the highest mean raw score achieved by the C group was on the A scale (M = 2.8);
POTENTIAL
OF HOLLAND’S
VP1 IN THE LATER
YEARS
111
the mean on the C scale was 2.0. As in the previous case, the relationship between VP1 high point code (as opposed to scale scores) and longest full-time job was found to be statistically significant (x’ = 42.9, & = 24, p d .Ol). Those participants currently employed reported occupations of the Realistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional types. Once again, each Holland type achieved its highest mean score on the corresponding VP1 scale with the exception of the Conventional type. A statistically significant relationship was found between VP1 high point code and current occupation (x’ = 46.8, & = 24. p G .OOS). Four of the retired participants did not report the nature of their last job. For the remaining participants who were no longer employed (N = 44). the relationship between the Holland type of their last job and their scores on the VP1 scales is not as neat as for the other phases of the work history. The relationship is congruent for Investigative, Social. and Enterprising types. The Realistic type, as determined by the last job, achieved a mean score of 2.9 on the I scale and 2.8 on the R scale. This difference is minimal, and the two types adjoin on the Holland hexagon. Once again, the Conventional type achieved its highest mean score on the A scale (M = 3.7) and second highest on the C scale (M = 2.6). The relationship between the seven high point code groups and the five “last job” groups was found not to be statistically significant (x’ = 34.3. df = 24, p d IO). The comparison of VP1 raw scores and Holland types as determined by hobbies and leisure activities provided the fewest congruent relationships. The Investigative and Enterprising types received the highest mean scores on the appropriate scales. As in the case of the last job, the Realistic types scored slightly higher on the I scale (M = 4.3) than on the R scale (M = 4. I). The Artistic types scored highest on the E scale (M = 3.6), next highest on the I scale (M = 3.0) and S scale (M = 3.0) and then the A scale (M = 2.6). The Social types scored highest on the E scale (M = 2.3). then the C scale (M = 1.9) and then the S scale (M = 1.5). However, the relationship between VP1 high point code, as opposed to scale scores, and leisure was found to be statistically significant (x2 = 5 1.8, dJ‘ = 30, p < .OO1). Ten respondents did not report hobbies or leisure time activities, and no participant reported hobbies or leisure activities of a Conventional type. The data presented in Table I further suggest that participants of several, if not all, Holland types as defined by VP1 high point code have pursued life careers which are consistent with the Holland theory. The highest mean scores in the Realistic column of Table 1 are associated with the Realistic first full-time job, longest full-time job. present job. and hobbies; Realistic and Investigative last jobs show equal mean scores on the Realistic scale of the VPI. The highest mean scores in the Investiga-
112
WARREN,
WINER,
AND DAILEY
tive scale column are for Investigative life experiences for all phases (including leisure) of the career except the present job, in which the Enterprising type achieved the highest mean I scale score. The highest mean score on the Conventional scale was achieved by the C type within the last job category and, as a tied score, within the first full-time job category. A type adjacent to C on the Holland hexagon (Enterprising) achieved the highest mean score on the C scale for the longest full-time job and for hobbies. Social types achieved the highest C score for present job. Results for the remaining three high points are not as pure as for the first three. The highest mean scores on the Social scale of the VP1 were achieved by the S types within the longest full-time job and present job categories, by the E types (an adjacent type) within the first full-time job category, by the A types (an adjacent type) within the hobbies category, and by the C type within the last job category. Enterprising types achieved the highest mean scores on the E scale for longest full-time job, present job, and hobbies, but Investigative types achieved the highest E scores for first full-time job and last job. There having been no Artistic types (as defined by occupational history) in our sample, the highest mean scores for the A scale would be expected to fall to the types adjoining A on the Holland hexagon, that is, the I and S types. In no phase of the career was this expectation fulfilled. In fact, not even in the hobbies and leisure category, in which Artistic types were represented, did the A types achieve the highest mean score on the Artistic scale of the VPI. DISCUSSION In general, the findings suggest that the VP1 scales effectively describe personality types indicated by occupational history across the life span. No participant reported any Artistic work experience, so no conclusions may be drawn about the A type. The discrepancy noted for the R scale presents no serious contradiction to Holland’s position; the discrepancy was not observed throughout the work history, and the I scale on which R participants, as defined by the last occupation, scored most highly adjoins the R type on the hexagonal arrangement. However, the C scale of the VP1 did not correspond to the Holland type as defined by the first full-time job, longest full-time job, present job, or last job. It is possible that those whose work histories were of the Conventional type, who were mostly women, were of personality types other than Conventional but had been channeled into Conventional jobs by stereotypical social expectations. The occupational distribution presented in Table 2 appears to reflect traditional sex-role stereotypes in that men are overrepresented in R, I, and E occupations, and women are overrepresented in S and C occupations. The absence of Conventional interests as expressed in leisure
113
POTENTIALOFHOLLAND'SVPIINTHEL.ATERYEARS activities
supports
the contention
overrepresented
We do not know
whether
a stable
trait.
But
achieved
the
same
beginning
of their
From
point
predicted
by
hexagon,
the
theory
than
and
work
facilitate
Preference only
the earliest
alternative literature. studied eral.
but
the data
only
reported
CR1 side with
expect.
of the
The Leisure
The limitations the
provide
Note
only
(Taylor
the
of the study
in the participants’
generalized
of
a small
to the aged population
framework
town.
1979) is an
school
and
students.
suggest
in the
have
that
been
In gcnhobbie\
than for R, A. S, less support for
in structuring
the leisure
time
career.
are apparent. work
is in
reported
scope
to
Vocational
et al..
recently
limited
and
reported
to attempt
after
investigation
the life
leisure
activities
I). but its development
secondary
in the current
A defini-
to the Holland
investigators
modeled
as deter-
it is unclear
work.
between
of leisure
has been
to Australian
in describing
characteristics
he
Holland
VP1 scales
that
according
Checklist
which
types
as their
of the relationship
& Winer.
the use of the VP1 and Holland’s
represented
five
life career
as among
and VPI scale scores match better for I and E individuals and C individuals, but overall this investigation provides of the aged than
types.
would
greater
given
activities
of the current
device
its 36 items
in relation
might
Inventory
(Warren
stages.
that the
in our
which
and Holland
of classification
led two
assessment
activities
and leisure
Preference
Inventory
code
are of the same nature
the study
sample
a Leisure
point
The
at the
suggest
reflected
is associated
is as one
The problem
by the elderly develop
here
have
test
side. leisure
of hobbies
would
cases.
would the
if not all, Holland
the aged is not as precise
hobbies
activities.
taken
experiences
the high
by the VPI,
This
people’s
tive classification system
created
between
occupations.
they
for several,
life
in most
by the VP1 among
whether
the
is the ASE
The relationship mined
type
were
codes reflect
participants
then the data presented
of view.
as measured
congruence
our
VP1 had
the life career
of Holland
VP1 high point
that
on the
careers,
predicts
another
our participants’
scores
individuals
roles.
if it is assumed
VPI high point definitions
that non-Conventional
in Conventional
Not
histories;
all Holland
the sample
southwestern
in its entirety.
Given
types
was small:
sample greater
were and
cannot
be
resources,
in-depth interviews might elicit better data than pencil-and-paper mailed questionnaires. A more extensive investigation could profitably use a twoor three-letter high point code to describe the retrospective view of virtually an entire part
of the individuals
reported
the Holland types. However, life span of work history on the
here presents
some tentative
the usefulness of the VP1 and Holland’s theory classification of individuals in their later years.
for
the
support
for
vocational
114
WARREN, WINER, AND DAILEY
REFERENCES Atchley. R. C. The social forces in later Itye: An introduction to social gerontology. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1972. Gottfredson, G. D. Career stability and redirection in adulthood. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1977, 62, 436-445. Harvey, D. W., & Whinfield, R. W. Extending Holland’s theory to adult women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1973, 3, 115-127. Holland, J. L. A personality inventory employing occupational titles. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1958, 42, 336-342. Holland, J. L. Making vocational choices. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1973. Holland, J. L. Manual for the Vocational Preference Inventory. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1973. Holland. J. L. The occupations finder. Palo Alto. Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1977. (a) Holland, J. L. The Self-Directed Search. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1977. (b) Holland, J. L. The Vocational Preference Inventory. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1978. Holland, J. L. The Se/f-Directed Search: Professional manual. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1979. Taylor, K. F., Kelso, G. I., Cox, G. N., Alloway, W. J., & Matthews, J. P. Applying Holland’s vocational categories to leisure activities. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 1979, 52, 199-207.
REFERENCE
NOiE
I. Warren, G. D., & Winer, J. L. An experimental personality inventory: The Leisure Preference Inventory. Paper presented to the Southwestern Psychological Association, Oklahoma City, April I I, 1980. Received: February I I, 1980.
Behavior
Extending GORDON
18, 104-I 14 (1981)
Holland’s
Theory to the Later Years
D. WARREN, JANE L. WINER, AND KATHLYN
C. DAILEY
Texus Tech University Sixty-five men and women, aged 50 to 88 years, completed Holland’s Vocational Preference inventory (VPI) and a work history questionnaire. Each participant was assigned one-letter Holland personality type codes for his or her first full-time job. longest full-time job, last job (if retired) or present job (if employed), and hobbies. In general, VPI scale scores and high point codes were consistent with the occupational codes but less consistent with the hobby code. The usefulness of Holland’s vocational theory to the aged population is discussed.
The potential of Holland’s theory (1973) for understanding and serving the needs of individuals at the end of their careers depends in part on establishing the validity of the six personality types for people far older than those typically the object of vocational research. One approach to establishing such validity is to examine normative data for older than typical populations on Holland’s basic instrument, the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) (Holland, 1978). In Holland’s original presentation of the VP1 (1958), subjects ranged in age from I5 to 77. Although the Holland classification of occupations has been studied with regard to individuals of all ages (e.g., Gottfredson, 1977), the oldest reported sample administered the VP1 is the group studied by Harvey and Whinfield (1973); the mean age of that sample was 42. Holland (1979) reported research suggesting that the Self-Directed Search (SDS) (Holland, 1977b) is age-fair. The VP1 constitutes one scale of the SDS, so it would not seem inappropriate to administer the VP1 to an older than typical sample. If the VPI, and ultimately Holland’s theory, were shown to have validity with regard to vocational and leisure behavior for those of advanced age, then counseling services for the aged could make use of the variety of instruments and procedures based upon that theory. It should be noted that as retirement becomes more and more an optional feature of the lifetime career, leisure counseling may become less important than vocational counseling as a service for the aged. Older workers have been found to maintain output equal to that of younger workers, to have superior attendance records, and to be less likely to change jobs (Atchley, 1972); these factors, along with projected decreases in the number of younger 104 OOOI-8791/81/010104-11$02.00/O Copyright All rights
@ 1981 by Academic Press, Inc. of reproduction in any form reserved.
POTENTIAL
OF HOLLAND’S
VPI IN THE LATER
YEARS
105
workers, may lead to those traditionally considered to be in their retirement years becoming preferred employees. The present investigators hoped to provide some tentative norms for the VP1 for subjects older than typically reported and to provide further validation data for Holland’s theory as applied to the career life span. METHOD
The sample consisted of 30 women (mean age = 69.0. SD = 10.4) and 35 men (mean age = 67.5, SD = 7.0) in a small community in the Texas Panhandle. These 65 individuals were the respondents from among a group of 100 individuals solicited from the retired employees of a diversified manufacturing concern and volunteer workers serving juvenile delinquents. As expected, most of the participants were retired (N = 48: mean age = 70.4, SD = 8.0, range = 50 to 88). but 17 participants were currently employed (mean age = 61.9, SD = 7.8. range = 52 to 79). The 65 participants completed and returned a VPI and a questionnaire concerning their life work history. These materials were mailed to the 100 individuals in the original sample and were accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed return envelope and a cover letter that briefly explained the purpose of the study and asked for assistance. Return of the completed materials was assumed to imply consent to participate in the study: failure to return the materials was assumed to imply lack of consent. Therefore, those individuals who did not return the materials were not contacted or asked to participate; such follow-up was judged to constitute undue pressure. Thus. the 65% return rate is based upon the initial contact alone. Although subjects were free to contact the investigators. none did; we assume. therefore, that the standard instructions on the VP1 and the instructions on our questionnaire were understood by the participants. Holland’s VP1 is a personality inventory composed of I I scales which can be used to determine vocational interests and personality types. Of the I1 scales, the six type scales (Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Artistic (A), Social (S), Enterprising (E), and Conventional (C)), are the most commonly reported. The VP1 has been used in numerous settings with a wide variety of subjects. Data concerning subjects younger than those reported here are extensive and are reviewed in the VP1 manual (Holland, 1973). The manual reports internal consistency coefficients for the I I VPI scales ranging from .I4 to .89 (p. 8) and test-retest reliability coefficients for periods of 2 weeks to 4 years ranging from .27 to .98 (p. 8). Summaries of research which attempted to establish the VPI’s construct, concurrent, and predictive validities also appear in the manual.
106
WARREN,
WINER,
AND DAILEY
The work history questionnaire completed by the participants asked several questions directly related to occupational history. These centered on the participant’s first job, longest job, last job, and present job, if applicable. An additional question concerned leisure time activities and hobbies. Holland’s (1977a) Occupations Finder was used to assign a one-letter high point code to each participant’s job title or duties from each phase of his or her work history. There is no definitive classification of hobbies and leisure activities according to Holland type. Taylor, Kelso, Cox, Alloway, and Matthews (1979) developed a Leisure Checklist of 36 items keyed to Holland’s six types, but the current investigators needed to classify self-reported hobbies and leisure activities. The assignment of Holland codes to hobbies and leisure activities was accomplished according to the following procedure. First, it was decided to define any answer to our question which appeared as a valid hobby or leisure activity. Lack of financial remuneration as a defining characteristic was judged unsatisfactory. Craft hobbiests, for example, may produce salable items; sporting individuals may win money; and skilled individuals may provide services or give lessons for pay, all while considering themselves to be at leisure rather than at work. For the sample of primarily retired persons reported here, there may have been a tendency to overreport leisure rather than work out of fear of revealing income in excess of that permitted Social Security recipients, but we have no data to support that possibility. Second, the investigators coded the hobbies and leisure activities based upon consensual judgment aided by Holland’s (1973) definitions of the six types, items on the SDS, high point codes (as listed in the Occupations Finder) of occupations which seemed similar in activity to the hobby, and discussion. Activities which involved physical effort, solitary involvement, working with one’s hands or working with machinery for purposes of utility rather than aesthetics, and being outdoors were coded as Realistic. Examples of the Realistic category, which was the most numerous, are taking walks, gardening, electronics, utility sewing (such as sewing draperies), utility carpentry (such as building shelves), yard work, and rock hunting. Investigative activities included reading, playing chess, and working crossword puzzles. Activities whose major feature seemed to be aesthetic, in either creating or performing, were classified as Artistic. Examples include aesthetic sewing (such as needlework, embroidery, and macrame), aesthetic carpentry (such as decorative woodworking), flower arranging, writing stories or poems, and singing (including singing in the church choir). Helping other people was classified as Social; examples include working with juvenile delinquents, working with scout troops, and being a hospital volunteer. Being with other people for company or amusement was also classified as Social; examples include visiting family and friends, church activities other than choir, bridge club, and golf.
POTENTIAL
OF HOLLAND’S
VPI IN THE LATER
YEARS
107
“Watching television” was classified as Social on the grounds that television is an approximation of contact with people; if a specific type of program had been mentioned, then the classification would have varied by program content. Individuals who were officers in civic organizations, who took part in fund raising efforts, or who were members of committees were classified as Enterprising. Our sample included no individuals coded as Conventional in their leisure activities, but criteria for the Conventional classification included an emphasis on structure and order (such as stamp collecting or keeping records for a team). Given the exploratory nature of the investigation, reliance on singleletter codes rather than codes of two or more letters to label the occupations and hobbies appeared to be justified. As subjects’ work histories were not perfectly consistent (for example, an individual whose first job was classified R might have spent most of his or her career in a C-type job). the number of participants classified as a given Holland type varied from one phase of the work history to another. RESULTS Five of the six Holland types were found to be represented in the sample when Holland type was defined occupationally; no participant reported any work experience in an Artistic occupation. The Artistic type was represented in the hobby category, but the Conventional type was not. Table 1 presents the number of participants classified as each of the Holland types as defined in five ways: first full-time job, longest full-time job, present job (if still employed), last job, and hobbies. In addition, Table 1 presents the means and standard deviations of the raw scores of the VP1 scales for each Holland type for each definition and for the sample as a whole. Table 2 presents the number of men and women represented by each type, variously defined. In general, the data suggest that participants whose occupations were of a given Holland type achieved higher scores on the appropriate VP1 scales than on inappropriate VP1 scales. The congruence between occupational history and VP1 results is presented for each phase of the occupational history. An examination of the participants’ VP1 scale scores and the Holland type of the first full-time job reveals that congruence exists between the two measures for all represented types except Conventional. That is, with the exception of the C group, each Holland type group, as defined by the first full-time job, achieved its highest mean score on the appropriate VP1 scale. The C group, as defined by first full-time job, achieved a mean raw score of 2.4 on the E scale of the VP1 and a mean raw score of 2.3 on the C scale. This difference is minimal. and the two types adjoin in the hexagonal arrangement of Holland types. When participants were classified by high point on the VP1 (yielding seven groups, in that participants for types R, I, A, S, E, and C numbered I I, 7. 13, 8, 10. and 13.
Present job
R 1
5 0
15 4 0 13 22 II
Longest full-time job
N
25 4 0 15 9 12
Type
First full-time job
Definition
4.2 -
1.2 2.6 0.5
4.4 2.8
3.8 2.8 1.4 I.9 0.8
M
R
3.2 -
4.2 1.7 2.0 2.7 1.5
3.6 1.7 2.7 2.1 1.6
SD
2.0 -
3.9 4.5 1.7 2.4 1.6
3.0 4.8 1.6 3.0 I.9
M
I
2.8 -
4.3 3.3 2.1 3.3 4.1
2.2 4.0 4.0
3.8 3.4
SD
2.2 -
2.6 0.3 1.5 I.8 2.8
2.2 0.5 1.3 3.3 1.9
M
A
1.3 -
3.7 0.5 2.4 3.3 4.1
3.3 0.6 I.6 4.7 4.0
SD
2.4
2.6 0.8 2.9 1.9 1.5
I.8 0.8 2.9 3.1 I .4
M
VP1 Raw scores
TABLE I VP1 Raw Scores for Holland Types Defined Five Ways
S
3.4 -
3.7 1.0 3.5 2.9 2.3
3.0 I.0 3.7 3.4 2.2
SD
SD 3.6 I.5 3.1 4.2 2.0 3.6 1.8 2.1 3.7 2.1 3.0 -
M 3.2 4.3 2.1 3.9 2.4 2.7 4.0 1.5 4.4 1.9 1.8 -
E
1.4 -
2.3 1.3 I.7 2.7 2.0
2.2 1.0 2.3 2.3 2.3
M
C
1.5 -
3.5 0.5 3.4 2.4 1.6
3.2 0.8 3.1 2.0 I.9
SD
35 30 65
Male Female Combined
T-u131
I5 7
II 4 0
25 2 9 15 4 0
A s E c
K
0 6 5
Hobbies and leisure
Last ;ob
A s E c
3.5 I.1 2.4
4. I 2.0 2.0 I. I 0.5
0.6 2.4 0.7
2.x 2.8
I.3 3.2 0.0
3.4 2.0 3.0
3.1 2.8 2.4 I.2 I .o -
I.1 2.6 1.9
3.7 1.7
2.4 2.4 0.0
2.4 4.5 2.6 1.1 1.3 I.3 2.8 2.0
4. I 7.8 3.4 1.5 I.3 3.7 3.3 3.5
4.3 5.5 3.0 0.X 1.3 7.2 I.9 2.6
I.9 0.3
0.x 2.6 0.0
0.7 2.5 3.7
4.3 3.3
2. I 3.0 0.0
I.1 3.5 5.1
0.7 3.0 2.4
2.9 4.5
2.0 2.x 0.0
2.3 4.0 3.3
4.1 4.9 3.5 0.9 I.0 -
0.X 3.9 4.9
3.8 0.5
1.0 3.6 0.0
-
I.7 2.6 2.1
2.5 3.6 3.0
3.3 2.1 4.4 1.8 0.6 -
2.7 I.5 3.0 1.5 I.5
1.4 I.5 I.9
3.0 I.0 I.1 3.0 2.7
4.x I.2 0.0
1.5 0.X
5.5 2.0 0.0
3.7 2.1 3.0
3.6 2.5 3.2 2.3 4.0 -
0.9 3.8 2. I
2.1 4.0
2.3 5.x 0.0
-
3.4 2.9 3.2
3.5 0.7 3.5 2.8 3.1
0.9 4.3 2. I
2.8 I.8
2.7 2.2 0.0
2.5 I.9 2.2
2.5 2.5 2.4 I.9 3.0
I.1 2.5 2.6
I.9 1.3
2.x 2.6 0.0
2.6 2.x 2.7
2.5 3.5 3.9 2.4 2.2
I.5 2.7 I.5
3.4 0.5
4.7 2.6 0.0
110
WARREN, WINER, AND DAILEY TABLE 2 Frequencies of Holland Types by Gender
Definition
Type
First full-time job
Longest full-time job
Total N
Men
Women
25 4 0 I5 9 I2 R I A S E C
Present job
Last job
Hobbies and leisure
R I A S E C
25 2 9 I5 4 0
respectively, with 3 participants obtaining no high point code), the relationship between tested Holland type and first full-time job was found to be statistically significant h” = 41.7, df = 24, p s .05). An examination of the data comparing VP1 raw scores and Holland type as defined by the longest full-time job demonstrates virtually the same relationship as found in the comparison of VP1 raw scores and first full-time job. Each Holland type group, as determined by the longest job, achieved its highest mean score on the appropriate VP1 scale with the exception of the Conventional group. Unlike the previous case, the highest mean raw score achieved by the C group was on the A scale (M = 2.8);
POTENTIAL
OF HOLLAND’S
VP1 IN THE LATER
YEARS
111
the mean on the C scale was 2.0. As in the previous case, the relationship between VP1 high point code (as opposed to scale scores) and longest full-time job was found to be statistically significant (x’ = 42.9, & = 24, p d .Ol). Those participants currently employed reported occupations of the Realistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional types. Once again, each Holland type achieved its highest mean score on the corresponding VP1 scale with the exception of the Conventional type. A statistically significant relationship was found between VP1 high point code and current occupation (x’ = 46.8, & = 24. p G .OOS). Four of the retired participants did not report the nature of their last job. For the remaining participants who were no longer employed (N = 44). the relationship between the Holland type of their last job and their scores on the VP1 scales is not as neat as for the other phases of the work history. The relationship is congruent for Investigative, Social. and Enterprising types. The Realistic type, as determined by the last job, achieved a mean score of 2.9 on the I scale and 2.8 on the R scale. This difference is minimal, and the two types adjoin on the Holland hexagon. Once again, the Conventional type achieved its highest mean score on the A scale (M = 3.7) and second highest on the C scale (M = 2.6). The relationship between the seven high point code groups and the five “last job” groups was found not to be statistically significant (x’ = 34.3. df = 24, p d IO). The comparison of VP1 raw scores and Holland types as determined by hobbies and leisure activities provided the fewest congruent relationships. The Investigative and Enterprising types received the highest mean scores on the appropriate scales. As in the case of the last job, the Realistic types scored slightly higher on the I scale (M = 4.3) than on the R scale (M = 4. I). The Artistic types scored highest on the E scale (M = 3.6), next highest on the I scale (M = 3.0) and S scale (M = 3.0) and then the A scale (M = 2.6). The Social types scored highest on the E scale (M = 2.3). then the C scale (M = 1.9) and then the S scale (M = 1.5). However, the relationship between VP1 high point code, as opposed to scale scores, and leisure was found to be statistically significant (x2 = 5 1.8, dJ‘ = 30, p < .OO1). Ten respondents did not report hobbies or leisure time activities, and no participant reported hobbies or leisure activities of a Conventional type. The data presented in Table I further suggest that participants of several, if not all, Holland types as defined by VP1 high point code have pursued life careers which are consistent with the Holland theory. The highest mean scores in the Realistic column of Table 1 are associated with the Realistic first full-time job, longest full-time job. present job. and hobbies; Realistic and Investigative last jobs show equal mean scores on the Realistic scale of the VPI. The highest mean scores in the Investiga-
112
WARREN,
WINER,
AND DAILEY
tive scale column are for Investigative life experiences for all phases (including leisure) of the career except the present job, in which the Enterprising type achieved the highest mean I scale score. The highest mean score on the Conventional scale was achieved by the C type within the last job category and, as a tied score, within the first full-time job category. A type adjacent to C on the Holland hexagon (Enterprising) achieved the highest mean score on the C scale for the longest full-time job and for hobbies. Social types achieved the highest C score for present job. Results for the remaining three high points are not as pure as for the first three. The highest mean scores on the Social scale of the VP1 were achieved by the S types within the longest full-time job and present job categories, by the E types (an adjacent type) within the first full-time job category, by the A types (an adjacent type) within the hobbies category, and by the C type within the last job category. Enterprising types achieved the highest mean scores on the E scale for longest full-time job, present job, and hobbies, but Investigative types achieved the highest E scores for first full-time job and last job. There having been no Artistic types (as defined by occupational history) in our sample, the highest mean scores for the A scale would be expected to fall to the types adjoining A on the Holland hexagon, that is, the I and S types. In no phase of the career was this expectation fulfilled. In fact, not even in the hobbies and leisure category, in which Artistic types were represented, did the A types achieve the highest mean score on the Artistic scale of the VPI. DISCUSSION In general, the findings suggest that the VP1 scales effectively describe personality types indicated by occupational history across the life span. No participant reported any Artistic work experience, so no conclusions may be drawn about the A type. The discrepancy noted for the R scale presents no serious contradiction to Holland’s position; the discrepancy was not observed throughout the work history, and the I scale on which R participants, as defined by the last occupation, scored most highly adjoins the R type on the hexagonal arrangement. However, the C scale of the VP1 did not correspond to the Holland type as defined by the first full-time job, longest full-time job, present job, or last job. It is possible that those whose work histories were of the Conventional type, who were mostly women, were of personality types other than Conventional but had been channeled into Conventional jobs by stereotypical social expectations. The occupational distribution presented in Table 2 appears to reflect traditional sex-role stereotypes in that men are overrepresented in R, I, and E occupations, and women are overrepresented in S and C occupations. The absence of Conventional interests as expressed in leisure
113
POTENTIALOFHOLLAND'SVPIINTHEL.ATERYEARS activities
supports
the contention
overrepresented
We do not know
whether
a stable
trait.
But
achieved
the
same
beginning
of their
From
point
predicted
by
hexagon,
the
theory
than
and
work
facilitate
Preference only
the earliest
alternative literature. studied eral.
but
the data
only
reported
CR1 side with
expect.
of the
The Leisure
The limitations the
provide
Note
only
(Taylor
the
of the study
in the participants’
generalized
of
a small
to the aged population
framework
town.
1979) is an
school
and
students.
suggest
in the
have
that
been
In gcnhobbie\
than for R, A. S, less support for
in structuring
the leisure
time
career.
are apparent. work
is in
reported
scope
to
Vocational
et al..
recently
limited
and
reported
to attempt
after
investigation
the life
leisure
activities
I). but its development
secondary
in the current
A defini-
to the Holland
investigators
modeled
as deter-
it is unclear
work.
between
of leisure
has been
to Australian
in describing
characteristics
he
Holland
VP1 scales
that
according
Checklist
which
types
as their
of the relationship
& Winer.
the use of the VP1 and Holland’s
represented
five
life career
as among
and VPI scale scores match better for I and E individuals and C individuals, but overall this investigation provides of the aged than
types.
would
greater
given
activities
of the current
device
its 36 items
in relation
might
Inventory
(Warren
stages.
that the
in our
which
and Holland
of classification
led two
assessment
activities
and leisure
Preference
Inventory
code
are of the same nature
the study
sample
a Leisure
point
The
at the
suggest
reflected
is associated
is as one
The problem
by the elderly develop
here
have
test
side. leisure
of hobbies
would
cases.
would the
if not all, Holland
the aged is not as precise
hobbies
activities.
taken
experiences
the high
by the VPI,
This
people’s
tive classification system
created
between
occupations.
they
for several,
life
in most
by the VP1 among
whether
the
is the ASE
The relationship mined
type
were
codes reflect
participants
then the data presented
of view.
as measured
congruence
our
VP1 had
the life career
of Holland
VP1 high point
that
on the
careers,
predicts
another
our participants’
scores
individuals
roles.
if it is assumed
VPI high point definitions
that non-Conventional
in Conventional
Not
histories;
all Holland
the sample
southwestern
in its entirety.
Given
types
was small:
sample greater
were and
cannot
be
resources,
in-depth interviews might elicit better data than pencil-and-paper mailed questionnaires. A more extensive investigation could profitably use a twoor three-letter high point code to describe the retrospective view of virtually an entire part
of the individuals
reported
the Holland types. However, life span of work history on the
here presents
some tentative
the usefulness of the VP1 and Holland’s theory classification of individuals in their later years.
for
the
support
for
vocational
114
WARREN, WINER, AND DAILEY
REFERENCES Atchley. R. C. The social forces in later Itye: An introduction to social gerontology. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1972. Gottfredson, G. D. Career stability and redirection in adulthood. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1977, 62, 436-445. Harvey, D. W., & Whinfield, R. W. Extending Holland’s theory to adult women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1973, 3, 115-127. Holland, J. L. A personality inventory employing occupational titles. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1958, 42, 336-342. Holland, J. L. Making vocational choices. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1973. Holland, J. L. Manual for the Vocational Preference Inventory. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1973. Holland. J. L. The occupations finder. Palo Alto. Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1977. (a) Holland, J. L. The Self-Directed Search. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1977. (b) Holland, J. L. The Vocational Preference Inventory. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1978. Holland, J. L. The Se/f-Directed Search: Professional manual. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1979. Taylor, K. F., Kelso, G. I., Cox, G. N., Alloway, W. J., & Matthews, J. P. Applying Holland’s vocational categories to leisure activities. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 1979, 52, 199-207.
REFERENCE
NOiE
I. Warren, G. D., & Winer, J. L. An experimental personality inventory: The Leisure Preference Inventory. Paper presented to the Southwestern Psychological Association, Oklahoma City, April I I, 1980. Received: February I I, 1980.