Introduction

John Holland’s theory on making vocational choices supports the idea that college students with different interests have different personality types. Holland’s work has had a significant influence on the field of vocational and industrial-organizational psychology, generating a huge amount of research on conceptualizing vocational interests, career decision-making, developing interest inventories, categorizing occupational information, and counseling for career development and advising (Savickas & Gottfredson, 1999).

Holland hypothesized that people would be more successful and satisfied in their jobs if their personality and work environment were compatible. This theory is widely known as the “Big 6 Vocational Interest Theory.” Previous research supports a connection between vocational self-efficacy domains and an individual’s interests, occupations, and future career aspirations (Larson & Borgen, 2006). Betz, Heesacker and Shuttleworth (1990) believe that the realism of an individuals’ career choice is determined by the match between their occupational self-efficacy and their level of interest in their field.

 

Method !Participants •  50 seniors in their last semester at Merrimack College •  Participants were recruited via email and offered $15 and feedback on

their online vocational interest test Materials •  Participants completed a brief questionnaire which gathered

demographics, major path, career goals, and satisfaction with current major and future job prospects.

•  The Holland Code Career Test, from the online source Truity (http://www.truity.com/test/Holland code-career-test), was used to determine the participant’s personality type and 3-digit Holland code.

•  Merrimack’s college major code was defined by combining similar school’s ‘Majors/Minors Three Digit Code’ model(s).

Procedure •  The study was conducted individually a private office in the

Psychology Department at Merrimack •  The entire study took approximately 30 minutes Computation of Key Study Variables. To get a measure of congruence between Holland personality type (RIASEC) and college major, a congruence matrix was constructed.

Abstract Holland hypothesized that a high congruence between his RIASEC personality type and work environments would result in a high level of satisfaction. The present study attempts to apply Holland’s theory to college students and their major selection. Fifty seniors from a small Catholic college in New England served as participants in this study. Consistent with the study hypotheses, results show significant correlations between level of congruence and satisfaction with major choice (r=0.47;p<0.05); and satisfaction with future job prospects for double majors (r=0.58;p<0.05). However, contrary to expectations these relationships were only observed for double majors. Research for these differences were explored. Findings have the potential to improve college students’ understanding of vocational interest and assist in major and career advisement.

 

Results The frequency distribution of congruence scores by major status is presented to the right. These findings support the first hypothesis that Holland personality scores and the Holland major code are congruent. Contrary to my second hypothesis, a negative relationship (r=-.32, p<.05) was observed between congruence and satisfaction with major for single majors, see below. For double majors the data does support the second hypothesis. A significant positive relationship was observed between congruence and satisfaction with major (r=.47, p<.05). In addition, there was a significant positive relationship between congruence and satisfaction with future job prospects (r=.58, p<.05).

In accordance with my third hypothesis, connecting the level of satisfaction with major and the level of satisfaction with future job prospects, a significant positive relationship was found for both single and double majors. Single majors: (r=.61, p<.01) Double majors: (r=.58, p<.01)

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed)

Conclusions

Since personality and vocational interest tests are widely used in the advising processes when declaring and pursing a college major, the findings from this study have the potential to improve vocational aspiration understanding and career advisement for future college students: •  Congruence was found between personality type and the Holland major code model that was developed. •  Double major participants showed a strong positive correction between this congruence and satisfaction with their college major (s). •  Both single and double major participants showed a strong positive correlation between levels of satisfaction with major and satisfaction with

future job prospects.

Alexandra D. Finney Merrimack College

Literature Cited Betz, N. E., Heesacker, R. S., & Shuttleworth, C. (1990). Moderators of the congruence and realism of major

and occupational plans in college students: A replication and extension. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 37(3), 269-276.

Larson, L.M., & Borgen, F.H. (2006). Do personality traits contribute to vocational self-efficacy?. Journal of Career Assessment, 14, 295-308. doi:10.1177/1069072706286446

Savickas, M.L., & Gottfredson, G.D. (1999). Introduction: Holland’s theory (1959-1999): 40 years of research and application. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 55, 1-4.

The Present Study Hypothesizes:

•  There will be congruence between the Holland personality type

and (RIASEC) college major type. •  The greater the congruence between the Holland personality

type (RIASEC) and choice of major, the greater the satisfaction with major.

•  The greater the satisfaction with the major, the greater the satisfaction with future job prospects.

Major Code

Hol

land

Cod

e 1st Letter 2nd Letter 3rd Letter

1st Letter High High High 2nd Letter Moderate Moderate Moderate 3rd Letter Low Low Low

Acknowledgments Psi Chi- 2012-2013 Undergraduate Research Grant Recipient