Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1949. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [122]-128).

The purposes of this study were to discover patterns in test scores when both the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Strong Interest Inventory are used simultaneously and to offer career counselors practical ways to interpret the scores when counseling their clients. To do this, the researcher conducted one study using canonical correlation to study the relationships and interrelationships between scores on the MBTI dichotomies and the SII GOTs. A second study utilized MANOVA to increase our understanding of age and gender differences in scores on these two instruments. Another study sought to use case examples of clients who had completed both tests to explain practical ways that career counselors can help their clients understand and apply results of both tests in ways that most benefit the clients’ career decision making. From the results of these studies, it would appear that the most common scores to occur simultaneously on both tests at once are MBTI Intuition, and SII Artistic. One could conclude from this that the personality characteristic of enjoying working in settings that allow for creative endeavor is particularly strong relative to other personality characteristics measured by these tests. We could also conclude that as individuals age, they are more likely to prefer working in settings that allow them to pursue creative endeavors. Another conclusion supported by this data indicates that men are more comfortable with career fields that are unstable and entrepreneurial than women throughout the lifespan.

The present study continues the long line of research addressing Person-Environment fit started by Frank Parsons a century ago and the construct of career satisfaction. Previous research emphasized Holland themes and specific occupational scales, with this study being the first to evaluate the higher order of personal style relating to job satisfaction. This study examined the capacity of the General Occupational Themes (GOTs) and Personal Style Scales (PSSs) of the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory in predicting job satisfaction across 8 individual samples comprising 4,938 working adults. Sequential discriminant function analyses demonstrated that sets of hypothesized PSSs significantly distinguished between satisfied and dissatisfied workers beyond the six Holland themes in all 8 occupational samples. This research provided validation and support for the newly added Team Orientation PSS. It further provided support for demographic variables related to job satisfaction, including ethnicity, gender, age, and the reason for testing.

A descriptive case study examined the gender differences concerning computer technology (IT) by a convenience sample (N = 180, 76%) of 11 th and 12 th graders at an elite public high school, recently named the "second best high school in America" (Newsweek, 2000), in suburban Northern Virginia. The purpose of the study was to examine the apparent discrepancy in male and female differences in computer use, interests, and attitudes. The research design included a student questionnaire combining the Computer Attitude Rating Scale (CARS, Heinssen, Glass, & Knight, 1987) and the Attitudes toward Computer Technology (ACT, Delcourt & Kinzie, 1993) with demographic and academic data (GPA, PSAT, and SAT I), and the Strong Interest Inventory (Strong, 1994). Chi-square tests of association for categorical data and t tests for independence of means for metric data were used to analyze the data, which resulted in several statistically significant relationships (p = < .05) and meaningful effect sizes (> .70). The results were higher mean scores for the Strong Realistic General Occupational Theme (males) and Artistic Theme (females); the Athletic and Mechanical Basic Interest Scales (males) and Music/Drama, Art, Culinary Arts, and Social Service Scales (females), and Risk-Taking Personal Style Scales (males) and Working Style with People (females). Females also had higher GPAs, levels of computer anxiety, resistance to technology, and avoidance of careers and study in computer fields. Females chose Pre-Medicine majors to help others and males chose Computer Science majors to gain financial rewards. The implications for practice and research included: female technology internships, 9th grade mechanical and technical training, computer anxiety group counseling, cooperative learning and hands on instruction, female-friendly computer and computer science classes, equal access to computers at all grade levels, student-parent information programs concerning the many opportunities and high paying jobs available in computer technology, female orientated computer games, and more non-linear computer programs and activities that encourage females to "have fun" with computers and not view them as machines. A longitudinal study of the current sample and research at other grade levels and locations were recommended. / Ph. D.

This study examined how vocational interests, vocational personal styles and work values impact on major satisfaction and specialization choice of 256 students in Master of Social Work programs from several regions of the United States. Participants completed the General Occupational Themes (GOTs) and the Personal Style Scales (PSSs) of the Strong Interest Inventory (SII; Donnay et al., 2005), the Values Scale (VS; Super & Nevill, 1989), and the modified Academic Major Satisfaction Scale (AMSS; Nauta, 2007). A series of logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine factors predicting major satisfaction, and a series of discriminant function analyses were conducted to investigate factors involved in distinguishing the three specialization groups (clinical social work-health/mental health/special population; clinical social work-children/youth/family; and non-profit organization administration/management, policy, community development). The results supported the importance of person-environment fit (P-E fit) in the membership of the MSW programs, the MSW students’ major satisfaction, and their specialization choices. The results also showed the validity and the utility of the GOTs, the PSSs, and the VS. Beyond three-letter Holland codes, further utilization of the GOTs and integration of the PSSs and the VS seem to be essential. Significant roles of work values of the VS were also noted. Implications for future research and career counseling are discussed. Recommendations for administrators of MSW programs are offered to more effectively recruit students, support their process of selecting a specialization, train them during the program, and provide additional training to professional social workers.

The Strong Interest Inventory (SII; Donnay, Morris, Schaubhut, & Thompson, 2005) has a broad research base commonly comprised of vocationally-relevant constructs such as career satisfaction (Hees, 2010), self-efficacy (Betz & Borgen, 2000), and educational aspirations (Rottinghaus, Lindley, Green, & Borgen, 2002). The present study aimed to expand the research base on the SII by linking the fields of vocational and positive psychology by examining the relationships between vocational interests, personal styles, and subjective well-being. This study focused specifically on the General Occupational Themes (GOTs) and Personal Style Scales (PSSs) of the SII by exploring the relationship between these scales and subjective well-being across a sample of 4945 working adults in eight occupations, including administrative assistant, a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields composite, realtor, elementary school teacher, sales manager, graphic designer, attorney, and automobile mechanic. Regression analyses demonstrated that the GOTs and PSSs individually explain a significant portion of variance in subjective well-being, as well as that the PSSs explain a significant amount of variance in subjective well-being above and beyond the GOTs. Occupation-specific hypotheses for GOTs and PSSs were also supported for 4 of the 8 occupations. This study provides further validation for the 2005 SII, specifically the newest PSS, Team Orientation. Future research, theory, and practice implications are discussed herein.