PERSONALITY, SATISFACTION, AND MODELS OF OCCUPATIONAL PREFERENCES AND CHOICES OF WOMEN IN FEMALE AND MALE TYPICAL OCCUPATIONS
Abstract
Personality differences, satisfaction, and models of occupational preferences and choices of 171 women employed in four female typical occupations (FTO-licensed practical and registered nurses, hair stylists, and secretaries), and male typical occupations (MTO-police officers and craftswomen) were examined. Personality profiles were assessed using the 18 scales of the California Psychological Inventory. Besides investigating each group's profile, differences among the six groups were detected on femininity, socialization, communality, responsiblity, and flexibility. A stepwise discriminant function significantly differentiated between personalities of women in FTO and MTO on femininity, communality, self control, capacity for status, and dominance. Satisfaction with present job was evaluated on the 21 scales of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Despite the equality of the groups' general satisfaction, differences among several group combinations were detected on 11 work aspects. Most women were dissatisfied with their organization's policies and practices. Participants' most desirable work outcomes were also generated. Women in FTO identified a more pronounced set of attributes which includes: helping others, working and meeting with people, fulfillment, and caring for family and children. Using a multidimensional scaling (MDS) algorithm, occupational preferences were assessed and three dimensions were recovered: urgency of occupation to public, occupational gender, and general preference. Most women in FTO and MTO prefer mixed-sex occupations. Further, occupational preferences were significantly predicted via the weighted, within person valence model which provided more validity than the unweighted formulation. Types of occupational choices were also significantly predicted using Holland's (1973) theory and results from the MDS analysis. The multimethod testing of Holland's theory lends moderate support for Holland's theory in predicting types of occupational preferences and choices. Finally, an integrative framework was developed in which Holland's theory and the valence model were combined to predict types of occupational choices. The framework employs as independent variable participants' types of occupational preferences which were produced by the motivational process of the valence model. Results of the research support the integrative framework and show that the incremental validity it provides, over that of Holland's theory, in predicting types of occupational choices is significant.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Management
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