AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EXPRESSED AND INVENTORIED INTEREST IN PREDICTING CURRENT COLLEGE MAJOR AND FUTURE CAREER CHOICE
Abstract
This study investigated the effectiveness of expressed and inventoried interest in predicting current college major and future career choice and the relationship between career decidedness as measured by the Career Decision Scale (CDS) and the level of congruence between past expressed and inventoried interests and current choices of college major and future career. Gender and class differences were examined. Expressed interests were those reported on the American College Test (ACT) Student Profile Section (SPS). Inventoried interests included scores on the Basic Interest Scales of the ACT Interest Inventory and/or the General Occupational Themes of the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII). Nine hypotheses were formulated. The sample consisted of 266 college sophomores, juniors, and seniors at a small Midwestern university who completed and returned the CDS, a career planning questionnaire, and had on file at least: (a) ACT SPS expressed interests or (b) scores on the ACT Basic Interest Scales and/or SCII General Occupational Themes. Data collection took place over a three month period. Three-letter Holland codes were assigned to past expressed and inventoried interests as well as to current choices. An adaptation of the Zener-Schnuelle Index was used to generate congruency scores that assessed the degree of agreement between two sets of three-letter Holland codes. The means of these congruency scores and the CDS scores then were analyzed statistically. Expressed interests generally were found to be more accurate predictors of current choices than were either the ACT Basic Interest Scales or the General Occupational Themes of the SCII. In addition, the SCII General Occupational Themes, for the most part, were better predictors of current choices than were the ACT Basic Interest Scales. Gender and class difference, however, usually did not have any significant influence on the congruency of past and present choices or CDS indecision scores. Suggestions for future research were presented.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Academic guidance counseling
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