Interest Measurement

• Interests refer to a person’s liking or preference for engaging in particular activities.

• research consistently demonstrate that interests relate highly to work satisfaction

Assessment of Interests

• Most appraisals of interests attempt to identify patterns of likes, dislikes, and indifferences to school subjects, occupations, types of people, activities, or hobbies

Four ways of measuring of Interests

1. expressed: asking the person what they are interested in. – Difficulties with expressed interests – may provide inaccurate picture (influenced by external factors) – may reflect only a narrow range of interests or knowledge – don't provide a comparative base

2. Manifest: observing a person in different settings

3. Tested interests: by assessing one’s knowledge of a special terminology

4. Inventoried assessment: by collecting information in a standardized fashion

History of Assessment

• 1919-1920 Carnegie Institute: Yokum Seminar - topic "is it possible to inventory interests?" – two primary findings

• 1. people in same occupation had similar interests and people in different occupations had different interests

• 2. interest similarities did not only involve work related interests - also involved hobbies, etc.

• E.K. Strong was in the seminar. In 1927 he developed the first systematic interest inventory: SVIB-Boys – 1933 SVIB-Girls– When Strong died, he willed his royalties to the Center for Interest

Measurement Research (CIMR) at the Univ. of Minnesota

Revisions of the SVIB

• 1969 David Campbell (Added GOT/BIS)

• 1974 M/F merged and called it the SCII

• 1981 Jo Ida Hansen director renamed the SII and completely renormed

• 1994 Renormed, updated profile sheets, renamed personal style scales, updated occupations

Strong Interest Inventory

• 317 items • Occupations (LID) • School Subjects (LID) • Activities (LID) • Leisure Activities (LID) • Types of People (LID) • Preferences (L=R) • Characteristics (Y?N) • World of Work (L=R)

Strong Interest Inventory: Three Major Scales

• Personal Style Scales

• Administrative Indices (Summary of Item Responses)

• Validity Check

Strong Interest Inventory: Occupational Scales

• originally only 10 of them now 211 • developed from the insights of Yokum Seminar • Called Empirical and Heterogeneous Scales

– Empirical approach because of construction– Heterogeneous because no real tie to the actual occupation; high

scores on occupational scales does not mean one is interested in that occupation

• Surveyed persons from various jobs– approx 25 - 60+ age – satisfied with their work – experience at least 3 years – normal work tasks

Occupational Scales, cont.

• Standard scores: mean 50 sd 10

• Some scales gender specific due to sampling problems

General Reference Sample

• Compared items from 200 men 200 women to general reference sample. Items that discriminated occupational sample were included

Strong Interest Inventory: General Occupational Theme • Homogeneous Scales • Rationally Developed • Compared to General Reference Sample • Number is sex combined • plot is sex specific • each theme has at least 20 items loading

General Occupational Themes, cont.

• Measure of how strongly you represent that personality type.

• The most global of measures on the SII but perhaps the most useful with respect to sources of occupational information.

Strong Interest Inventory: Basic Interests Scales

• GOT broken down to specifics by cluster analysis

• 25 Basic Interests Scales • Homogeneous (internally they make

sense) • Measure general interest in that area

– Scale scores are general reference sample – plot is gender specific

Strong Interests Inventory: Special Scales

• Now Called Personal Style Scales

• Work Style (high people low ideas/data/things)

• Learning Environment (high academic low practical)

• Leadership Style (high take control low not)

• Risk Taking/Adventure (high risk low not risky)

• Validity Check (Positive infrequent responses) – also check >300

Strong Interest Inventory: Administrative Indices

• normal responses range 15 - 60%

• consistent high or low should be interpreted with caution

Strong Interest Inventory: Flat Profiles

• The Flat Profile may indicate narrow well defined interests – usually resolved with discussion – may indicate lack of knowledge

• cultural differences - reluctant to check when don't understand

• mood -check it out • indecisive or lack commitment • pervasive negativity • low self-esteem

Other Interest Inventories

• There are hundreds of Interest Inventories

• Strong useful for college bound/professional (many occupations require at least 2 years of college)

• Other inventories like Kuder and Career Assessment Inventory are better for non-college/professional or less than 2 years of college

• The more commonly used alternatives include the Kuder instruments, the Career Assessment Inventory, The Campbell Interest and Skill Survey, the SDS, Career Occupational Preference Interest Inventory, and Jackson Vocational Interest Survey

Kuder Occupational Interest Survey (KOIS)

• Author: Frederic Kuder.• Compares student interests with those of

satisfied groups in 119 specific occupations and 48 college majors.

• Also provides a three-letter RIASEC Holland code

• Kuder General Interest Inventory– Used more with younger groups and persons

who don’t want to go to college

Career Assessment Inventory

• a Strong like inventory

• only has school subjects, activities, and occupations sections

• CAI has GOT, OC, BIS.

Campbell Interest and Skill Survey

• Developed by David Campbell after he left the Strong

• Developed a scale to integrate a measure of both interests and skills

Career Occupational Preference Interest Inventory

(COPS)• R. Knapp and L. Knapp• Provides 8 major career clusters modeled after Ann Roe’s

classification scheme• Areas include:

– Science Professional and Skilled– Technology Professional and Skilled– Consumer Economics– Outdoor– Business Professional and Skilled– Communication– Arts Skilled– Service Professional and Skilled

Jackson Vocational Interest Survey

• Jackson, Douglas N.• Scoring yields a sex-fair profile along 10 General

Occupational Themes and 34 Basic Interest Scales.

• These scales provide work role dimensions relevant to a variety of occupations and work style scales indicative of work environment preferences.

• The survey contains 289 pairs of statements describing occupational activities

Vocational card sorts

• measures of expressed interest