BACKGROUND OF INVENTOR, JOHN L.

HOLLAND

John Lewis Holland was born in October 21, 1919.
He was a Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Johns
Hopkins University and an American psychologist.
He died on November 27, 2008, at Union Memorial
Hospital. Holland is best known as the creator of the
career development model, Holland Occupational
Themes (Holland Codes).
His famous work is Hollands typology that provides an interpretative structure for a number of
different vocational interest surveys, including the two measures he developed: The Vocational
Preference Inventory in 1953 and the Self Directed Search (SDS) in 1970. Holland continued to
work on his theory after his retirement from Johns Hopkins in 1980, finally revising it once again
in 1997. He also worked with Gary Gottfredson on a few new inventories. In 1991, they
developed the Position Classification Inventory (PCI) which was an outgrowth of their attempt to
extend the system to all occupations in 1982, 1989, and 1996. Later in 1994, they developed the
The Career Attitudes and Strategies Inventory.







INTRODUCTION

Vocational Preference Inventory is the first of the Holland inventories that has undergone
six revisions since its introduction in 1953. The 1985 (7
th
Edition) contains 160 occupational
titles as items and yields the six type scales (RIASEC) and five supplemental scales (Self-
Control, Masculinity, Status, Infrequency, Acquiescence). Although data on construct validity
for the VPI seems substantial, little in the way of internal consistency information was reported
in the manual, which is need of revision and is much less comprehensive that the SDS manuals
as cited in Brown and Associates (2002) .
The main purpose of VPI is to assess an individual personalitys orientation. The
rationale of the development of VPI (Vocational Preference Inventory) was based on idea that
preferences for occupations are expression of personality. These preferences, while stereotypic,
tend to be reliable and consistent with reality. To the degree an individual prefers a large number
of occupations associated with a personality orientation, his favored coping behavior for dealing
with interpersonal and environmental problems may be inferred. Thus, according to Holland,
interest inventories are personality inventories, and vocational preferences represent a major
facet of an individuals personality.
The VPI composed of 160 occupational titles to which the respondent replies yes for
interesting or appealing, no for dislike and uninteresting, and no response for undecided.
Although the primary purpose of VPI is to assess personality, the inventory may also be used as
an interest inventory and to stimulate occupational exploration. Generally, persons to be tested
should be over 14 years of age. Most people require 15 to 30 minutes to complete the inventory
which is self-administering. The time to complete the test should not be over 30 minutes because
the individual tend to be dishonest and will influence will out element. Individuals simply record
their preferences for occupations on an answer sheet. Hand scoring takes about 60 seconds. The
same form is used for male and female. The test is suitable all gender and ethics or culture. The
counselor can use raw to scores from the six personality types to locate matching occupations,
majors, or leisure activities in various resources. The measure offers the advantages of brevity
and low cost, along with information about some additional personality-related traits. Unlike
with SDS, the examinee does not know how particular items will contribute various scales.
















THEORITICAL CONTEXT
The theoretical context of Vocational Preference Inventory is can be assumed as
fulfillment model. It is where people start to look for their enjoyment of life. People will search
for their interest that can be fulfilling their leisure times. Here in VPI test, it help individual to
actualize their talents, skills, ability that suit with the occupation. This test actually more access
on the personality traits and values instead of career. But it completely tallies with the occupation
that suit with person values and environment approaches. This inventory can help people to
reduce the range of work that they able to do within the accessing the actual skills. Hollands
vocational preference inventory more emphasize more on the work that people can do instead of
level or prestige that they can hold. According to Holland, people personality types can develop
through some basic elements such as self-concept, perception of the environment, values,
achievement and performance, differential reaction to environmental rewards and stress,
preference for occupation and occupational role, coping style and also measure the personal
traits. Repertoires of these eight elements in the test questions will come out with valid results
about the person type personalities and followed by types of career that suitable for them to work
with.

HOLLAND HEXAGON MODEL

Holland hexagon model comprises six personality types and environment which are
RIASEC. R stands for realistic, I stand for investigative, A stands for artistic, S stands for social,
E stands for enterprising and C stands for conventional. All these six have their own criteria and
values and provide with the types of occupations that tallies with.

Realistic: People who have skill in athletic or mechanical. These types of person love to
work with object, machine, tools, plant and animals. Meaning that, they are dont like to deal
with people in their career fields. Usually, they are most preferred to work outdoor rather than
indoor. Holland has listed the values that we can see in this people are about values of concrete
things or tangible characteristics such as money, power, and status. Basically they are
materialistic, natural, inflexible, honest, normal, genuine, persistent, insightful, hard-headed and
practical. The types of occupation that appropriate with realistic person are civil engineering,
machine operator, mechanic, carpenter, gardener and the like.

Investigative: People who love to observe, analysis, make experiment, have skills in
problem solving and make research. They absolutely have scientific and mathematical skill
while, interest with scientific and technical profession. They have science value in themselves
like analytical, rational, cautious intellectual, critical, complex, curious, and precise. It means
that, they are having high order thinking and more intellectual than others. Of course the
occupation that suit with them are astronomy, doctor, biologist, meteorologist, anthropologist,

Artistic: This types of person have ability in art and innovative. They gifted own
uniqueness than others where they having good intuition. Artistic people mostly love to work in
unstructured situation and totally dont like an instruction. They tend to work in their own way
where people can not interrupt them with organization. Usually, people uncomfortable with
repetitive and routinely work, they prefer different activities in life. It can be said, they are
amongst the unorganized person but their work is quite nice. Normally, artistic people use their
imagination and creativity in their work and not too depend on the other sources because they
are idealistic person. The values that Holland stated in them are aesthetic qualities where they
are quite complicated, imaginative, intuitive, disorderly, emotional, original expressive,
independent, idealistic and obviously open. Typically, occupation that appropriate with them is
something related to the arts like artist, reporter, architect, author, singer and the like.

Social: Individual who prefer to work and interaction with people. This kind of person
always deals with people in their job. Usually, almost of social type person are extrovert where
they are like to socialize and interact with the environment. They also love to tell, help, train,
treat and make charities to others. They have a good communication with people and the main
goal is make charities. The values that we can see in them such as helpful, respectful, sociable,
cooperative, understanding, kind, friendly, generous, persuasive, emphatic, warm and
something like that. Normally, the types of occupation that suitable for social person like
teacher, counselor, sociologist and the like.

Enterprising: Individual who love to work and interact with people like social types. They
are tending to persuade, influence, lead and manage others with the specific intention.
Enterprising type of people having good skill in manipulate and taking advantages on others, it is
done for their own organization sake. This kind of people are quit same with social person where
they are extrovert, but their goal is slightly different. The main goal of enterprising is to achieve
the profit for organization and economy. They are in political and economic achievement values
which are energetic, adventurous, optimistic, agreeable, excitement, seeking, self-confident,
domineering, extroverted and talkative. Basically, the career that most suitable with that kind of
person are like CEO company, executive advertising, businessmen, lawyer, politician, and bank
manager.
Conventional: Somebody who love to work with numerical and data. Typically, they are
having skill in clerical field and always deal with number. Usually this kind of person prefers to
do the job in detail and follow the instruction. They are prefers to work in organize situation and
can do work repeatedly. The values that we can see in themselves which are careful, inflexible,
persistent, conforming, inhibited, practical, conscientious, methodical, defensive, obedient,
efficient, orderly and some more. Then, appropriate professions for them of course secretary,
accountant, clerk, computer operator and much more.

FIVE SUPPLEMENTAL SKILL OF JOHN HOLLAND

Supplemental skill is addition to how VPI test clients characteristics based on 160
RIASEC questions given. This addition skill is to improve clients knowledge and awareness
about themselves. From my opinion, this supplemental skills can help clients to improve their
career choice and decision because firstly is that they know how they present themselves to
people surround them and it help them interpret well what they should do in their career life. To
have a strong awareness realization of what they want to become based on their character can
make them give strong commitment to do what they like. And finally, the career itself benefits
the clients. The supplemental skills of Vocational Preference Inventory are self-control,
masculinity-femininity, status, infrequency, and acquiescence. It is measured with either low
score or high score.
For self-control Self Control, the high score shows that the clients are able to control
themselves emotionally, behavior and desire. The additional wants and needs do not important to
them for what is important is something that they really need for example learning to get
knowledge. Friends and entertainment cannot deviates him from his true intention. They are
usually firm and confident with their own decision. And they are not easy encouraged with other
people surround them and stick with their own decision only.
For the low scorer, it opposite with high score and it shows that the persons are less able
to control themselves and strongly influenced by environmental factors. They do not have or less
of their own principle and standing. They listen and follow whatever opinion they heard without
investigating. What they like to do for example friends, entertainment, partner and the like snatch
him away from doing things that important in their life. It produce that problem of time
snatching where you are likely and always postponed the important tasks.
Masculinity-feminity scale is the skill that measure how is the level of our man and
women characteristics exists in us. It cannot be denied that in man exists the feminine dominance
character like caring and vice versa. In career choice it also important for it can show your
preference. For the high scorer it indicates frequent choices that are usually masculine. The
masculinity characteristics are active, wise, unsociable, hardheaded, and competitive.
If got the low score, it is indicate feminine side and the usual feminine character are
mature, sociable, caring. This masculinity femininity scale can help spot faking for high
Social and Artistic should go with low which is femininity because social and artistic going
along with woman.
The third scale measure in VPI is status to see whether the clients career choice based on
status or not. For the high scorer it shows desire for high prestige rank, correlated with social
origin, expectation of need for status, moving forward, self-esteem, self-confidence. The
characteristics for high scorer are sociable, competitive, enthusiastic, dominant, and adventurous
and want to be important.
For the low scorer, it shows that the person does not care with status in career choice.
Even it is low status job like sweeper and cleaner. What it is important that it can give source of
money for them. They even hate being in job that make them known to the whole word like
artist.
Next is called Infrequency (Inf). It is an item to assess the tendency of client to answer
the items in atypical way or direction.
If client got high scores for this scale meaning that they prefer for unpopular, female-
dominated, low status occupations, rejection of male-dominated high status. As we are all well
informed, popular occupations requiring various interpersonal, artistic, and intellectual talents.
Last scale is Acquiescence (Ac). It intend to measure willingness of clients to say yes
to items being ask in the questionnaire.
We can see it from two perspectives. One is extremely high. This kind of person is ready
only to accept, agree, or allow something to happen by staying silent or by not arguing. They are
poor in judgment and lack of personal integration. They just become the receiver and let other
decide. Another type is well-integrated, has multiple interests and talents. Review work history
to determine which is right.
From that, we can see that if client got low score it shows that client answer the
questionnaire from what they perceive and their own interest. The result becomes valid for the
counselor to use for client next steps in the session. In contrast with that, if client got high score
it shows that clients answer may be influence by other factors like society perspective about a
profession. It makes the test become invalid to be used in the future.

STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES OF VPI

There are many advantages of the VPI test in counseling process. However, here I will
just highlight few of them. VPI is a psychological personality-interest inventory composed
entirely of occupational titles. Although not as comprehensive as SDS, the VPI assesses 5
dimensions or supplementary scales that are not covered by SDS. Another point is VPI provide
occupational forecasts of satisfaction and achievement because it yields a broad range of
information about interest, interpersonal relationships, values, self-conception, coping behaviors,
and identifications of a person. All of those aspects give contribution for someone in choosing a
future profession or career.
Besides that, there are also the limitations of VPI in several aspects. One of them is that
the VPI test is less comprehensive. In the context that it measure lot of thing that is not necessary
for someone to choose a future career. That is one of the reasons SDS was produce after
reviewing the VPI; to cut off all the limitation that VPI have.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VPI AND SDS

The Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) is a tool that people can use to figure out
what career is best for them. The VPI analyzes a person's preferences and figures out the best
jobs for them based upon their scoring on 11 scales.
The Self-Directed Search (SDS) works by asking people for their own dream job
preferences and figures out a career path based on that.

CONCLUSION

Vocational preference inventory are interest-based inventory test intended to discover an
occupation that you are passionate about. The interest tests will lead you to your true calling, the
sources of job satisfaction and lifes fulfillment.
Unlike career aptitude tests that measure your mental abilities, interest examine the type
of occupation you might enjoy and be successful in.













REFERENCES

John L. Holland: Award for Distinguished Scientic Applications of Psychology. American
Psychologist Vol. 63, No. 8 (November 2008): 672-4
Brown. D. and Associates (2002). Career Choice and Development. 4
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Edition. USA: Jossey-
Bass A Wiley Company
W. Bruce Walsh. Vocational Preference Inventory by John L. Holland. Journal of Educational
Measurement. Vol. 9, No. 2 (Summer, 1972), pp. 167-169. Published by: National
Council on Measurement in Education. Retrieved from Article Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1433813
Holland, J. L. (1970). Vocational preference inventory manual. Palo Alto, Calif: Consulting
Psychologists Press
Graham.J.R & Naglieri. J.A. (2003) .Handbook of Psychology, Assessment Psychology. Volume
10. Assessment Psychology. Canada: John Wiley & Son