Blog #11: Counter-Argument Book Review #3

Arnold, John. "The Congruence Problem In John Holland's Theory Of Vocational Decisions."Journal Of Occupational & Organizational Psychology 77.1 (2004): 95-113. Business Source Elite. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.

This article questions John Holland's Theory of the link between personality, environment, and college major. It states that although the theory first appears to be fool-proof, it actually turns out to be hard to be hard to prove in everyday situations. Many students were tested using Holland's Theory and their results showed very little correlation to their decisions regarding college. Holland's Theory appears to coincide with general psychological theories of personality; the theory does not show substantial evidence in vocational predictions.


The author, Professor John Arnold, PhD, is currently a visiting professor at Loughborough University in England. He is a professor of work psychology, as well as a registered psychologist, and an editor for the Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology.


"...over the years research has suggested that congruence assessed using Holland constructs and measures has a much weaker association with outcomes than might be expected theoretically and required for effective use in practice" (96).


"...there is considerable direct and indirect evidence that Holland's theory does not adequately assess some elements of personhood that matter in  vocational choice. In an era when people are encouraged to consider issues of work-life balance, quality of life, lifelong learning and navigating personal journeys through the world of work, it may be that the basis on which matching is done shifts from 'what can I do and what would I like doing?' to 'what do I want to achieve and how do I want my life to be?' (99).


"In spite of Holland's clear arguments that people project and express their personality through their response to his measures, it is debatable at best whether his theory pays sufficient attention to people's personal goals, or to some aspects of their values" (99).

Blog #10: My Case

While researching how college majors affect the future of young adults, I ask what factors come into play when choosing which route to go - whether students should go for a major which could be promising financially, or simply what they are interested in/enjoy. Holland's Theory is going to be extremely important in my research paper; this sociological theory is probably the most influential in research on this subject. This theory states that students choose their majors based on their personalities, i.e. what they would probably most enjoy.

Blog #9: Visual

This image shows the average salary of new college graduates by major. This is something that, if shown to a college student, could change their minds about what they study. Depending on what the person is looking for (money or happiness), they could go in a different direction based on these statistics.

Blog #8: Scholarly Work Review #2

Carnevale, Anthony P., Ban Cheah, and Jeff Strohl. "Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal." Center on Education and the Workforce. 4 Jan. 2012. Web. <http://cew.georgetown.edu/unemployment/>.

The reading "Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal" tells about how important a college degree is for a person in today's economy; however, there is a huge difference in what a college graduate will likely earn due to different college degrees. It also provides charts which show unemployment rates and  earnings for each degree. 

Anthony Carnevale is a professor at Georgetown University and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the White House Commission on Technology and Adult Education. Jeff Strohl is he Director of Research at the Georgetown University Center on Education at Georgetown University and conducts research on supply and demand of education.


"The risk of unemployment among recent college graduates depends on their major...Unemployment rates are generally higher in non-technical majors, such as the Arts (11.1 percent), Humanities and Liberal Arts (9.4 percent), Social Science (8.9 percent)1 and Law and Public Policy (8.1 percent)." (4)


"...majors that are closely aligned with occupations and industries can misfire. For example, tying oneself to a particular major can be a problem if the associated occupations or industries collapse." (5)


"Majors that are most closely aligned with particular industries and occupations tend to have low unemployment rates but not necessarily the highest earnings. Some majors offer both high security and high earnings, while other majors trade off earnings for job security." (6)

Blog #7: Scholarly Work Review

Pike, Gary R. "Students' Personality Types, Intended Majors, And College Expectations: Further Evidence Concerning Psychological And Sociological Interpretations Of Holland's Theory." Research In Higher Education 47.7 (2006): 801-822. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

Pike's article describes Holland's Theory. This theory says that students' personality type correlates with what major they choose. It details six different types of personality: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. These personality types are determined by a person's interests, behavior, and nature. Based on personality, the theory states that a student is likely to choose a certain major, but environment also comes into play. 


"Holland's theory of vocational choice provides a powerful framework for studying students' college experiences. The theory links psychological factors (i.e. students' personality types) with sociological factors (i.e. the characteristics of academic disciplines) to create a model of person-enviornment fit that can be used to explain students' selection of academic majors, socialization into a major, and student learning and development during college" (801).


"In higher education, academic disciplines are model environments...Realistic environments, for example, include the disciplines of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, whereas Investigative environments include the biological and physical sciences, mathematics, economics, and sociology. Artistic environments include majors in art, music, and drama, and Social environments include the disciplines of history, philosophy, psychology, and social work. Enterprising environments include business administration, management and journalism. Conventional environments include accounting, data processing, and secretarial studies" (803).


"The three components of Holland's theory give rise to three propositions about college students and their academic majors: (1) students actively seek out and select majors that are compatible with their personality types (self selection); (2) Academic majors differentially reinforce and reward student abilities and interests (socialization); and (3) Students are more likely to flourish in environments that are congruent with their personality types (congruence)" (805).