Thursday, March 29, 2012

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).

1 comment:

  1. Remember to elaborate on the connection to your paper and to the previous class readings. I think your topic is very interesting and holds value to Rutgers.

    ReplyDelete