THE RElATIONSHIP BE1WEEN

HOLLAND'S OCCUPATIONAL TYPES

AND 16PF GLOBAL FACTOR SCORES
AMONG UNIVERSIlY STUDENTS
David Goble
The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship
between personality, as measured by the five global factors of
Cattell's 16PF, and occupational Interests, as measured by
Holland's Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI). Data were
obtained from 122 undergraduate students studying various degree
programs at a Melbourne university. Partial support was found for
the hypothesis that vocational interests correlate with personality
measures. The hypothesis that students completing different
vocationally orientated degree programs would produce discrete
personality profiles received limited support. Distinctly different
RIASEC profiles, however, were evident across the four course
groups. It was concluded that an understanding of both vocational
interest and personality theory would enhance the services
provided by career guidance professionals.

hether a relationship
exists between a person's
personality and
occupational interest has
beena matter for debate
among vocational andpersonality
psychologists for some time. Many
practitioners inthis field ofstudy, most
notably Holland (1985a), assume that the
personal characteristics ofindividuals in
different occupational categories differ
because there arefundamental differences
intheroles thatpeople arerequired to
display within their occupation. Although
personality has beendefined and
measured in many different ways, there is
general consensus thatit isthedistinctive
pattern ofbehaviours, thoughts and
emotions displayed bya person that
distinguishes him or her from another
(phares & Chaplin, 1997). The
introduction ofHolland's (1966) theory of
vocational personalities triggered

extensive research thatattempted to

assess the relationship between vocational
interests andpersonality. Holland
attempted to explain why different people
preferred different types ofoccupations,
andrelied heavily on theconcept of
person-environment fit.
Holland (1973) argued thata
relationship existed between measured
personality andvocational preference. The
underlying feature ofhis theory was that
each person's personality pattern can be
described in terms ofitsdegree of
correspondence with oneofsix
occupational personality types, namely
Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social,
Enterprising andConventional (RIASEC).
Each type isthought to differ interms of
thevocational interests expressed by
current or prospective occupational
incumbents. The Realistic type, for
example, isdescribed asbeing practical,
conforming, unsociable andmasculine.

This type 'perceives self ashaving

mechanical andathletic ability... [and]
values concrete things or tangible
personal characteristics' (Holland, 1985a,
p.19). This description can be contrasted
with thatofthe Social type, which is
described ascheerful, cooperative,
sociable, empathic andwarm. The Social
type 'perceives self asliking to help
others ... [and] values social andethical
activities andproblems' (Holland, 1985a,
p.20). An Investigative type isindifferent
to social relationships andmay be
troubled byhighly emotional situations.
This type isdescribed ascautious, curious,
intellectual, rational andintroverted. The
Investigative type can be contrasted with
the Enterprising type which, like the
Social type, ismore orientated towards
people, isambitious, self-confident,
adventurous, conservative, energetic and
extroverted. This type 'perceives self as
popular, possessing leadership and
speaking abilities ... andvalues political
andeconomic achievement' (Holland,
1985a, p.22). Finally, theArtistic type,
described asdisorderly, emotional,
idealistic, imaginative, sensitive and
nonconforming, may be contrasted with
the Conventional type. Conventional types
areefficient, careful, conforming,
inflexible, methodical and practical. They
value business achievement while Artistic
types value aesthetic qualities.
Inhis presidential address to the
Annual Conference oftheAustralian
Psychological Society, Naylor (1993) noted

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21

theassociations between educational and

vocational interests. His analysis ofthe
tertiary preferences and choices of1287
Year 10 students over a three-year period
found evidence that longitudinal
associations between educational choice
and vocational preference were consistent
with their shared thematic qualities (see
also Kidd & Naylor, 1991). Naylor
concluded that school subject preferences
occurred along dimensions similar to the
vocational interest themes proposed by
Holland (1985a). Further, he noted that
thetertiary education choices made by
secondary students also have qualities

measured bytheVocational Preference

Inventory (vpI, Holland, 1985b) andthe
five personality dimensions ofthenew
NEO PI-R. They noted similar results and
concluded that thefive factors measured
bytheNEO PI-R were all variously related
to Holland's six types. More recently,
Carless (1999) reported similar
relationships between personality and
interest variables butnoted that there
were significant gender differences
evident.
Holland's model has also been
examined inrelation to Eysenck's (1970)
personality typology. According to

mindedness, Independence andSelfcontrol) and 16 primary factors. Although

Cattell (1995) argued that there is
'indubitable evidence of16 factors' (p.208)
and referred to the'five factor heresy
partly directed against the 16PF test'
(p.208), thefive global factors doprovide
a simple summary ofthe16 more complex
primaries. Both Holland (1973, 1985a) and
Cattell, Eber and Tatsuoka (1970) agreed
that significant relationships between
occupational interests andpersonality
were evident. They approached theissue
from different perspectives, however, with
Holland advocating theuse ofmeasured

Apparently 11m more

II enterprising"
than "ortistic".
She said lid be unlikely
to make it as a ballet
dancer.

I went to the career

counsellor today...

similar to those evident invocational

preferences and choices. This suggests
that there isa vocational continuity
between secondary school, tertiary
education and work, and thatstudents
who choose to enter specific tertiary
education programs display personality
types consistent with those described by
Holland.
Personality dimensions have been
measured using a variety ofconceptually
different self-report questionnaires. Costa
and McCrae (1980), for example,
developed theNeuroticism, Extraversion
and Openness Personality Inventory (NEO
PI), which measured three major domains
ofpersonality. Costa and McCrae (1985)
later revised thescale (now called the
NEO PI-R) to include two additional
personality dimensions, namely
Conscientiousness andAgreeableness.
These five personality factors are often
referred to collectively asthe 'Big Five'.
Costa, McCrae andHolland (1984)
investigated therelationship between the
three original dimensions and Holland's
typology. Their findings revealed that the
three personality characteristics showed
consistent associations with vocational
interests. Later, Gottfredson, Jones and
Holland (1993) assessed therelationship
between thesix Holland types, as
22

Eysenck, theconstruct ofpersonality can

beseparated into three major orthogonal
dimensions, namely
Extraversion-Introversion,
Neuroticism-Stability and Psychoticism.
Using theEysenck Personality
Questionnaire (EPQ), Naylor and
Thomeycroft (1986) examined the
relationship between Holland's and
Eysenck's typologies. Their results
indicated that a moderate positive
relationship was evident only between
Eysenck's Extraversion dimension and the
Social scale oftheStrong-Campbell
Interest Inventory (which utilises the
Holland model). No relationships were
found between thePsychoticism and
Neuroticism dimensions and any ofthe
Holland types. Naylor and Thomeycroft
concluded that vocational interests are not
strongly related to personality types when
theEPQ isused. Incontrast to these
findings, however, Goh and Leong (1993)
found moderate butsignificant
relationships between Eysenck's
dimensions and Holland's RIASEC types.
Another measure that has been used to
assess therelationship between
personality and theHolland types isthe
Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire
(16PF). This scale measures five global
factors (Extraversion, Anxiety, Tough-

vocational interests to predict personality

traits andCattell and his colleagues
arguing that personality traits can beused
to predict adjustment inspecific vocations.
Accordingly, if relationships were evident
between Holland's measures and the 16PF
scores, then support for theuse ofthese
measures intheways advocated by both
Holland and Cattell would beprovided.
With this inmind, Ward, Cunningham and
Wakefield (1976) assessed the
relationships between the16PF and the
VPI andfound strong correlations between
Artistic, Enterprising andConventional
scores and a number offactors from the
16PF (4th edn). They noted that high
scorers on theVPI's Enterprising and
Artistic scales were characterised as
'Tender-minded' and 'Imaginative' onthe
16PF. Enterprising types were also
characterised as'Assertive', 'Conservative'
and 'Venturesome', while Conventional
types were labelled 'Humble' and 'Shy'.
These findings provide some support for
theview thatthe16PF isa useful
instrument for themeasurement of
occupational adjustment.
Bolton (1985) analysed the16PF
profiles ofthemembers ofa number of
occupational groups that were categorised
according to Holland's (1985a) six
occupational types. His findings revealed

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Table 1. Summary statistics (means and standard deviations) and Pearson correlation coefficients between the VPI and
the 16PF global factor scores (n=122).

1. R
2.1
3.A
4.8
5. E
6.C
7. EX
8.AX
9.TM
10.IN
11.8C

SO

3.45
4.71
5.32
4.07
5.30
2.42
6.08
5.67
5.03
6.12
3.91

3.71
3.83
4.38
3.57
3.66
3.17
1.84
1.87
1.99
2.08
1.63

0.59***

0.08
0.38***

-0.07
0.13
0.19*
0.10
0.55*** 0.25**
0.40***

0.29***
0.21*
-0.07
0.19*
0.60***

-0.06
-0.18*
0.15
0.28**
0.23*
-0.10

-0.22*
-0.12
0.02
-0.01
-0.08
-0.04
-0.32***

9
0.24**
-0.04
-0.51***
-0.30***
0.04
0.32**
-0.13
-0.05

10

-0.01
-0.13
-0.10
-0.04
0.12
-0.02
0.32***
-0.13
-0.22*

11

-0.09
-0.16
-0.18*
0.03
-0.01
0.21*
-0.24**
0.18*
0.23**
-0.08

* P<0.05, ** P<0.01, *** P<0.001

that theArtistic type scored more highly

on the 16PF Anxiety andIndependence
factors, while the Investigative type scored
significantly lower on theAnxiety and
Extraversion factors than the othertypes.
Further, the Realistic groups were lower
ontheIndependence factor and the Social
groups scored higher on the Extraversion
factor. Discriminant function analysis
correctly classified 75% ofthegroups
according to the RIASEC classification.
Bolton concluded thatthe 16PF
personality scale descriptors were highly
consistent with Holland's characterisation
ofthesix occupational types.
The aim ofthe present study was to
examine theinterrelationships between
thefive global factors ofthe 16PF and
Holland's six RIASEC dimensions. Given
previous empirical evidence, itwas
expected thatsignificant intercorrelations
between the two measures would be
evident. Further, noting Naylor's (1993)
observations andthetheoretical
associations between measures of
personality andoccupational interests,
interest prcfiles and16PF global factor
profiles were examined to determine
whether the profiles produced by
university students could predict which
course ofstudy they were undertaking.

METHOD
Participants
Atotal of122 undergraduate university
students agreed to participate inthe study.
Fifty-six were males and 66 were females.
The mean age ofthesample was 21.91
years (SD=2.48). Fifty-seven students were
studying Engineering degrees, 20 were
studying Fine Arts, 31 were studying
Management, and14 were in
Commerce/Accounting degrees. All
students were inthe final year oftheir
respective courses. These courses were

chosen because they represented clearly

distinct, vocationally oriented programs of
study andcould be easily classified
according to Holland's typology.

MATERIALS
Vocational Preference Inventory
TheVPI (Holland, 1985b) was used to
assess thevocational interests of
participants. The inventory contains 160
occupational titles to which respondents
note ('yes') whether they like or have an
interest in,or ('no')dislike or have little
interest in, each occupation. The
inventory provides raw scores andT
scores for 11 subscales. These include
Holland's six personality types (RIASEC)
plus Self-control, Masculinity-femininity,
Status, Infrequency and Acquiescence. The
internal consistency (KR-20) ofthe RIASEC
scales isreported to range from 0.85 (R) to
0.91 (I) for males and0.86 (E) to 0.91 (I)
for females. Test-retest reliability for the
six interest scales for samples ofuniversity
students over a period ofoneyear ranges
from 0.61 (C) to 0.86 (R). Evidence for the
construct validity andcriterion validity is
reported in theVPI manual (Holland,
1985b).
The Sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire (5th Edn)
The fifth edition ofthe 16PF (Cattell,
Cattell & Cattell, 1993) was used to
measure the personality profiles ofeach
participant. The 16PF isdesigned for ages
16 andover andprovides 16 primary
scores for such traits (primary factors) as
Emotional Stability, Social Boldness,
Warmth, Sensitivity andLiveliness. Five
second-order or global factors arederived
from the 16scores. The global factors are
Extraversion (EX), Anxiety (AX), Toughmindedness (TM), Independence (IN) and
Self-control (SC). The questionnaire

contains 185 items including 15 problemsolving items designed to provide a quick

measure ofmental ability, referred to as
the Reasoning Factor. Respondents read
each item andmark oneofthree response
options on the record form. Items take the
form of'I often like to watch team games'
(a. true; b. ?; c.false), or 'I prefer friends
who are... ' (a. quiet; b. ?; c.lively). Russell
andKarol (1994) report thatthe average
internal consistency ofthe questionnaire is
0.74 andthattest-retest reliability over a
two-week period is0.80 andover a twomonth period is0.70.
Apersonal-particulars sheetnoting
student age, gender, degree andmajor,
andyear ofstudy was also completed by
each participant.

Procedure
An explanatory statement was provided to
all prospective participants. An informed-

consent form was obtained when a person

agreed to participate in the study. After
participants provided their consent, an
appointment time was arranged for each
person to complete the questionnaires.
At the appointed time the personal
particulars form, the 16PF andtheVPI
were administered inrandom orderusing
standard administration protocols.
Questionnaires were hand-scored and
data analysed using SPSS for Windows
Version 10.

RESULTS
Pearson's product moment correlation
coefficients were calculated to assess the
relationships between each ofthe six
vocational interest scales (RIASEC) andthe
five 16PF global factors. Coefficients are
presented inTable 1together with the
mean andstandard deviation ofeach scale.
Amoderate butsignificant negative
correlation was evident between Anxiety
andRealistic. Asignificant negative
23

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Table 2. Discriminant analysis results when 16PF global personality variables

are used as predictors, univariate Fand effect size (Eta2) (n=122).
Correlations of predictor variables
with discriminant functions
Predictor variable

TM
AX
EX
IN
SC
Canonical R
Eigen value
% Variance

0.89
-0.19
-0.19
0.07
0.11
0.54
0.42
73.7%

Univariate F (3, 118)

Eta2

0.16
0.51
0.48
0.35
0.26
0.33
0.12
20.9%

0.41
0.25
-0.22
-0.87
0.50
0.17
0.03
5.4%

13.28***
1.86
1.68
1.59
0.84

0.25
0.05
0.04
0.04
0.02

*** P<0.001

Table 3. Discriminant analysis results when VPI variables are used as

predictors, univariate Fand effect size (Eta2) (n=122).
Correlations of predictor variables
with discriminant functions
Predictor variable
R

E
A
C
S
I
Canonical R
Eigenvalue
% Variance

1
-0.50
0.34
0.28
0.30
0.29
-0.34
0.66
0.79
64.5%

Univariate F(3, 118)

0.01
-0.09
0.84
0.56
0.35
0.20
0.47
0.29
23.5%

0.46
-0.27
0.28
0.44
0.11
0.42
0.36
0.15
11.9%

9.01***
4.00**
10.83***
7.51***
4.11**
5.08**

Eta2
0.19
0.09
0.22
0.16
0.10
0.11

** P<0.01, *** P<0.001

correlation was also observed between

Extraversion and Investigative, while
Extraversion was positively correlated with
both Social and Enterprising. Asmall but
significant positive correlation was evident
between Self-control and Artistic. Selfcontrol was positively correlated with
Conventional. Moderate positive
correlations between Tough-mindedness
and Realistic and Conventional were
evident while moderate negative
correlations between Tough-mindedness
and Artistic and Social were also noted. No
significant correlations between
Independence and any oftheRIASEC
types were found.
Two discriminant analyses were
performed to determine whether course
group membership could bepredicted by
the16PF scores or theVPI scores. The first
discriminant analysis examined theextent
towhich the16PF global factor scores
were able to accurately classify students
into thefour courses ofstudy. The
assumption ofhomogeneity ofvariance
was assessed using Box's M. Homogeneity
ofvariance-covariance matrices was not
significant (Box'sM=55.14, P>O.OOI). No
multivariate outliers were identified

through Mahalanobis distance (P<O.OOI)

and theassumption oflinearity was
assessed via scatter plots andwas not
violated. As theresults from four groups
were analysed, three discriminant
functions were extracted. Correlations
between discriminating variables and
discriminant functions are presented in
Table 2.
Avery strong association between
groups andthepredictor variables was
evident. The three functions had a
combined X2(15)=57.50, P<O.OOI (Wilks'
Lambda=0.61). After removal ofthefirst
function there was still a strong
association between thegroups and
predictors, X2(8)=16.64,P=0.03 (Wilks'
Lambda=0.87). After thesecond function
was removed, theassociation between
groups and variables was notsignificant,
X2(3)=3.55,P=0.31 (Wilks'
Lambda=0.97), and thus thethird
function was notinterpreted. The first two
discriminant functions accounted for
73.7% and20.9% ofthebetween-group
variability, respectively. Forty-three per
cent ofgrouped cases were correctly
classified, animprovement of16.4% over
therandom hitrate of32.29% (press's

Q=22.13, P<O.OOI). Twenty-two (39%)

Engineering students were correctly
classified; 15 (75%) Fine Arts students
were classified correctly; 13 (42%)
students studying Management were
correctly classified; and only three (21.4%)
Commerce students were classified
correctly.
The loading matrix ofcorrelations
between predictors and functions
presented inTable 2suggests that thebest
predictor for distinguishing between Fine
Arts students and theother three groups
istheTough-mindedness variable, with a
correlation with thefirst function of0.89.
One predictor, Anxiety, had a loading in
excess of0.5 onthesecond discriminant
function. This marginally distinguished
between themanagement group on the
onehand and theEngineering, Fine Arts
and Commerce groups ontheother. The
clear discrimination ofthese groups can
beseen from thegroup centroids
displayed inFigure 1, which indicates that
thefirst function separates theFine Arts
group from theother three, while the
Management group ismaximally separated
from Fine Arts, Engineering and
Commerce on thesecond function.
Post hoc one-way ANOVA were
conducted to assess thedegree towhich
thefour student groups differed onthe
five global factors. Levene's tests indicated
that theassumption ofhomogeneity of
variance was met with test scores ranging
from 0.27 (P=0.85) for Extraversion to
1.99 (P=0.12) for Self-Control. The four
groups were found to differ on theToughmindedness variable with theFine Arts
group scoring significantly lower (M=2.88,
SD=1.61) than theother groups
(EngineeringM=5.59, SD=1.77;
ManagementM=5.02, SD=1.73;
CommerceM=5.88, SD=1.85). No other
significant differences were noted ineach
oftheremaining global factor scores.
F statistics and effect sizes (Eta') are
presented inTable 2.
The second discriminant function
analysis examined thedegree towhich the
students' VPI scores could beused to
correctly classify them into oneofthefour
study areas. The assumption of
homogeneity ofvariance was assessed
using Box's M and was found tobe
significant (Box'sM=141.00, P<O.OOl).
Given thevery sensitive nature ofthis test
and that thesmallest group produced
small variances compared with thelarger
groups, this result isnotconsidered
problematic in this instance (Tabachnick
& Fidell, 1996). The assumption of
linearity was notviolated and no

24
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Figure 1. Group centroids on first two discriminant functions derived from

16PF global factor scores.

0.6
.&

0.5
0.4
M

03

0.2

.Fngineerq
FineAr1s

0.1

.&M~

1$

:1

eCommerce

-0.1

-0.2

-03

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0.5

DiscrimillUt F\I1Clim 1
Figure 2. Group centroids on first two discriminant functions derived from VPI
scores.

1.2
II

0.8
M

0.6

8
ti 0.4

~
.si
.~

.Fngineerq

0.2
0

-0.2

FineAr1s

.& MlDlpIJert

eCommerce
.&

is -0.4
-0.6

-0.8
-1

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0.5

1.5

DiscrimillUt F\I1Clim 1

multivariate outliers were identified using

Mahalanobis distance (P<0.001).
As with thefirst discriminant function
analysis, avery strong association between
groups andpredictors was evident. The
three functions had a combined
X2(18)=112.7S, P<0.001 (Wilks'
Lambda=0.38). After theremoval ofthe
first function, a strong association was still
evident (X2(lO)=4S.l8, P<O.OOl, Wilks'
Lambda=O.68), while after thesecond
function was removed thestrength of
association between groups and predictors
remained significant (X2(4)=1S.80, P<O.Ol,

Wilks' Lambda=0.87). The three

discriminant functions accounted for
645%,23.5% and 11.9% ofthebetweengroup variability, respectively. Sixty-three
percent ofcases were classified correctly, a
significant improvement over therandom
hitrate (Press's Q=94.52, P<0.001). Fortyone(71.9%) oftheEngineering students
were correctly classified; 14 (70.0%) Fine
Arts students were classified correctly; 12
(38.7%) students studying Management
were correctly classified; and 10 (71.4%)
Commerce students were classified
correctly.

The loading matrix between predictors

andfunctions presented inTable 3
suggests thatthe predictor thatbest
distinguishes between thegroups on the
first function isthe Realistic variable. This
variable separates theEngineering group
from the otherthree. Two predictors,
Artistic andConventional, separate the
Fine Arts group from Engineering,
Management andCommerce on the
second function. No loading inexcess of
0.5 isevident in thethird function; thus it
was not interpreted. The separation ofthe
groups isevident in Figure 2,which
displays thefour group centroids on the
first two functions.
Post hoc one-way ANaYA revealed that
thegroups differed significantly on all
predictor variables. The Engineering
group recorded significantly higher
Realistic (M=S.l1, SD=4.28) scores than
the Fine Arts andmanagement groups and
scored higher Investigative (M=S.91,
SD=3.5S) scores than theManagement
group. The Fine Arts group scored
significantly higher Artistic (M=9.8S,
SD=3.79) scores than any ofthe other
groups, while itsSocial scores (M=6.1S,
SD=4.43) were significantly higher than
theEngineering group. The Management
group recorded a significantly higher
Enterprising (M=6.71, SD=3.56) score
compared with theEngineering group
only (M=4.18, SD=3,40), while the
Commerce group produced a significantly
higher Conventional score (M=S.64,
SD=2.82) than all othercourse groups. F
statistics andeffect sizes (Eta~ are
presented inTable 3.
Forease ofexamination, interest scores
were converted into z scores andgraphed
to highlight thedepartures from the
standardised mean oftheentire sample.
Standardised interest scores for each
course group arepresented inFigure 3.
Figure 3 reveals thateach course group
produced mean interest scores consistent
with the course ofstudy being
undertaken. The Engineering group had
higher RandI scores; theFine Arts group
produced higher Ascores; the
Management group had higher Escores;
andtheCommerce group hadhigher C
scores.
DISCUSSION

The aim ofthis study was to determine

whether a relationship exists between
personality asmeasured byCattell et al.
(1993) 16PF andvocational interest as
measured bytheVPI (Holland, 1985b).
Limited support was provided for the
hypothesis thatintercorrelations between

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25

thefive 16PF global factors andthesix

RIASEC types would beobserved.
Additionally, some support was found for
thehypothesis that 16PF personality
profiles could discriminate between
students undertaking different
undergraduate degree programs while
there was stronger evidence tosuggest
that VPI profiles discriminate between
these programs.
Areview ofthecorrelations between
thefive global factors and thesix
vocational personality types revealed some
significant correlations. Although the
number and strength ofthecorrelations
was notasexpected, those thatwere
significant showed logical consistency.
Realistic scores were inversely correlated
with Anxiety scores and positively
correlated with Tough-mindedness, a
result notinconsistent with Holland's
(1985a) description ofthestereotypical
Realistic type. Social scores were positively
correlated with Extraversion and, together
with Artistic scores, negatively correlated
with Tough-mindedness. Overall, these
findings are more consistent with Naylor
and Thomeycroft's (1986) findings than
with Ward etat. (1976) results. Although
they used different scales to measure
interest and personality, Naylor and
Thomeycroft found few significant
relationships between Eysenck's
personality dimensions and theHollandbased interest measure used intheir
study.
Holland (1985a) used thefollowing

descriptors to identify Social types:

cooperative, friendly, empathic and
sociable. Artistic types were described as
disorderly, impractical andimpulsive.
These descriptors accord well with the
results noted inthe present study. As with
theSocial type, Enterprising scores were
found to correlate with Extraversion, while
Conventional scores correlated positively
with both Tough-mindedness and Selfcontrol. Holland (1985a) noted that the
Enterprising type was apttobe energetic,
exhibitionistic, extroverted and selfconfident, while theConventional type
was likely to display orderliness, efficiency,
inflexibility and persistence, among other
characteristics. These descriptors also
accord with thecorrelations found inthe
present study.
Holland (1985a) also described the
Artistic type asemotional, independent
andsensitive. Contrary to expectations,
empirical links between Artistic scores and
Anxiety and Independence were not
found. Similarly, nosignificant correlations
were found between Investigative scores
and any ofthefive global factors, except
Extraversion. Additional significant
correlations could have been expected
given Holland's (1985a) description ofthis
type ascautious, precise, rational and
analytical, characteristics that seem to
correspond well to thestereotyped
notions ofIndependence, Self-control and
Tough-mindedness, However, these were
notfound.
The results from thefirst discriminant

function analysis suggested thatthe

capacity oftheglobal factors topredict
course group membership was limited.
Only 43.4% oftheoriginal group cases
were correctly classified. Although this
result issignificantly better than chance, a
large proportion ofcases (56.3%) were still
incorrectly classified. The greatest
misclassification occurred within the
Management and Commerce course
groups. Only three students inthe
Commerce group (n=22) were correctly
classified, and only 13 from the
Management group (n=31) were correctly
classified. The global factor that appears to
have discriminated between students most
effectively was Tough-mindedness, while
thesingle group ofstudents classified
most correctly was theFine Arts group,
with 75% being identified from their global
factor scores. These results donotaccord
well with Bolton's (1985) findings. Inhis
study, those categorised as Artistic and
Realistic showed significant differences on
theIndependence factor while Social and
Investigative types differed significantly on
Extraversion. Furthermore, Artistic and
Investigative types differed on theAnxiety
factor.
The Tough-mindedness global factor is
regarded asa measure ofa person's
resolve, empathy andopen-mindedness.
Those who score high on this factor are
seen as resolute, non-empathic, reserved,
objective, unsentimental and solutionoriented. On theother hand, those who
score low on theTough-mindedness

Figure 3. Standardised mean VPI scores (n=122) by study area.

1.2,-----------------------------------,
1
0.8
0.6

::. R.eaIm1ic
Investigative

0.4

'* Artistic

Zscom 0.2

=Social

, Enterprising

Conventional

-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
E~

PmeArts

26
Australian Journal of Career Development, Vol. 10, No.2, Winter 2001
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factor (Le. tender-minded) are thought to

bereceptive, open-minded, intuitive,
outgoing, aesthetic, imaginative, open to
change and experimenting (Cattell etal.,
1993). Figure 2indicates that the Fine Arts
students scored significantly lower on this
factor than any oftheothergroups and
that this was themost extreme score
within theFine Art group. This description
ofthetender-minded person isconsistent
with Holland's (l985a) description ofthe
Artistic type asopen, intuitive, imaginative
and sensitive, among otherthings. No
other significant personality distinctions
can be made between thecourse groups
from theresults obtained in thepresent
study. This suggests that, apart from
Tough-mindedness, the 16PF global factor
profiles ofeach course group are not
unique, and thus indicates that each
course group ismade up ofstudents
displaying generally heterogeneous
personality traits.
The second discriminant function
analysis revealed thatthe capacity ofthe
VPI interest scores to predict course
group membership was substantial. This
result supports Naylor's (1993) view that
Holland's interest theme scores can be
used to distinguish between tertiary
course groups. Ofthe 122 students who
participated in thepresent study, 77
(63.1%) were correctly classified when the
VPI scales were used as predictors.
Students most frequently misclassified
were from theManagement group, with
25.8% being classified asCommerce
students. This isnotentirely surprising
given thebusiness theme common to
both Management and Commerce
degrees. Although all thescores ofthe
interest predictors differed significantly
across thefour groups, results from the
discriminant function analysis suggest that
thebest predictor variables are the
Realistic, Artistic andConventional
factors.
Given the overall lack ofsignificant
common variance among the personality
and interest measures used in the
present study, professionals involved in
career counselling andguidance should
notassume thatpersonality equates with
interest, aswas suggested byHolland
(1985a) andCattell etal. (1970). When
administering psychometric tests to gain
aninsight into a client's career options it
would appear that interest measurements
using scales based on Holland's typology
will provide only a partial picture ofa
client's personal makeup. The use ofa
robust personality measure will provide
much more information for andabout

the client than an interest inventory

alone.
David Goble
Department of Psychology
Monash University
900 Dandenong Road
Caulfield, Vic 3145

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