What Do Interest Inventories Measure? The Convergence and Content Validity of Four RIASEC Inventories

Abstract

Despite the widespread use of RIASEC interest inventories, little is known about whether these inventories actually measure the same core constructs and provide similar career recommendations to individuals. This study investigates the construct validity among four major interest inventories—the Self-Directed Search (SDS), O*NET Interest Profiler (IP), ACT Interest Inventory (UNIACT), and Strong Interest Inventory (SII). Results showed that RIASEC interest scores from the four inventories were highly correlated, but the measures often gave respondents different high-point codes. Item content analysis revealed that the basic interests reflected in each RIASEC scale both overlapped and diverged across inventories, providing an explanation for why RIASEC inventories are not interchangeable. We integrate findings across our analyses to offer cautionary notes for choosing among established RIASEC inventories and interpreting interest results. Furthermore, we also provide recommendations for constructing the next generation of basic interest inventories.

The German O*NET Interest Profiler Short Form

“…Fifth, we could not explore the convergent validity of the scores of the German O*NET IP. Although our analyses suggest that the scores validly assess vocational interest as conceptualized in Holland’s model, future research should examine the convergence and divergence with other vocational interest measures in Germany (see also Chu et al., 2022). This seems particularly relevant for conventional interests, where the atypical gender differences in our data suggest that the conventional items might be somewhat differentially interpreted.…”

“…However, the O*NET IP does not explicate basic interests and resulting scores cover a variety of basic interests. To unfold the basic interests contained in the O*NET IP scores, nuanced comparisons with basic interest taxonomies (e.g., Su et al., 2019) have proven useful (Chu et al, 2022; Rounds et al, 2022).…”

Effects of a Neutral Response Option on Occupational Interest Circumplex Fit

“…Such solutions should be thoroughly explored for occupational interest measures especially in the context of personnel selection where socially desirable responding is a concern. Other fruitful areas for research include whether RIASEC measures without neutral response options evidence better prediction of life outcomes (Stoll et al, 2017) and job performance (Nye et al, 2012), higher interest fit – job satisfaction correlations (Hoff et al, 2020; Wiegand et al, 2021), better convergence with other interest inventories (Chu et al, 2022), or more accurate career choice hit rates (Hanna & Rounds, 2020).…”

Life development and life designing for career construction.

“…Career construction theory's P4 to P8 are consistent with Holland's notion of congruence, that the alignment between an individual's vocational interests and work are a prime vehicle for satisfaction. Indeed, the empirical status and practical value of Holland's theory and the RIASEC are seen in a preponderance of evidence that suggests vocational interests are substantive predictors of workplace performance (Nye et al, 2017) and job satisfaction (Hoff et al, 2020) and that established measures of RIASEC have appreciable validity evidence (Chu et al, 2022;Hoff et al, 2022).…”

“…Instead, counseling dialogue between counselor and client must formulate vocational interests in terms of resemblance, rehearsal, and reputation to not contradict the social constructionist stance of career construction theory and life designing. This approach to counseling does not necessitate rejection of the scientific status of psychometric instruments, which is demonstrably evident in the case of RIASEC (Chu et al, 2022;Hoff et al, 2022); what it necessitates is an ethic of reflexivity to mitigate against slippage into the role of expert in clients' lives using technicist discourse and terminology that is inconsistent with social constructionism. Richardson's (1993) sociopolitical critique of vocational psychology was extended by other scholars' calls for reform (e.g., Blustein, 2001) until radical alternatives emerged (Blustein et al, 2005), culminating in the psychology of working framework (PWF; Blustein, 2006) that became the paradigmatic foundations for the psychology of working theory (PWT; Duffy et al, 2016).…”