Holland Codes

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The Holland hexagon, image source: seriousjobseeker.com

Holland Codes represent a set of personality types described in a theory of careers and vocational choice formulated by psychologist John L. Holland. [1] Holland's theory argued that "the choice of a vocation is an expression of personality" and that the six factor typology he articulated could be used to describe both persons and work environments. [1] His typology provides an interpretative structure for a number of different vocational interest surveys, including the two measures he developed: The Vocational Preference Inventory and the Self Directed Search. His model has been adopted by the U.S. Department of Labor for categorizing jobs relative to interests. [2]

Holland's theory does not assume that a person is just one type or that there are "only six types of people in the world." [1] Instead, he assumed that any person could be described as having interests associated with each of the six types in a descending order of preference. This assumption allows the Holland Codes to be used to describe 720 different personality patterns. As the theory is applied in interest inventories and job classifications, it is usually only the two or three most dominant codes that are used for vocational guidance.

In presenting his theory, Holland graphically represented the six types as arrayed on a hexagon.[1] This graphic representation serves to describe the empirically determined correlations between the types. The shorter the distance between their corners on the hexagon, the more closely they are related.

Taken together, the Holland Codes are usually referred to by their first letters: RIASEC.

The six personality and work environment types described by Holland are as follows:

  • Realistic - practical, physical, hands-on, tool-oriented
  • Investigative - analytical, intellectual, scientific, explorative
  • Artistic - creative, original, independent, chaotic
  • Social - cooperative, supporting, helping, healing/nurturing
  • Enterprising - competitive environments, leadership, persuading
  • Conventional - detail-oriented, organizing, clerical


Contents

[edit] Example Professions

The following lists contain examples of professions that typify persons dominant within a category.

[edit] Do'er (Realistic)

Working with your hands, tools, machines, and things; practical, mechanically inclined, and physical:

[edit] Thinker (Investigative)

Working with theory and information, analytical, intellectual, scientific:

[edit] Creator (Artistic)

Non-conforming, original, independent, chaotic, creative:

[edit] Helper (Social)

Cooperative environments, supporting, helping, healing/nurturing:

[edit] Persuader (Enterprising)

Competitive environments, leading, persuading, selling, dominating, promoting, status:

[edit] Organizer (Conventional)

Precise, perfect attention to detail, orderly, organizing, status:

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Holland, John L. Making Vocational Choices: a theory of careers. Prentice-Hall, 1973.
  2. ^ Formerly published by the Dept. of Labor as The Guide to Occupational Exploration, this text has been become one component in a comprehensive online job search system: O*net online
  3. ^ Scherdin, M. J. : Discovering Librarians: Profiles of a Profession, p. 108. American Library Association, 1994.

[edit] References

  • Holland, John. L. (1997). Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments. Psychological Assessment Resources Inc. 
  • Holland, John. L. (1996). Dictionary of Holland Occupational Codes. Psychological Assessment Resources Inc. 

[edit] External links

General:

College and university career centers:

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