Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory: What it is and how to use it

The number of existing professions is well known, and with it, the possibilities of developing at a work level in one field or another. There are many tools that allow you to identify which occupations or professions best fit certain profiles. One of them is Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory..

This Inventory was developed in 1927 by the psychologist Edward Kellog Strong, although it has been revised and modified later. Its objective is to guide people in choosing their professional careers. In this article we will know its characteristics, structure, applications, scores and uses. In addition, we will know the theory on which this test is based.

• Related article: "Types of psychological tests: their functions and characteristics"

Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory: Features

Strong's Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) consists of a psychological test developed by the psychologist Edward Kellog Strong Jr., in the year 1927.

In the first moment, was developed to guide the military who were leaving the army and who could find a job suitable to their interests

, motivations and personal characteristics. The Inventory has differential forms according to sex (male or female), and is made up of 291 items, where the examinee must indicate their preference among three possible responses. Regarding the time of its administration, it takes approximately 25-35 minutes to carry it out.

Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory was subsequently revised by two other authors, David Campbell and Jo-Ida Hansen. Finally, years later was published as the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory.

Applications

Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory is used especially in the educational field and in educational guidance and employment, with the aim of guiding students in the career or studies that best fit their characteristics and interests.

On the other hand, the Inventory is also used in the research area, with the objective of analyzing the individual differences of people in relation to their vocational interests. In addition, it is also useful for studying the character and personality of people, as well as the origin and effects of certain types of interests. all of it It can be useful for the purposes of personnel selection, consultancies and business consultancies.

How is it administered?

The subject examined must respond to 291 items with 3 response possibilities, indicating the one that best suits her preferences. The test lasts between 25 and 35 minutes, and what you want is compare the interests of the subject with the interests of people engaged in specific occupations or professions.

What is it for?

Thus, Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory is a psychological assessment tool that assesses a person's interests at a vocational level. That is, it detects the work activities that could best suit a particular person. It is one of the most widely used tests to detect vocational interests, especially in North America.

It is based on the preferences of the person examined in various fields, with the aim of find the profession or professions that best fit your psychological and motivational profile. Their scores indicate whether the person's vocational preferences are closer to a certain professional group or another.

Evaluation Areas

Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory is made up of 6 areas, where the different items are grouped. These 6 areas are the following: occupations (it is the largest area, made up of 107 items), thematic areas (made up of 46 items), activities (85 items), leisure activities (28 items), people (16 items) and own characteristics (9 items).

• You may be interested in: "Vocational Guidance: what it is and what it is for"

Results

Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory Results include 5 types of scores:

1. Interest Level Scores

Here the subject is scored in relation to the so-called "General Occupational Themes" (GOT). These form differentiated interest categories, and characterize the examined subject in 6 different types: investigative, artistic, social, realistic, conventional and enterprising.

2. Scores on basic interest scales

In this case, the scores refer to 30 basic interest scales, related to topics or professions such as art, public speaking or science.

3. Occupational Scale Scores

These scores come from 244 scales that refer to different occupations or professions. Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory matches the interests of the test taker with the interests of the people who do their job in 122 different occupations or professions.

4. Scores on personal style scales

These scores are obtained from 5 scales that allude to personal style. said style refers to work, leadership, team orientation, learning and risk taking.

5. Scores on administrative scales

Finally we found scores obtained from 3 administrative scales; its objective is to detect possible errors in the test, as well as unusual profiles.

vocational interests

But what really are vocational interests, the object that Strong's inventory evaluates? On the one hand, interests are those things that motivate us, we like or arouse curiosity. Vocational interests, even more specific, define those study areas (or work areas) that attract us. In other words, they are part of what we want to dedicate ourselves to, and they have a lot to do with our vocation.

Vocation, for its part, is an internal sensation that generates an inclination for one subject or another., and that guides us when it comes to saying what we want to do in life.

interest rates

AND. K. Strong took these concepts into account in developing his inventory. In addition, in order to develop Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory, the author himself relied on the distinction made by Fyrer (1931) of the types of interests, which may be subjective or goals.

Thus, while subjective interests consist of feelings (positive or negative) in relation to objects or activities, objective interests are all those reactions, also positive or negative, that a person manifests in relation to different objects or behaviors.

skills and interests

But interests also have a lot to do with attitudes. Fryer was the first author who spoke of a possible relationship between a person's aptitudes (ability to perform certain tasks) and his personal interests. Later, Strong himself followed this same theoretical line, conceptualizing his ideas within learning theories.

Thus, in line with the above, and among the ideas that Strong developed to develop the Strong's Vocational Interest Inventory, also there is the hypothesis that the capacities of each one cause us to have interests in one thing or another, that is, they are related concepts, and one thing (capacity) leads to another (interest).

On the other hand, according to Strong, a person's interests are actually learned motivations; that is, they would be learned behaviors, based on what we like and what we don't.

Bibliographic references:

• Fernndez-Ballesteros, R. (2011). Psychological evaluation. Concepts, methods and case studies. Ed. Pyramid. Madrid.
• Strong, E. (1951). Vocational interests 18 years after college. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
• super, d. (1967). Psychology of Interests and Vocations; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Editorial Kapelusz.
• Tolbert, E. (1982). Counseling techniques in career guidance; Spain; Oikos-tau, s.a. – editions.