Journal of Counseling Psychology

1975, Vol. 22, No. 2, 117-121

Vocational Preference Inventory High Point Codes Versus Expressed

Choices as Predictors of College Major and Career Entry
Eldon M. Gade
University of North Dakota

David Soliah
Student Financial Aids Oifice,
University of North Dakota

For 151 male graduates of the University of North Dakota, expressed

choices measured by preferences made as high school seniors on the American College Test Student Profile Section were significantly more accurate
predictors of graduating college major and of career entry occupation than
were their Vocational Preference Inventory high point codes. No relationship between the Vocational Preference Inventory high point codes and the
expressed choices existed.
Studies of the effectiveness of inventoried
interest test scores versus self-expressed
choices to predict later vocational preferences
have produced mixed findings. On the one
hand, conclusions by Berdie (1950, 1960),
Campbell (1968), Darley and Hagenah
(1955), McArthur and Stevens (1955), and
Super and Crites (1962) clearly support the
use of inventoried interest measures for predicting vocational choice. On the other hand,
Holland and Lutz (1968) reported that the
predictive efficiency of expressed choice is
about twice that of the Vocational Preference
Inventory high point codes over 8- and 12month intervals. Whitney (1969) reviewed
large sample longitudinal studies and- coneluded that expressed vocational choices
predicted future employment about as well
as interest inventories. Rose and Elton
(1970) reported that expressed choice is a
viable alternative to measured interest unless the client has no idea what he might
like to do.
In Whitney's (1969) review he concluded
that "It is evident that there has been very
little research on the predictive validity of
expressed vocational choice" (p. 283). This
present study continues the study of the effectiveness of expressed choices versus inventoried interests to predict graduating
college majors and career entry occupations
over a 4-year period and measures the degree
Requests for reprints should be sent to Eldon
M. Gade, Department of Counseling and Guidance, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks,
North Dakota 58201.

of relationship between expressed choices and

high point codes derived from the Vocational
Preference Inventory.
METHOD
Subjects
The subjects were 151 male bachelor's degree
graduates of the University of North Dakota in
the Spring of 1973 who also had obtained initial
full-time employment as recorded by the university placement center. These subjects were part
of a larger sample of 228 male students who had
taken the Vocational Preference Inventory during
the 1969 summer orientation period and who had
also completed the Student Profile Section of the
American College Test during their senior year in
high school. The average age was 21 years and almost 90% were graduates of North Dakota high
schools.
Procedure
Raw scores from each of the six vocational
scales of the Vocational Preference Inventory
were converted to T-scores, and on the basis of
the highest standard score a high point code was
derived and recorded as one of Holland's (1966)
six personality types. Likewise, for each student
the career preference selected on the Student
Profile Section of the American College Test was
translated into one of the six Holland categories.
Graduating college major and career entry occupation were also classified according to the Holland
scheme of categorizing environments into six
types corresponding to the six personality types.
Accuracy predictions were determined directly by
separately comparing high point codes or expressed choices with both graduating college
major and career entry. High point codes and expressed choices were also directly compared for
degree of relationship by again casting them into
Holland's six-category classification system. Hol-

117

ELDON M. GADE AND DAVID SOLIAH

118

from the Student Profile Section of the

American College Test showed a 67 %
accuracy rate versus a 50% accuracy rate
for high point codes derived from the Vocational Preference Inventory. Accuracy rates
ranged from 37 % to 70 % among categories
using high point codes and from 36 % to 85 %
among the six categories of college major
using expressed choices. High point codes
best predicted Intellectual type majors and
were weakest in predicting Enterprising majors. Expressed choices best predicted the
Realistic majors while Conventional type
graduating majors had the poorest accuracy
rates. Table 1 also indicates that expressed
choices were better predictors of congruent
majors than were high point scores. This
difference, however, was not statistically significant. Rates for predicting congruent
graduating majors ranged from 52% in the
Enterprising category using inventoried
scores to 96 % in the Social environment us-

land, Whitney, Cole, and Richards's (Note 1) hexagonal model was used to compare the predictive
efficiency of the inventoried or expressed choices
to determine congruent college major or career
entry. On the hexagonal model adjacent personality or environment types are considered to be
congruent while nonadjacent categories are classified as incongruent. In this manner, a Realistic
vocational choice derived either from the high
point codes or from the expressed choices and a
Realistic career entry would represent identical
(matching) congruence. A Realistic vocational
choice and an Intellectual career entry would be
classified as congruent. But, a Realistic vocational
choice and an Artistic career entry occupation
would be incongruent. According to this classification scheme graduating college major and career
entry occupation were found to be identical 77%
of the time and congruent in 89% of the cases.

RESULTS
Table 1 shows that expressed choices were
significantly more accurate than high point
codes for predicting identical graduating college majors. The expressed choices derived

TABLE 1
COMPARISON OP THE EFFICIENCY RATES OF MEASURED VOCATIONAL PREFERENCE
INVENTORY AND EXPRESSED CAREER PREFERENCES AS
PREDICTORS OF GRADUATION COLLEGE MAJOR
in
Holland classification Subjects
each
of type of college major environment
by environment
( = 151)

1. Realistic
VPI
ACT
2. Intellectual
VPI
ACT
3. Social
VPI
ACT
4. Conventional
VPI
ACT
5. Enterprising
VPI
ACT
6. Artistic
VPI
ACT
VPIM
ACTM

Accuracy rate

Subjects in each category

11

8
0

23
2
3

26
28

3
0

27

Identical

(%)

Congruent
(%)

5
0

2
1

41
85

89
85

1
0

1
0

6
1

70
76

92
86

0
1

10
21

2
0

3
2

7
1

40
84

80
96

0
3

2
2

4
1

16
10

3
11

3
1

57
36

68
86

8
4

5
2

2
2

2
3

10
16

0
0

37
59

52
78

1
0

0
0

2
3

0
0

1
1

3
3

43
43

71
86

50
67

74
81

37

25
28
27
7

Note. Abbreviations: VPI = Vocational Preference Inventory, ACT = American College Test.
VPI vs. ACT for identical rates, x"(l) = 8.51, p < .01; VPI vs. ACT for congruent rates, x 2 (l) = 2.27,
p > .10.

EXPRESSED VERSUS INVENTORIED INTERESTS

119

TABLE 2
COMPARISON OF THE EFFICIENCY RATES OF MEASURED VOCATIONAL PREFERENCE
INVENTORY AND EXPRESSED CAREER PREFERENCES AS
PREDICTORS OF CAREER ENTRY
Holland classification
of type of work
environment

1. Realistic
VPI
ACT
2. Intellectual
VPI
ACT
3. Social
VPI
ACT
4. Conventional
VPI
ACT
5, Enterprising
VPI
ACT
6. Artistic
VPI
ACT
VPIM
A.CTM

Subjects in
each
environment
( - 151)

Subjects in each category

Accuracy rate

Identical
(%)

Congruent
(%)

11
20

10
4

0
3

2
0

1
1

5
1

38
69

79
83

4
4

23
22

1
6

2
1

0
0

4
1

68
65

91
79

2
0

0
0

10
20

2
1

5
3

5
0

42
83 ,

83
96

2
4

4
3

3
1

15
10

1
8

2
1

56
37

67
81

5
3

5
4

2
1

5
1

19

1
1

38
66

62
72

1
2

1
0

1
2

0
0

1
1

4
3

50
38

75
62

49
62

76
81

29
34
24
27
20
8

11

Note. Abbreviations: VPI = Vocational Preference Inventory, ACT = American College Test.
VPI vs. ACT for identical rates, x*U) = 5.34, p < .05; VPI vs. ACT for congruent rates, x 2 (l) = .71,
p > .25.

ing expressed choices. Using either prediction environments of career entry. On four of the
method the Enterprising major was the most six Career entry categories expressed choices
difficult of the congruent environments to were stronger predictors of a congruent
choice of work environment than were high
forecast.
Table 2 indicates that expressed choices point codes.
were also significantly more accurate preTable 3 shows that there was a significant
dictors of types of career entry. Overall, ex- difference between student expressed choices
pressed choices showed a 62 % accuracy rate and their high point codes. Overall agreecompared to a 49 % accuracy rate using high ment was 49.7%, and among the six catepoint codes. The rates for identical predic- gories there was a range of only 14 % agreetions among the six work environments ment in the Artistic area to 68 % agreement
ranged from 38% to 68% using the Voca- in the Enterprising category.
tional Preference Inventory and from 37 % to
DISCUSSION
83 % using expressed choices. The high point
codes best predicted Intellectual type career
Over a 4-year period expressed vocational
entry and were weakest in predicting Real- choices were more accurate predictors for
istic and Enterprising type career entry. For both graduating college major and career
the expressed choices method the best entry than were the inventoried choices depredicted work environment was in the So- rived from the high point codes of the Vocacial area while the weakest prediction oc- tional Preference Inventory. There was little
curred in the area of Conventional career relationship between students' expressed
entry. This table also shows that expressed choices and high point codes.
choices were stronger predictors of congruent
Although methodological and instru-

120

ELDON M. GADE AND DAVID SOLIAH

TABLE 3
RELATIONSHIP OP VOCATIONAL PREFERENCE
INVENTORY HIGH POINT CODES AND
SELF-EXPRESSED CAREER PREFERENCES
Holland
classification

Subjects
( = 151)

Realistic
Intellectual
Social
Conventional
Enterprising
Artistic

25
43
17
26
19
21

Identical
preferences
( = 75)

Agreement*
(%)

11

25
11

44
58
65

12
13
3

46
68
14

Note. For identical preferences vs. nonidentical

preferences, x 2 (5) = 14.72, p < .05. Contingency
coefficient = .30, ns.
M = 49.7%.

tories for every client who considers a longrange vocational decision.

Although few college counselors view their
role as actuarial forecasters of long-range
educational and career plans, counselors and
their clients continue to engage in making
long-term predictions. Expressed choices
have demonstrated validity for use in career
prediction. With a trend toward increased
use of career decision-making programs
(Crites, 1974), counselors can have confidence that self-expressed choices are as reliable as inventoried interests for use in the
process of predicting what clients want to do.
Expressed vocational choices are valid expressions of career values (what clients want
to do) and are relevant information for planning career strategies to meet future educational and career goals.

mentation differences as well as the criterion

problem make direct comparisons difficult,
REFERENCE NOTE
the findings of the present study are conJ. L., Whitney, D. R., Cole, N. S., &
sistent with studies by Holland (1963), Hol- 1. Holland,
Richards, J. M. An empirical occupational
land and Lutz (1968), and the review by
classification derived from a theory of perWhitney (1969) showing that expressed
sonality and intended for practice and research
(ACT Research Report No. #0), Iowa City,
choices had higher prediction rates than did
Iowa: American College Testing Program,
inventoried scores.
1969.
Although the authors do not recommend
the abandonment of the use of interest tests,
REFERENCES
the data do suggest that college counselors
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EXPRESSED VERSUS INVENTORIED INTERESTS

121

McArthur, C., & Stevens, L. The validation of ^3uper, D. E., & Crites, J. O. Appraising vocational
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' ' ~m~
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(Received April 25, 1974)

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