TOPIC 3

CAREER THEORY
PARSON’S TRAIT AND
Trait and Factor
FACTOR THEORY OF Theory
OCCUPATIONAL
CHOICE

 Factor refers to a characteristic

required for successful job
Individual Differences
performance.
 Parsons 1909 – Vocational guidance
 Occupation Selection – Clear
is accomplished by:
understanding of yourself,
o Studying the individual
o Surveying occupations
attitudes, abilities, interests,
o Matching the individual with the ambitions, resource limitation, and
occupation their causes.

 Trait refers to a characteristic of an

individual that can be measured
through testing.

 Knowledge of requirement and

conditions of success, advantages
and disadvantages, compensation,
opportunities, and prospects in
different lines of work.
 True reasoning on the relations of
these two groups of facts.
 Individuals have unique pattern of
ability or trait that can be
objectively measured and correlated
with the requirement of various
types of jobs.
 There is single career goal for
everyone.
 Career decisions are primarily based
on measured abilities (Herr and
Cramer, 1996).

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  Using Tests
o Aptitudes
 Rely primarily on interview and
discussions with client. o Achievement
 Important method of helping client o Interests
gain self understanding by: o Value
o Asking what client enjoy doing – o Personality
(interest), and how well client did
it (aptitude and achievement).
o Client talked what aspects of her
life that were important to her
(values).

Aptitudes:  Scholastic Assessment Test ( SAT)

 Achievement Test  The Differential Aptitude Test (DAT)
o Reveal how much an individual has  Verbal and Mathematical Aptitude.
learned.
 Ability Test
o Measures maximum performance and
reveals the level of person’s present
ability to perform a task.
 Aptitude Test
o Reveals person’s probable future
level of ability to perform a task.

Achievements – 3 Types Interest

 Academic accomplishment –  Strong Interest Inventory (SII)
grades, honor.  SDS
 Accomplishments in work –
supervisor’s rating. Value
 General Value
 Achievement for certification or
entry into occupation.  Work-related Values
 Eg: Helping Others, Creativity,
Economic Reward.

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Personality
 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI)
 Rorschach 3 Aspect Of Occupational Information:
 Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
 Sixteen Personality Factor 1. Types Of Occupational Information
Questionnaire (16PF)  Eg Description of occupations,
qualification required, necessary
educaation, working condition,
salary.
 Occupational Outlook Handbook
(OOH) (2000).

2. Classification Systems
 Dictionary of Occupational Titles
(DOT) – US
3. Trait And Factor Requirement For
Occupations
 Work value on certain job –
Architect
Malaysia
 Job Classification - Jabatan Tenaga
Rakyat Kementerian Sumber
Manusia.
 Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam
Malaysia (JPA)
 Information includes
o Job definition, job task, objektif of
the task, task procedures, salary,
promotion ect.
 Buku Kompas Merah published by
Persatuan Pekilang Malaysia.

 Integrates information about  Major career counseling roles of

oneself and about occupations. early T-andand--F approaches –
diagnosis.
 Matching.
 Diagnosis - process of analyzing
 Making career decision may not data collected through a variety of
come necessarily om tests, but test.
from the counseling interview.

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 Individual strengths and
weaknesses were evaluated with
the primary purpose of finding a
job that matched measured
abilities and achievements.
 Primary goal of using assessment
data was to predict job satisfaction
and success.