Overview

In this section, I will review the four scales that you will find on your Strong TM Interest Inventory Profile. The Profile is a six page summary of your Strong results and is on colored paper. Please refer to your Profile as you read through this section.

The information on the Profile is designed so that the interpretation moves from the general to the specific:

  1. General Occupational Themes
  2. Basic Interest Scales
  3. Occupational Scales
  4. Personal Style Scales.

1. General Occupational Themes (GOTs)

The six General Occupational Themes describe interests in six broad areas, including interest in work and leisure activities. You were introduced to the six themes in Part A (Holland Theory). The six themes can be arranged around a hexagon (see graphic above) with the types most similar to each other falling next to each other, and those most dissimilar falling directly across the hexagon from one another.

Refer to page one of your Profile. Your interests in each of the six areas are shown in rank order. Each Theme has a code, represented by the first letter of the Theme. Artistic Theme has the code of "A" for example.

You may have one, two or three letter code. Although some people do not indicate interests in any of the Themes, or in only one of them, most show an average or a high degree of interest in two or three of them. My Theme code is AES, for example.


The following chart provides you with examples of interests, skills and values of people who fall into each of the six Themes. These examples are generalizations;none will fit any one person exactly. In fact, most people's interests combine several Themes to some degree.

Theme
Interests
Potential Skills
Values
Realistic Machines, tools, Outdoors Mechanical and physical coordination Tradition, common sense
Investigative Science, theories, ideas,data Math, writing, analysis Curiosity, Learning
Artistic Self-expression, art Creativity, artistic expression Originality, Independence
Social People, human welfare People skills, verbal ability Service towards others
Enterprising Business, politics,leadership Selling, managing, persuading Risk taking, status
Conventional Organization, data, finance Math, data analysis, record keeping Accuracy, stability,
  • What is your General Occupational Theme? Does it seem to fit?
  • Is it similar to the two themes you identified in Assignment #2?
  • I will ask you to write about your Theme code in the following section.

2. Basic Interest Scales (BIS)

Refer to page two of your Profile. You will see the 25 Basic Interest Scales categorized under the General Occupational Theme to which it is most closely related.

You will see one of the following phrases: Very Little Interest, Little Interest, Average Interest, High Interest, or Very High Interest. These phrases describe how your answers compare to a large number of people of your own gender. Your score is compared to members of your own gender because research has shown that men and women score somewhat differently on some of the General Occupational Themes and Basic Interest Scales.

Your score on the BIS is also shown numerically. This score shows how your answers compared to a large sample of men and women from a wide variety of occupations. The average score on each scale is 50.

If your score is considerably higher then 50, then you have shown more consistent preferences for these activities than the average adult does, and you should look upon that area of activity as an important focus of your career exploration. The opposite is true for scales on which you show little interest.


Which scales are your highest? Which scales do you show little interest? These are important findings that may help you in selecting a college major and career field.

3. Occupational Scales

Your scores on the Occupational Scales (see pages 3,4, and 5 of your Profile) show how similar your interests are to the interests of men and women in more than 100 different occupations. These people have been employed in their occupations for at least three years and report that they are satisfied with their work.

If you reported the same likes and dislikes as they did, your score will be high and you would probably enjoy working in that occupation or a closely related one. If your likes and dislkes are different from those people in a particular occupation, your score will be low and you might not be happy in that kind of work.
  • If you score high on a particular scale, 40 or above, you have many interests in common with the workers in that occuapation.
  • Identify all your high scores (40 or higher) on pages 3, 4 and 5. If many of your scores are above 40, use 50 as the cut off point.

The Occupational Scales are organized according to the six General Occupational Themes:

  • Realistic
  • Investigative
  • Artistic
  • Social
  • Enterprising
  • Conventional

To the left of each Occupational Scale name are one to three letters indicating the General Occupational Theme most characteristic of that occupation. For example, Carpenter (REA), Biologist (IRA), Nurse (SCE). In the Career Center you will use the Dictionary of Holland Occupational Codes to find out which occupations are related to your Theme code. This will be part of the research assignment.


4. Personal Style Scales

The four Personal Style Scales explore how you prefer to go about working, learning, and living in general.

The Learning Environment scale suggest the kind of setting in which you may enjoy learning: one in which you learn by doing or one in which you learn through lectures and reading. The scale does not measure your academic ability or your chance for success in a particular environment.

When investigating careers that interest you, find out what kind of education is required. Compare these requirements with your results on the Learning Environment scale, so that you can make informed decisions.

The Work Style scale indicates how much contact with people you want on your job. Do you prefer working with people or working with ideas, data, or things?
The Leadership Style scale indicates what kind of leader you prefer to be:one who takes charge or one who leads by example. The scale does not measure whether you are interested in leading or in following someone else's lead,but measures your styles.

The Risk Taking/Adventure scale shows whether you like adventure and how much you enjoy taking risks. You may be very willing to take chances or you may feel more comfortable playing it safe.

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