FROM CIRCUMPLEX TO SPHERE: PERCEPTIONS OF VOCATIONAL ACTIVITIES, EXPLORED AND APPLIED

Authors

  • David Bimler Massey University
  • John Kirkland Massey University

Keywords:

interests, multidimensional scaling, aptitudes

Abstract

Schematic maps of the world of work are often used in vocational guidance. Arguably a map is most effective if it coincides with the cognitive representation already internalized by job-seekers. Here, multidimensional scaling was used to extract a consensus representation from judgements about similarities among a set of vocational-aptitude descriptors. To exclude artefacts confined to a single procedure for eliciting similarity judgements, or a single form of analysis, three different procedures were used, and multiple groups of informants. The results converged on a ‘vocational space’ with at least three dimensions. Its axes were interpreted as ‘people / things’, ‘indoor / outdoor’, and ‘creative / routine’ aspects of work – though the map is rotationally indeterminate, so other frames of reference are valid. This map is shown to accommodate individuals’ preference rankings of the descriptors, by representing them as vectors.

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Published

2019-10-20

How to Cite

Bimler, D., & Kirkland, J. (2019). FROM CIRCUMPLEX TO SPHERE: PERCEPTIONS OF VOCATIONAL ACTIVITIES, EXPLORED AND APPLIED. Psihologia Resurselor Umane, 3(1), 29–40. Retrieved from https://www.hrp-journal.com/index.php/pru/article/view/138

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2005): Psihologia Resurselor Umane

Section

Research articles

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