Trait and Factor Theory

Trait – a characteristic of an individual that can be measured through assessment
Factor – a characteristic required for successful job performance
Trait and factor – the assessment of characteristics of the person and the job
Based on the work of Frank Parsons, Choosing a Vocation

STEP 1 - GAINING SELF-UNDERSTANDING

Interviews and discussions, as well as tests and inventories are used, especially pertaining to interests, aptitude, achievement, values, and personality.

Aptitude
Reveals a person’s probable future level of ability to perform a task (achievement – reveals how much a person has learned in the past, ability – reveals a person’s present ability to perform a task, measures maximum performance)

Examples of aptitude tests: SAT, ACT, the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT), the US Employment Services General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB).

Achievement:
Broad range of events that people participate in and accomplish during their lifetime.
Three types of achievement:
Academic accomplishment – measured most often by grades, but also by honors and specific test scores.
Work accomplishments – tasks completed, supervisor ratings
Tests of achievement for certification or entry into an occupation
Achievement can be measured quantitatively through tests that are used for licensure, certification, or entry into a particular field or profession.

Interests:
Has become the most important trait used in occupational selection.
Minimal overlap between interests and abilities, meaning some people may like things they can’t do well, or some may be good at activities they don’t like.
Interest inventories have scales for specific occupations.
Examples of interest inventories: Kuder DD, SII
Examples of general interest inventories: Kuder Career Search (KCS), SII Basic Interest Scale, California Occupational Preference Survey (COPS)

Values
Important, but difficult concept to measure. For career counseling, two types of values are considered: general values (Study of Values [SV]) and work-related values (Values Scale [VS]).


Personality:
Two inventories: California Psychological Inventory (CPI) – common sense approach and Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF) – statistical approach, bipolar method
Counselor matches the profile of a client with an appropriate occupational pattern
Most difficult to use because of the complexity of the variables involved and their abstraction

STEP 2 - OBTAINING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE WORLD OF WORK

Three aspects of occupational information: type of information (i.e. description of job, working conditions, salary), classification, and the trait and factor requirements for each occupation that one is seriously considering (aptitude, achievement, interest, value, and personality traits)

Types of Occupational Information
Occupational Outlook Handbook
National Career Development Association Guidelines

Classification Systems
A way to organize information
Examples:
· 3 different government classification systems
· Holland’s classification of occupations
· Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)
9 digit code: first digit identifies one of 9 broad categories, 2nd digit breaks up occupations into 82 divisions, 3rd divides occupation into 559 groups, 4th deals with how the person deals with data, 5th how a person deals with people, 6th how a person deals with things, 7th, 8th, 9th indicate the alphabetical order of the occupational titles that have the same 6-digit code.
· O*NET (Occupational Information Network) – computer-based
Common characteristics: worker characteristics, worker requirements, experience requirements, occupational requirements, occupation-specific requirements, occupational characteristics
· Enhanced Guide for Occupational Exploration (GOE) - another government classification system
· Standard Occupational Classification Manual - another government classification system

Trait and Factor Requirements


STEP 3 - INTEGRATING INFORMATION ABOUT ONESELF AND THE WORLD OF WORK

The manuals that accompany many inventories indicate which occupations match specific patterns of scores.
Computer guidance systems (not only tests and inventories) can be used in trait and factor theory.
SIGI PLUS
DISCOVER

How the Counselor Can Help: Helping Skills, Assessment, Occupational Information


APPLYING THE THEORY TO CULTURALLY DIVERSE POPULATIONS

COUNSELOR ISSUES