AN EVALUATION OF INTEREST CONGRUENCE INDEXES - DISTRIBUTION CHARACTERISTICS AND MEASUREMENT PROPERTIES

This article first presents research that compares 10 extent measures of interest congruence, derived from Holland's (1985a) theory of career choice, for their underlying distribution characteristics and their abilities to discriminate among subtle but important differences in person-environment congruence. Using simulated data, we show that (a) none of the three-letter code measures are sensitive to differences among persons across the entire possible range of congruence scores, and (b) with one exception (Kwak & Pulvino, 1982), they are incapable of making fine distinctions among persons with like, but out of order, three-letter person and environment codes. In a second study, we present a new measure of interest congruence that retains the advantages of the Kwak and Pulvino measure, but is easier to calculate. Results are discussed in terms of how users can choose among measures, and needed areas for future research on the new measure and on congruence measurement in general. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.