SDS Career Explorer
SDS Career Explorer
TheRIASEC Theory1
The SDS Career Explorer uses a scientific classification of vocational personalities and
occupations to help students learn about themselves and about careers. This classification of
persons and occupations was originally developed by psychologist Dr. John L. Holland.
Vocational Personalities
As young people learn and gain experience, they acquire distinctive patterns of interests,
competencies, activity preferences, and self-perceptions. Holland’s classification of vocational
personalities organizes these individual differences using six general categories. These six
personality types are Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and
Conventional.
No person is exactly like any one of these six personality types, but each of us can be described
as resembling the six types to a greater or lesser degree.
For example, a person who resembles the Realistic personality type tends to prefer working
with things such as tools and machines, values concrete and practical accomplishment, sees
himself or herself as having mechanical skills, and may see himself or herself as lacking in
social or interpersonal skills.
In contrast, a person who resembles the Social personality type prefers helping other people by
teaching or healing them. A Social person sees himself or herself as having interpersonal skills
and may avoid technical or mechanical activities.
Figure 1 defines the personality types by showing the preferences, values, competencies, and
activities characteristic of each type.
1From Career Exploration and Decision Skills Program by G. D. Gottfredson, 1992, Baltimore, MD: Author. Copyright 1991 by Gary D.
Gottfredson. Adapted by permission.
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Work Environments
Different occupations require different skills and provide different rewards and challenges to
those who work in them. Holland's classification system organizes occupational information
by grouping together those occupations that make similar demands on workers and that
reward similar behavior.
Likes activities Using machines, Exploring and Reading books, Helping, Persuading Following
and occupations tools, and understanding musical or teaching, or directing orderly
things things and artistic healing, others routines,
events activities, counseling, meeting
writing or serving clear
others standards
Values Money rewards Knowledge, Creative ideas, Working Money and Making
for observable learning emotions, or for the social status money: having
accomplishments feelings welfare power in
of others, social, business,
social service or political
affairs
Sees self as Practical, Analytical, Open to Understanding Having more Having better
conservative, intelligent, experience, how others sales and technical skills
and having skeptical, and innovative, feel, patient, persuasive in business
better manual having better intellectual, and and having ability or production
and mechanical academic skills having better more social than than artistic
skills than than social creative skills skills than scientific abilities
social skills skills than clerical or mechanical ability
office skills ability
Avoids Interaction with Having to Routines and Mechanical Scientific, Work that
other people persuade others rules and technical intellectual, or does not
or sell them activity complicated have clear
things topics directions
Note. From Career Exploration and Decision Skills Program by G. D. Gottfredson. 1992. Baltimore. MD: Author. Copyright 1991 by Gary D.
Gottfredson. Adapted by permission.
The occupational categories have names that parallel the personality types: Realistic,
Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. No work environment
resembles one environmental type exactly, but we can describe any occupation or work
environment according to its degree of resemblance to the six categories.
For example, the occupation of Bookkeeper most resembles the Conventional occupational
type because it requires careful record keeping, following conventional rules, and encour
ages an orderly and traditional outlook. In contrast, the occupation of Actor most resembles
the Artistic occupational type because it rewards originality, creativity, and artistic expres
sion while allowing unconventional or flexible outlooks.
3
Figure 2 defines work, environments by showing the requirements, rewards, styles allowed
expression, and activities characteristic of each environment.
Note. From Career Exploration and Decision Skills Program by G. D. Gottfredson. 1992. Baltimore. MD: Author. Copyright 1991 by Gary D.
Gottfredson. Adapted by permission.
4
The hexagonal arrangement shown in Figure 3 of this guide summarizes the similarities and
differences among types. Realistic and Social personality types are distant from each other
on the personality hexagon because one involves things (while avoiding people) and the
other involves people (while avoiding machines or tools). Conventional and Artistic person
ality types are distant from each other on the hexagon because one involves orderliness and
conformity and the other involves spontaneity and nonconformity.
Similarly, the hexagonal arrangement of work environments shows Investigative and
Enterprising occupations far apart because Investigative environments require skepticism
and analysis whereas Enterprising environments reward enthusiasm and persuasiveness.
If you would like more information about the RIASEC theory, you may wish to read Making
Vocational Choices (Holland, 1985a) or the Self-Directed Search Professional User’s Guide
(Holland, Powell, & Fritzsche, 1994).