Gender Differences in Undergraduate Holland Personality Types: Vocational and Cocurricular Implications

Patterns of interest among male and female undergraduate students were compared, using two instruments based on Holland's (1997) theory of occupational choice. One of these instruments assessed vocational interests while the other assessed cocurricular interests. Males were found to score higher than females on the realistic scale of the vocational instrument, while females were found to score higher than males on the social and enterprising scales of the same inventory. On the cocurricular inventory, males obtained higher realistic and investigative scores than did females, while females obtained higher artistic and social scores than did males. No significant differences were found on the remaining scales of either instrument. In this article, the authors discuss the practical implications of the findings, with reference to career services and campus activities, and offer recommendations for further research.