Person-environment fit research: Problems and prospects

Journal of Vocational Behavior 35, 181-193 (1989)

Person-Environment Fit Research: Problems and Prospects

ITAMAR GATI

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The present discussion of Holland’s concept of congruence is intended to complement the discussion in the special issue on the topic (Journal of Vocational Behavior, 31, 1987). The first part is devoted to problems associated with the definition and measurement of congruence. The second part focuses on the role of congruence as a predictor of vocational behavior. 0 1989 Academic Press. Inc

Holland’s (1973, 1985) concept of congruence has served, together with concepts like consistency, differentiation, and the hexagonal structure, as a theoretical framework for many studies (for review, see Spo- kane, 198.5). Osipow (1987, p. 334) summarized the problems associated with congruence in the following three main questions: “How do we assess people? How do we measure their environment? How do we compare the two, regarding the degree and quality of fit?“. In the present paper I attempt to complement the answers to these questions that were given in the special issue of the Journal of Vocational Behavior on congruence (Spokane, 1987).

Although the hypothesized relationship between congruence and occupational satisfaction (as well as occupational performance and permanence) may not sound very surprising, the results of several studies demonstrate that it is not trivial to obtain empirical support for this facet of Holland’s theory. While recently congruence has been discussed extensively (Spokane, 1987), a deeper look reveals that some significant aspects were neglected, while others were discussed less extensively than they deserve. The purpose of the present discussion is to highlight some theoretical aspects of congruence, to discuss problems related to the difficulties faced by the studies which focused on congruence, and to present a few questions regarding congruence and its relationship with occupational satisfaction and performance. Some of the issues discussed refer to the definition of congruence as a function of the gap between a

I thank Shoshana Shiloh, Micha Wartski, and the reviewers for their helpful comments. Please address requests for reprints to Itamar Gati, Dept. of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel.

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person and his/her environment, whereas others refer to congruence as an independent variable expected to predict occupational satisfaction and performance.

DEFINING CONGRUENCE

Characterizing People and Environments

People and environments have to be characterized prior to being compared in order for congruence between them to be assessed. There are studies which use a single type (letter) characterization based on Hol- land’s (1973) typology of individuals and environment. Other studies employed two types (letters) to characterize individuals and their environment. Some studies followed Holland’s (1985) proposal for characterization into three types. The problems faced by these approaches are reflected in interest profiles like [14,13,3,2,1,0] or [14,13,12,11,1,01, respectively for RIASEC, which both receive the same single letter code (R), or the same three letter code (RIA), when in fact RI is the appropriate code for the first profile and RIAS for the second one. The proposal to use a variable number of types (letters) to characterize both individuals and the environments (Gati, 1985), complemented by a formal procedure to characterize persons by a variable number of types (Gati, 1987; Gati & Blumberg, 1989), may solve some of the problems associated with the arbitrary (e.g., those with a fixed number of types) procedures. Note that environments, like individuals, can also be characterized by a variable rather than a fixed number of types (Gati, 1985; see also Holland’s codes of occupations in the profile report of the Strong Vocational In- terest Blank, Strong, Hansen, & Campbell, 1985).

Congruence-Continuous or Dichotomous?

Holland’s concept of congruence, though employed at times as a dichotomous variable, may be regarded as referring to a continuous variable. Holland (1985) pointed out that because of the complexity of human behavior, a continuous scale is preferred to a dichotomous definition. This is especially so if one accepts the proposal as refering to congruence in general, not only in personality. The assumption underlying the continuous interpretation is that, because of the nature of occupations, no one is perfectly suited to his/her occupation. Hence congruence refers to the size of the gap between the profile of an individual’s characteristics and that of his/her occupation or job. Of course, practical considerations often necessitate the division of such a theoretically continuous gap into an arbitrary dichotomy or into several segments. The major practical problem is, therefore, how to arrive at an equal spacing of the segments, to achieve an interval scale of congruence.

CONGRUENCE: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS 183

Measuring Congruence

The problem of quantifying the degree of person-environment fit, once we have measured both, is at the heart of the issue (Osipow, 1987). Various indices were proposed to measure congruence (e.g., Holland, 1973; Iachan, 1984; Kwak & Pulvino, 1982; Rounds, Dawis, & Lofquist, 1987; Wiggins & Moody, 1981; Zener & Schnuelle, 1976). Gati (1985) discussed the disadvantages of these indices and proposed an alternative one. Rounds et al. (1987) found that D*, the sum of the squared differences between the person and the environment, is the best predictor of satisfaction. However, this measure has two disadvantages. First, the assumption of the independence of scales, which underlies the measure, is practically always violated, and the correlated and hence redundant scales bias the measure by an over-representation of psychologically similar attributes. Second, the squaring of the differences assigns higher weight to larger differences, independent of the importance of those differences for the person or of that variable in the environment (Cron- bath & Gleser, 1953).

Spokane (1985) concluded that congruence indices based on three- letter codes are preferable to indices using fewer letters. Grotevant, Cooper, and Kramer (1986) obtained different results depending on the measure of congruence used. Assouline and Meir (1987) and Rounds et al. (1987) found that the observed correlation between congruence and satisfaction varied significantly with the measure of congruence used. Gati and Blumberg (1989) found that career counselors’ judgments of congruence were significantly more compatible with some measures than with others. Thus, the measure of congruence that is used does make a difference.

The various indices of congruence may be characterized according to the following criteria (Gati, 1985): (1) Whether the number of scales used to characterize the compared profiles is fixed or variable; (2) whether the index of congruence considers or disregards the structure of interests (or the proximity structure of the scales); if it does consider this structure, whether the basis for the structure is empirical or theoretical; (3) whether the index takes the number of common types into account directly or indirectly; (4) whether there is an option for an asymmetrical weighting of the considered profiles; and (5) whether the index is also applicable to classifications different from that of Holland’s (e.g., Roe’s classification). Table 3 in Gati (1985) summarizes the characteristics of some congruence indices according to these five criteria. It may be speculated that in a number of studies the relationship between congruence and satisfaction (or performance) was obscured by the use of a congruence index which relied on a characterization based on a fixed number of types, and did not take into account all available information, including the structure of the types.

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The Structure and Level for Defining Congruence

The proximity structure among the types can be assessed by the empirical intercorrelation matrix based on a particular sample (e.g., Kwak & Pulvino, 1982). However, because such a correlation matrix varies from sample to sample, it seems preferable to use a validated theoretical proximity structure. Although the hexagon is a useful approximation for the structure of types (Holland, 1985), it faces several theoretical problems (Gati, 1979, 1989), and there are consistent and systematic devia- tions from it (Gati, 1982). The outcomes of some studies might be im- proved by the use of the alternative hierarchical structure (Gati, 1979) as a basis for the definition of congruence. Finally, it seems unjustified to base congruence on an empirically derived, but theoretically ques- tionable, circular structure (e.g., Hener & Meir, 1981).

Furthermore, it may be suggested that the study of congruence should not be restricted to testing only on the level of types but may also be tested on a more general level. Specifically, according to the Occupational Aptitude Pattern map (OAP, Gottfredson, 1986), occupations may be classified into four basic clusters (which resemble groups of Holland’s six types): (1) Dealing with physical relations (R + I), (2) maintaining bureaucratic order (C + E), (3) dealing with social and economic relations (S), and (4) performing (A). Thus, we may investigate congruence by classifying people and environment into these four clusters. Alterna- tively, we may use only the two or three major clusters represented by the hierarchical model (Gati, 1979).

CONGRUENCE AS A PREDICTOR

Personality is Only One Facet of the Many Affecting Occupational Satisfaction and Performance

The modest and nonsignificant results obtained in several studies of congruence (Spokane, 1985) cannot be attributed in most cases to the low reliability or validity of the measurements. Rather, these results indicate that there are other independent variables which affect the individual’s occupational satisfaction, performance, and permanence on the job, in addition to personality and interests. Assuming that psychological needs are reflected in the personality variables, these additional aspects include, among others, abilities and aptitudes, skills, and occupational values. The occupational alternatives may also be characterized by the various aspects, and this information may be represented in an Occupations-by-Aspects matrix (Gati, 1984). In light of the cumulative knowledge on congruence in personality (Holland, 1985; Spokane, 1985), we may now turn to investigate congruence in personality within the context of the general suitabiliy of an individual to a career. Thus, congruence should be assessed on the basis of a comprehensive Occupations-


by-Aspects matrix, which may include attributes like age and sex (Os- ipow, 1987), rather than interests and personality types only. This more comprehensive approach enables one to study whether incongruence in certain aspects may be compensated by congruence in other aspects. Furthermore, we can also investigate whether congruence in personality or interests is in fact a moderator variable for congruence in needs (e.g., Theory of Work Adjustment, Dawis & Lofquist, 1984), or whether these two have a relatively independent contribution.

The Relative Contribution of Congruence of the Various Aspects to Satisfaction and Performance

On the basis of the proposed Occupations-by-Aspects matrix, we can study the effects of discrepancies between the individual and an occupation or job in each of the various aspects. We may make educated guesses regarding the relative contribution of the size of the gap in each aspect to occupational satisfaction, performance, and stability. Alter- natively, or additionally, we can employ an empirical approach by at- tempting to predict performance, satisfaction, and permanence from the observed differences in the various aspects between an individual and his/her career, using a multiple regression procedure. The empirical approach should be applied carefully, with appropriate cross-validation techniques to avoid inflated correlations and misleading conclusions. The result of such a regression analysis reflects the relative contribution of congruence in the various aspects to satisfaction and performance. (Note that the regression approach may be used even in a single facet, like vocational interests, where the differences between the person and the career in each of Holland’s six personality types serve as the six predictors.) Within this framework, the answers to questions like “Do individuals act to alter an incongruent environment or leave it‘?” or “What governs the resolution of incongruence?” may depend on the relative weight of the aspects which are the sources of the incongruence. Finally, as Joyce, Slocum, and Von Glinow (1982) showed, different models of fit highlight different facets of the person-situation interaction.

Asymmetry in Congruence

Within the contexts of organizations, Caplan (1987) discussed asymmetry in fit for cases where the person’s preference or characteristics exceed those of the environment or are less than it. Empirical asymmetries in consistency were found by Rose (1984), who analyzed the conditional probabilities of primary and secondary interests. Similar asymmetries may occur in the case of congruence. Although most procedures for computing congruence are symmetric, this constraint is nei- ther necessary nor desirable in many cases. Let us assume, for instance, that there are two persons, both of them only partially congruent with

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their work environment: one person with an interest profile of “Inves- tigative” who works in a “Realistic” environment and another with an interest profile of “Realistic” who works in an “Investigative” environment. Is the congruence of these two persons the same? Because the personalities of the two persons differ, it is reasonable to assume that one of them will adjust better to his/her only partially congruent environment than the other person. In the Sb measure proposed to measure congruence (Gati, 1983, asymmetry in congruence may be taken ex- plicitly into account.

These asymmetries are of particular interest in cases in which the number of types of the individual and the environment differ: for example, let us consider two persons, one with an interest profile of “Re- alistic” (e.g., 12,2,1,0,0,2, respectively, for RIASEC) who works in a “Realistic-Enterprising” environment, and another person with an interest profile of “Realistic-Enterprising” (e.g., 12,2,1,0,11,2, respectively, for RIASEC) who works in a “Realistic” environment. In this type of case, I would predict that the surplus in interests of the second person (i.e., her Enterprising interests) will decrease occupational satisfaction and performance less than a significant missing component of the individual’s interests (i.e., the missing Enterprising interests of the first person). This suggestion is based on the assumption that the second person in the above example might find an avocational outlet for her Enterprising interests (e.g., organizing a fund raising campaign for char- ity). However, the first person, whose career requires a significant En- terprising component (e.g., a daily persuasive task), might be less satisfied (and might not succeed so well) in her career. I speculate that the pattern of asymmetry in occupational satisfaction will follow the same direction as occupational performance. These speculations, as well as the practical significance of the discussed asymmetries, deserve, of course, empirical investigation. However, the theoretical interest of such asymmetries is independent of their practical significance.

Assuming that the assessment of congruence is not limited to personality and interests, we hypothesize that the variables used to assess congruence can be classified into three types according to the more natural direction of the comparison (i.e., from person to environment or vice versa). This direction depends on the range of levels characteristic of the individual and the occupation: The comparison is more natural from the narrow range to the wider one. Therefore, it may by hypothesized that for abilities, where the individual is characterized by a single level, while occupations may be characterized by several levels (because of the within-occupational variance), the individual is the more natural starting point for the comparison. However, for some variables which are critical in some occupations (e.g., having physical contact with other persons in physical therapy, or having responsibility for human life, in


surgery), the more natural comparison is from the occupation to the individual. For other variables both directions of the comparison are about equally natural (e.g., variety, leadership). Note that this asymmetry may have implications regarding the efficiency of the matching or search process but not for the outcome-the perceived degree of congruence between an individual and a particular occupation.

Homogeneity-Heterogeneity of Persons and of Occupations

Career counselors often face career counselees who are a particular “pure” type. A counselee, who, for instance, may be characterized as friendly, talkative, willing to help people, and so on, may be regarded as a typical, or homogeneous, “Social” type. Other counselees might be characterized by aspects which relatively rarely coexist in the same person (e.g., wishing to work with sophisticated instruments and will- ingness to help people). As Holland noted (1973, p. 28), environments rarely have a homogeneous character. Indeed, the same difference may also be observed in occupations, where some occupations may be characterized by aspects which usually appear together (e.g., oral communication and helping people), whereas other occupations may be characterized by aspects which relatively rarely characterize the same occupation (e.g., finger dexterity and helping people). Garty & Gati (1989) labeled this distinction as a dimension of homogeneity-heterogeneity. (Holland’s “consistency” may be regarded as a specific case where types are used instead of aspects, and the analysis is restricted to the two highest types only.)

This proposal is based not only on personality types but on all relevant aspects of occupations. Thus, it assumes a comprehensive Occupations- by-Aspects matrix which summarizes the characterization of occupations (Gati, 1984). For each occupation, represented by the respective row in the matrix, we can identify its more essential aspects, that is, those central aspects which primarily characterize the occupation (e.g., for social worker: “helping people”, “above average oral communication skills”), while disregarding aspects of secondary or no importance (e.g., social security, no need for finger dexterity).

On the basis of the essential aspects of the occupation we can characterize each occupation by the degree of its homogeneity-heterogeneity. Homogeneity refers to occupations whose primary aspects are such that they usually, or at least often, characterize the same occupations (e.g., “oral communication” and “working with people”). Heterogeneity refers to occupations whose primary aspects are such that they usually, or at least often, characterize different occupations and rarely characterize the same occupations (e.g., both “working with tools” and “helping people”, as for dentist).

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Similarly, the individual may also be characterized with respect to each of the aspects. We can then identify for the individual the more salient aspects which characterize his/her ideal or desirable occupation or his/her prominent characteristics (e.g., high importance for “working with people” and “helping people”, high verbal ability). Finally, as for occupations, we can characterize an individual as a homogeneous or heterogeneous person based on the relative compatibility among his/her prominent or important aspects.

We may ask now how the following kinds of congruence or incongruence affect satisfaction, or performance (Garty & Gati, 1989): (1) A homogeneous person who works (a) in a congruent homogeneous occupation, (b) in an incongruent homogeneous occupation, (c) in a partly congruent heterogeneous occupation, or (d) in an incongruent heterogeneous occupation; (2) a heterogeneous person who works (a) in a congruent heterogeneous occupation, (b) in a partly congruent homogeneous occupation, (c) in a partly congruent heterogeneous occupation, (d) in an incongruent homogeneous occupation, or (e) in an incongruent heterogeneous occupation.

SatisjjGng vs. Optimizing

The process of occupational choice may be described as a search for an occupation which is nearest to one’s ideal occupation (Gati & Winer, 1987; Zakay & Barak, 1984). In terms of congruence such a process may be regarded as a “maximization of congruence.” However, we may ask whether people search only for “optimal” environments (i.e., with perfect congruence) or whether they are also willing to consider “satisfying” environments, where the congruence is less than perfect (Gati, 1986). Do people use separate “thresholds” for each relevant aspect, or is the threshold applied to the overall, across aspects, congruence? Do people have some “minimal threshold” of congruence and stay in a partially congruent environment only if the perceived congruence is above their threshold? Is the location of the critical minimal level of congruence the same for all personality types, for all occupations? Is it consistent within individuals, across their lifespan? If indeed people differ in the minimal level of congruence acceptable by them, then what vocationally related variables account for this variance? (One such variable may be the satisfaction related to avocational activities, e.g., Melamed & Meir, 1981.) Finally, it may be hypothesized that the increased job congruence and job satisfaction with age (Holland & Gottfredson, 1976) may be attributed to a greater readiness to compromise with increased age, and to be satisfied in spite of gaps between what is desirable for the person and what characterizes the occupation or the job.


The Relationships between Satisfaction and Congruence; between Performance and Congruence

It will be indeed surprising if satisfaction or performance will not be related to the degree of congruence. A positive monotonic relationship, reflected by the mostly positive correlations between congruence and occupational satisfaction or performance in an occupation, is generally accepted as an adequate support for the congruence hypothesis. How- ever, it is not informative enough, and we can benefit by knowing the specific shape of the function. To approximate the function, we have to compute the mean satisfaction for each of the various level of congruence, display these means in a plot (with the level of congruence as the independent variable on the abscissa and the mean satisfaction or performance as the dependent variable on the ordinate), and obtain the relevant function. Such a function might reveal whether the relationship is approximately linear, step-like, curvilinear, or any combination of these. (Note that this analysis assumes that both congruence and satisfaction are measured on an interval scale.)

Differences among the Types in Congruence

It may be that in general people who can be characterized as certain types are more satisfied than people who can be characterized as different types; that is, there is a “main effect” in satisfaction among the types (e.g., Garty & Gati, 1989; Mount & Muchinsky, 1978). Such a variance between the types, if systematic and consistent, may blur differences attributable to the degree of congruence if the number of persons of the different types varies, as in fact may be observed in some studies of congruence. Finally, for some types the relevant skills and abilities, in addition to personality, may play a more pronounced role in satisfaction or performance. Specifically, the relative weight of the various variables (e.g., abilities, needs, values) in satisfaction or performance may vary between the types.

The Relationship between Congruence and Consistency, Differentiation, Stability, and Interest Crystallization

Consistency and differentiation have been found as intervening variables which affect the relationship between congruence and satisfaction or performance (e.g., Frantz & Walsh, 1972; Hener & Meir, 1981; Hol- land, 1963, 1968; Peiser & Meir, 1978). Stability, or permanence in an occupation, is another criterion which might be used as a dependent variable in the study of congruence. It is proposed that these variables will also be defined on the basis of a variable number of types and while taking into account the structure of interests (Gati, 1985). A more adequate definition of variables used in the study of congruence, and the replacement of some measures by alternative measures (e.g., using crys-

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tallizaton instead of consistency and differentiation, Gati, 1985) may reveal a more adequate picture of the relationships between congruence and these variables.

Testing the Effect of Congruence by Across-Subjects and Within-Subject Analysis

Almost all investigations that focused on the study of congruence used an across-subject analysis. Some compared the occupational choice satisfaction (OCS) of congruent and incongruent subjects, whereas in other studies the correlation between the degree of congruence and OCS was computed. However, because of individual differences in all relevant variables, a within-subject analysis of congruence has a great appeal. The effect of congruence on OCS (or other variables) may be studied in the following within-subject design. We can measure the vocational interests and the OCS of an individual in several points during his or her work life, while being engaged in different occupations and/or jobs. We can then compute the correlation between the congruence of the occupation or job with the individual’s personality or interests and the OCS at each point of time. Alternatively, assuming that changes in interests are relatively small after the twenties (e.g., Holland & Gottfredson, 1976; Meir, 1988), we can ask the subject to report his or her work history and the OCS he or she felt at each job. Each of these within-subject analyses has its own disadvantages. Yet, they may complete our knowledge on the effects of congruence. Furthermore, they may reveal relationships and specific patterns which were hidden or lost in the across- subjects analyses.

Using Congruence to Compare Models for the Structure of Interests

The disagreement regarding the structure of interests (i.e., whether the structure is circular-hexagonal or hierarchical) has not yet been settled (Gati, 1989). In light of the cumulative evidence supporting the notion of congruence (Spokane, 1985, 1987), this notion may be used to compare the different models for the structure of interests (Gati & Meir, 1982). Specifically, we can compute two congruence scores, one on the basis of the circular-hexagonal model and one on the basis of the hierarchical model, and compare these two scores. The model which yields the higher correlation may be the one which better represents the struc- tural relationship between the types.

Congruence for Occupation or Job

People in the same occupation (e.g., organizational psychologist), but in different environments or jobs (e.g., at a private consulting firm or at a large factory), have different experiences at their work. This within- occupational variance in work environment may lead to an experience


of incongruence in those persons whose personality is different from the modal one in their environment (i.e., at the large factory). The same person, however, might find himself in a most congruent environment in some other job (e.g., at the private consulting firm), while still being engaged in the same occupation. An experience of incongruence may lead some people to believe that they are in an incongruent occupation when, in fact, they are in a congruent occupation, but in an incongruent job. The observed relationship between within-occupation congruence and satisfaction (Meir, 1988, 1989) demonstrates that the study of congruence should be extended to what happens after entering an occupation.

A similar case may occur during the studies in preparation for an occupation: Individuals may discontinue their studies because the content of courses in the studied area does not fit their expectations. Conse- quently, they experience incongruence, although the work environment after the studies would fit them very well. Providing information to students regarding the differences between their experiences during their studies and their consequent work may lower the fallout during the period of their training for certain occupations.

CONCLUSIONS

The issues discussed in the present comment support the claim that it is indeed time to evaluate the theoretical concepts and the empirical data related to congruence, and to develop a broader perspective on congruence, on the one hand, and to use more rigorous conceptualization as well as more thorough data analyses, on the other hand. The present paper outlined some aspects of congruence which, in my opinion, re- mained uncovered or neglected, as well as some aspects which received less attention than they deserve. The fact that there are questions related to congruence that are still unanswered should not be regarded as a sign of weakness. Rather, these questions reflect the breadth of the concept of congruence, and the contribution of Holland’s theory to the stimulation of theoretical analyses and empirical research on vocational behavior and career development.

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Received: December 20, 1988.

Person-environment fit research: Problems and prospects

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