Holland's Theory in a Post-Modern World: - The Career Center ...

Holland’s Theory 17In addition to the circular order and circumplex models, five other models based onHolland’s theory demonstrated good fit across cultures. Prediger’s two-dimensional model wassupported in Iceland (Einarsdottir et al., 2002) and China (Wong & Wong, 2006). Liu andRounds’s octant model (2003) fit the data well in Serbia (Hedrih, 2008) and Croatia (Šverko,2008). Gati’s hierarchical model (1979, 1982, 1991) and Rounds and Tracey’s alternativehierarchical model (1996) were supported in Germany (Nagy et al., 2007) and China (Long &Tracey, 2006). Tracey and Rounds’s spherical model (1995) was supported in Croatia (Šverko,2008), China (Long & Tracey, 2006), and Japan (Tracey et al., 1997).While there is a great deal of support for these models in numerous cultural contexts,there is also evidence to warrant cautious use of Holland’s theory in some places. Holland’scircumplex model, Gati’s hierarchical model of vocational interests, and Rounds and Tracey’s(1996) alternative partition model all demonstrated a poor fit in Africa (du Toit & de Bruin,2002; Glidden-Tracey & Parraga, 1996). There are some cultures where one model is supportedbut another is not. For example, although the circular order model was supported in Hong Kong,Holland’s circumplex model was not (Farh et al., 1998). Additionally, in China where othermodels were supported, Long and Tracey (2006) and Tang (2001) found that Holland’s circularorder model did not fit the data. Similarly, Holland’s circular order model was not supported inJapan (Tracey et al., 1997). In Serbia Gati and Rounds, Tracey’s models, and the twohierarchical models were not supported while other models were found to fit the data well(Hedrih, 2008).As with cultural subgroups in the United States, it is apparent that global groups with asufficiently common social and educational experience may confidently apply RIASEC theoryand the SDS to almost everyone (Day & Rounds, 1998). After examining data from a sample of