Interests, in vocational psychology dictionary

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Dictionary of Vocational Psychology

Interests

Interests are a species of desire; specifically, they are that which people desire to understand or do. Borrowing from a discussion of the nature of desire by philosopher Harry Frankfurt, there are two kinds of interests: first-order interests, namely, a desire to perform some activity or understand some object or process; and second-order interests, namely, an interest in becoming more interested in something. Thus, one can have a (second-order) interest in something that one has relatively little (first-order) interest in. Vocational interests are one of the central psychological constructs thought to affect career decision-making and adjustment, and refer specifically to those activities, objects, or processes associated with work activities. Almost all research on vocational interests has examined first-order vocational interests. Savickas (1999) reviews other definitions of interests, including those from vocational psychologists. One of the most prominent of the researchers of vocational interests, E. K. Strong (1955), proposed that interests are composed of four attributes: sustained attention to an object (attention); liking of an object (feeling); a sense of being steered toward an object for which one feels positive interests and away from one for which one feels negative interest (direction); and activity spurred by an object (activity). Super and Crites (1962) described four kinds of interests based on how their existence might be inferred: expressed, manifest, tested, and inventoried. The most common way to assess interests is through interest inventories, of which there are a great number.

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