How do occupations differ across South Korea and the US: Studies of RIASEC occupational interest profiles (OIPs)

O*NET occupational data has been exported outside the US, however its validity outside the US has been rarely tested. Holland’s (1997) RIASEC model is one of the key components of O*NET occupational data. Holland’s theory is based on the parallel underlying RIASEC interest structure of persons and occupations. However, cross-cultural research on RIASEC structure has focused on persons’ interest structure. Very few studies, if any, have investigated how RIASEC profiles are assigned to occupations across cultures. The current paper comprises three interconnected studies. Firstly, we matched US O*NET occupations to South Korean KNOW occupations to compare occupational interest structures across the two nations. Next, using 296 pairs of occupations matched to be similar in Study 1a, we evaluated the fit of South Korean Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) and US OIPs to Holland’s RIASEC model (Study 1b). Finally, we examined how different OIPs are assigned to occupations through comparing occupational tasks in South Korea and US (Study 2). We found South Korean OIPs when compared to US OIPs showed a poorer fit to RIASEC model. Realistic interest was isolated from other interest types in South Korea, while the US OIPs showed a good fit to RIASEC model. Our results suggest that the differences in OIPs between the two nations were reflected in how occupational tasks were written. Our findings showed that occupations that do not explicitly involve Social activities like helping and nurturing are assigned Social in South Korea, when they involve interactions with others or group work. Our results imply that there are cultural differences in how interests are understood and assigned to occupations.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Youn, Jisoo

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rounds, James
• Napolitano, Chris
• Hanna, Alexis
• Xia, Yan

• Occupational Interest Profiles, Occupational Interest Structure, Cross-cultural, South Korean occupations, O*NET occupational data, RIASEC, occupational task

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Jisoo Youn

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125653

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/125653