Journalof Occupational Psychology, 1980,53,3 1-38 Printed in Great Britain

Classification of vocational interest

factors on the Brook Reaction Test*
J. A. A T H A N A S O U
VocafionalGuidance Services, New South Wales
Department of Industrial Relations and Technology

P. H A L L
New South Wales Department ofEducation

G. A. FOX AND J. J E N K I N S
Chambers, Fox and Jenkins

The Brook Reaction Test (BRT) is an objection word association test that pro-
vides an indirect measure of 22 personal interests. The purpose of the present
study was to determine whether there were factors underlying 10 vocational inter-
est categories on the BRT and a further category designated in the BRT Manual as
‘unclassified’. The BRT was administered as part of a battery of selection tests to
325 males. The 1 1 scales were analysed using a principal components analysis and
a varimax rotation carried out on the first six factors. The six factors identified
accounted for 69.8 per cent of the variance and were largely bipolar in nature:
Factor I, people vs. practical; Factor 11, unclassified interests; Factor 111, aesthetic
vs. business; Factor IV, literary vs. secretarial; Factor V, biological sciences vs.
agriculture; Factor VI, physical sciences vs. outdoor. A hierarchical cluster
analysis applied to these 11 scales confirmed the factor solution and demonstrated
the independence of the interest categories. Findings were related to: (i) three
earlier factorial studies of the BRT; (ii) further evidence concerning its construct
validity; and (iii) Holland’s hexagonal classification of occupations and ACT-
OCS work-task dimensions. Implications of the findings for practical test usage in
guidance and selection are outlined, especially the necessity to score all the I 1
vocational scales.

The Brook Reaction Test (Brook & Heim, 1960; Heim & Watts, 1966; Heim, 1968; Heim
et al., 1969) is an objective open-ended word association test providing an orectic and cog-
nitive measure of 22 personal spontaneous interests (academic, leisure, vocational) as well
as 5 aspects of temperament. This test, which has been described by Fox (1972) and
reviewed by Athanasou ( 1 977), is finding increasing application within vocational settings
in Australia (Underwood, 197 la).
Factor analytic techniques have been used with the Brook Reaction Test (BRT) to
develop and define the interest measurement dimensions and have provided some support
for the validity of the interest scales. These studies supported Strong’s expressed criticism
(1943, p. 3 15) over the possibility of finding a few interest factors which will explain all
interests.

* An earlier version ofthis paper was presented at the 13th Annual Congress, Australian Psychological
Society, University of Newcastle, 1978.
31
0305-8 107/80/01003 1-48 $02.00/0 0 1 9 8 0 The British Psychological Society
32 J. A. ATHANASOU, P . H A L L , G . A . FOX A N D J . J E N K I N S

Kline (1972), for example, studied the BRT responses of 50 male students from a
college ofeducation and looked at the relationship of BRT interest and temperament scales
to personality measures (Cattell 16PF; Kline AiJ. Brook interests were found to be distinct
from personality factors, and tended to load o n only one or two factors. Underwood
(19716) using 78 first-year university students compared direct and indirect assess-
ments of interests and reported that three of 10 vocational Brook categories - biological
science, physical science and aesthetic - ‘contributed unambiguously’ to the definition of
dimensions. T h e factor loadings, however, scarcely attained significance. Since BRT inter-
ests did not contribute as much as direct assessments (i.e. inventoried interests),
Underwood concluded that ‘the generality of dimensions beyond direct assessments were
limited’ ( 1 97 Ih, p. 28), and that the various assessments (direct vs. indirect) measure differ-
ent aspects of interests. Similarly, Kline & Thomas (1972), in a study of the relationship
between the BRT and the Rothwell-Miller Interest Blank, found that it was wise to differ-
entiate between methods of assessment. T h e factorial validity of the 22 Brook general
interest scales was also examined by Athanasou cf ul. (1978). T h e seven rotated factors
identified in this pilot study (n = I%), indicated that the 22 interest scales were distinct and
separate. There were n o clearly recognizable group factors (e.g. outdoor interest factor),
with the possible exception of the first factor which comprised political, law and military
interests.
These studies, which argue mainly for the construct validity o f t h e BRT interest scales,
have been based on very small samples especially when the size of the standard error of the
correlation coefficient is taken into account. Aleamoni (1976) has recently cautioned that
the conclusions of any analysis performed on data for which the number of individuals is
fewer than five times the number of variables should be viewed with scepticism. Moreover,
it is not clear from these studies what, if any, implications exist for the use of the BRT, and
whether these findings bear any relation to current conceptions of interest, such as
Holland’s (1966, 1973).
For example, there is no evidence of the people-things dimension which has been
widely recognized in the literature on interest measurement. Roe (1957) hypothesized that
this people vs. things orientation occurs early in life and the existence of this factor is evi-
dent in the early studies of Thurstone (1931) and Strong (1943). This was also the first
factor extracted by Cottle (1950) in his factor analysis of the Strong Vocational Interest
Blank, Bell Inventory and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. This orientation
towards either people o r objects has been a common feature of the analysis of interest
scales, as distinct from items (e.g. Schutz & Baker, 1962; King & Norell, 1964; D’Costa &
Winefordner, 1969; Nafziger & Helms, 1974; Prediger, 1976).
As Underwood (197 Ih) noted, some of the Brook interest categories are more voca-
tional in character than others. Underwood (19716) selected 10 categories in his study of
the internal validity of vocational interest measures - aesthetic (Ae), business (B), agri-
cultural (G). practical (K), literary (Lt), outdoor (0),people (Pe), biological science (Sb),
physical science (Sn) and secretarial (SI). T h e purpose of the present study was to provide
Australian data on these 10 vocational interests as well as the one unclassified (Un) interest
category. The study was restricted to vocational interests only, since the BRT ‘yields scores
on an exceptionally wide spectrum of interests’ (Heim cf ul.. 1969, p. 2), e.g. leisure
interests such as sport, dancing, entertainment, travel, clothing, etc. Definitions of these 10
categories suggested similar interests to these revealed in factorial studies of interests (see
Super & Crites, 1962), as well as those currently used in major inventories such as the
Kuder Preference Record (Kuder, 1960). Justification for the ‘unclassifiable’ interests is
simply that although four points are scored for each response to the 80 stimulus words in
the BRT. some responses do not fit neatly into any one, or combination, of the 22 interest
categories. These responses are designated as ‘unclassified’ and also include any other
specially keen interests
 CLASSIFICATION OF VOCATIONAL INTEREST FACTORS O N THE BRT 33

Utilizing the returns of working males, this study focused on the underlying
dimensions of structure of the total variance of these Brook occupational interests. More
specifically, a positive response was sought to the question of a people vs. things dimension
in vocational interests on the BRT.
At the same time this study also provided an opportunity to investigate the extent to
which other occupational classification systems can encompass the Brook vocational
interests. If the BRT is to be used with any confidence in the guidance, counselling or
selection of adults, then information is required on how it compares with conventional
categorizations. Using data independent of the information used to develop them,
Holland’s (1966) six groups - realistic (R) investigative (I), artistic (A), social (S),
enterprising (E), conventional (C) - and the American College Testing Program -
Occupational Classification System’s (ACT-OCS) work-task dimensions of things vs.
people and data vs. ideas (Prediger, 1976) were compared with empirical classifications of
Brook interests. These a priori two-dimensional classifications therefore serve as
hypothesized independent factors to be tested by this study.

METHOD

The BRT was administered as part of a battery of selection tests to 325 male subjects
consisting of 277 middle management personnel in engineering, sales and finance, as well
as 23 teacher and 25 counsellor candidates. Although subjects were heterogeneous in terms
of age, education and general ability, no claim for representativeness can be made.
BRT vocational interest categories used by Underwood (1 97 lb) were retained. The
arrangement of BRT interests into the primary Holland codes was straightforward using
The Occupations Finder (Holland, 1972, p. 2) and the descriptions of the six types
(Holland 1966, pp. 16-17). Similarly Prediger (1976, p. 207) has provided schemes for
general correspondence between work-task preferences and interest inventory scales.
Transformed scores from the 1 1 interest scales were used in a principal components
analysis of the 1 1 x 1 1 correlation matrix, with a varimax rotation (Kaiser, 1958) carried
out on the six components with eigenvalues greater than 1.0. Principal components
analysis was used since it was commensurate with the aims of this research. While clearly
there is an infinite set of allowable factor solutions, including sets of oblique factors, this
study is concerned with attempts by various investigators to describe interests in terms of
independent dimensions. Thus the choice of orthogonal analyses was dictated by these
conceptual concerns. These scores were also used in hierarchical cluster analysis of the
1 1 x 1 1 squared Euclidean distance matrix between scales (Johnson, 1967).

RESULTS
Cluster analysis
The first substantive division yielded three groups: main cluster 1 (six interests) with
Holland codes -conventional, realistic, investigative, artistic; main cluster 2 (five
interests) with Holland codes - enterprising, realistic, social; and main cluster 3 (one inter-
est) with BRT code - unclassified. The dendritic pattern with each cluster confirmed the
independence of the BRT interest categories. As a result, clusters were difficult to interpret
and were not nearly as consistent with Holland’s classification as earlier work by Nafziger
& Helms (1974).
In terms of the work-task dimensions of things vs. people and ideas vs. data, the cluster
analysis divided the Brook interest categories into groups supporting a things/people/ideas
vs. things/people/data classification. Overall results of the cluster analysis, summarized in
the dendogram (Fig. I), support previous findings that BRT interest categories are distinct
and mutually independent.
 34 J . A . A T H A N A S O U , P . H A L L , G . A . FOX A N D J . J E N K I N S

400

9 \

50C

Brook interest categories

Fig. I . Cluster analysis of Brook vocational interests. Key: G (agricultural); SI (secretarial); Sn

(physical science); Sb (biological science); Ae (aesthetic); Lt (literary); Un (unclassified); K
(practical);0 (outdoor); B (business); Pe (people).
 C L A S S I F I C A T I O N O F V O C A T I O N A L INTEREST F A C T O R S O N T H E B R T 35

Principal components analysis

As expected, correlations (Table I ) among the 11 scales were all low (see Underwood,
197 I , p. 1 15; Kline, 1972, p. 43). The maximum amount of shared variance between any
two scales was 7.8 per cent, even though around one-third of the intercorrelations were
significant at beyond P < 0.05. Furthermore, to test whether these correlations were
random, the correlation matrix was compared with that produced by Underwood (197 I , p.
481). Only four of the 45 correlations were found to be significantly different (P<O.O5).
Finally, the correlation matrix was tested by Bartlett's (1950) test to determine its suit-
ability foranalysis. The resulting chi-square of256.07 (d.f = 55, P<O.OOI) indicated that it
was suitable for factoring.

Table 1. Correlation matrixfor Brook Reaction Test vocational interests (n = 325)"

Ae B G K Lt 0 Pe Sb Sn Se Un

Aesthetic (Ae) -18 -16 -05 10 11 15 -09 02 -08 -18

Business (B) ' 06 00 -07 -11 -01 01 07 04 -23
Agricultural ( G ) ' 13 -02 -02 -16 -15 09 04 -01
Practical ( K ) ' -16 03 -28 03 04 08 -15
Literary (Lt) ' 02 .-07 05 07 -16 -02
Outdoor (0) ' -10 07 -16 00 -19
People (Pe) ' -12 -08 -15 -10
Biological science (Sb) ' 03 02 -18
Physical science (Sn) ' 03 -14
Secretarial (SI) ' 05
Unclassified (Un)

a Decimals omitted.

Table 2 . BR T vocational interests-varimax solution (n = 325)"

Factors
Interests I II Ill IV V VI H2

Aesthetic 19 -26 79 -05 04 05 73

Business 13 -46 -65 07 02 15 69
Agriculture -40 -08 -27 -1 1 65 05 68
Practical -57 -27 06 35 15 -01 56
Literary -12 06 11 -81 -14 13 73
Outdoor -27 -28 26 -09 -09 -65 68
People 81 -14 10 04 09 -02 71
Biological science -20 -17 -17 -08 -79 -02 74
Physical science -19 -2 1 10 -07 -00 81 76
Secretarial -26 15 01 62 -18 16 54
Unclassified 00 89 -05 03 10 00 81

Variance 1.65 1.44 1.28 1.17 1.12 1 .oo

Contribution (%) 15.0 13.1 11.7 10.7 10.2 9.1 69.8

a Decimals omitted.

The six related factors in the varimax solution accounted for almost 70 per cent of the
total variance of the 1 1 interest scales. One indication of the thoroughness of factorization
was based on communalities divided by reliability estimates (Kline, 1969). The average
over the I 1 interest scales was 87.7 per cent.
36 J . A . A T H A N A S O U , P . H A L L , G . A . FOX A N D J . J E N K I N S

Rotation of the components to the varimax criterion has sharpened their meaning.
T h e factors produced were conceptualized as largely bipolar, since across all of the six
factors there is at least one large (>0.5) positive and negative loading. All six multiple
dorrelations of the two bipolar variables with their respective factors were significant
( P < O . O I ) and all exceeded 0.88. Since both bipolar variables have fairly high correlations
with the factor, and a low correlation with each other, both measure different aspects of the
factor and both will contribute substantially to prediction. Moreover, each vocational
interest tends to have only one of these maximum positive or negative loadings. Those
Brook Categories which contributed most (with a loading greater than 0.5) to the definition
of the factors are listed below:

I I1 111
people 0.8 1 unclassified 0.89 aesthetic 0.79
vs. vs.
practical -0.57 business -0.65

IV V VI
secretarial 0.62 agriculture 0.65 physical science 0.8 I
vs. vs. vs.
literary -0.8 I biological science outdoor -0.65
-0.79

It is recognized that identifying, analysing or attaching labels to factors is a difficult and

subjective undertaking. It seems wiser in this study to refrain from giving any labels to these
factors, but rather to explore their meaning as indicated by the scales having the highest
saturations on each factor (Guilford et al., 1954). The factor results are summarized below
in terms of Holland's (1966) classification or the ACT-OCS work-task dimensions
(Prediger, 1976).

Holland c o d ~ s
I 11 111 IV v. VI
social unclassified artistic conventional realistic
vs. vs. vs. vs.
realistic enterprising artistic investigative

Work-[askdimen.) ions
I I1 111 IV V VI
people unclassified data data things ideas
vs. vs. vs. vs. vs.
things ideas ideas ideas things

Results of this analysis provided some support for the hexagonal model proposed by
Holland, in which opposite categories on the diagonal are the least related types, and in
which non-adjacent and non-opposite categories are the next most closely related.
This bipolar factor structure provided additional confirmation of the work-task
dimensions of Prediger (1976). The first factor is clearly identified by the people vs. things
orientation, and clearly supports the findings of earlier studies. The second factor is
dominated by the 'unclassified' interest category, which is a category of interest unique to
the BRT and worthy of further examination. Subsequent factors 111 and IV supported the
data vs. ideas structure, while factors V and VI produced a classification on ideas vs. things.
 CLASSIFICATION OF VOCATIONAL INTEREST FACTORS O N THE BRT 37

DISCUSSION A N D C O N C L U S I O N S
Compared to the previous factor analytic studies of the BRT, this varimax rotation
yielded six factors which were easier to identify. It revealed a unique bipolar factor solution
embodying contrasting groups of variables. Dimensions were readily interpretable in terms
of a people vs. things and data vs. ideas dimensions. Results generally provided added
support for the independent and distinctive nature of the interest scales.
In agreement with Strong (1 943), the analysis revealed no general factor on which there
were loadings from most if not all tests. Rather, several independent dimensions were
required to define adequately the domain under investigation. A unique second factor,
unclassified interests, was isolated as uncorrelated with all other scales, and possessing
qualities not shared with any other scale.
One of the implications of the findings for test usage is that if one wishes to obtain an
efficient cross-section of occupational interests it would appear necessary to score all the
scales. At the same time, the analysis also revealed how several scales can be combined for
guidance and selection to produce maximum discrimination among individuals. Although
Underwood (1971b) and Kline & Thomas (1972) were unable to establish that the BRT
gives the same results as inventoried assessments, the findings of this study support further
use of the BRT as an alternative source of interest measurements. It provides results
interpretable in terms of an established classification of work-task dimensions, and with
reference to categorized data on worker functions such as the Dictionary of Occupational
Titles (US Department of Labor, 1966). Moreover, the BRT provides an alternative source
of interest measurement providing results interpretable in terms of an established classifi-
cation of work-task dimensions.
More importantly, the results of this study support the principle espoused by several
researchers (e.g. Cronbach & Meehl, 1955; Campbell & Fiske, 1959) of using more than
one method of measurement to validate a theory. The analysis of the BRT, which provides
an indirect assessment of interests, has provided support for the interest dimension of things
vs. people and the ACT-OCS classification. T o the extent that the analysis of the BRT has
resulted in predicted relationships, then these are more firmly established and more general
in their application.

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Krcciwd 26 S ~ ~ p i c ~ m 1978;
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