Computer-Assisted Synthesis of Psychometric Data in Vocational Counseling.

This paper proposes computer assistance in the synthesis operation of vocational counseling. The goal of vocational counseling is to match the client with a vocation in which he will be both satisfied and satisfactory. The computer would, through its rapid scanning and computation, produce probabilities of satisfactoriness based on (1) the individual's unique pattern of vocational abilities, and (2) individual differences in ability requirements of various occupational environments. Probabilities of satisfaction would be based on (1) the individual's vocational needs, and (2) information on the reinforcer characteristics of various occupational environments. These four lists of potential jobs would result: those in which the client would be (1) satisfied and satisfactory, (2) satisfied and unsatisfactory, suggesting training, (3) unsatisfied but satisfactory, and (4) unsatisfied and unsatisfactory. The computer could also be used in individualizing assessment techniques which provide the banks of data on which the probabilities are constructed. The advantages would be time saving, increased motivation, simultaneous prediction, clarification of reliability, and the greater amount of information at the counselor's disposal. (BP)