Strong Interest Inventory
(SII)Mihai JIG ĂU
Institute of Educational Sciences, BucharestHistory
E. K. Strong was one of the pioneers with measurement of vocational interests. Ever since
the 1920s, the author and his collaborators noticed that people belonging to different
professional groups are systematically different (apart from the system of aptitudes, skills
and knowledge) in their likes and dislikes (and not just vocational, but also regarding
their hobbies, entertainment, reading, etc., that is situations which are apparently not
connected to their workplace). This remark suggests that the profession is a lifestyle and
not just a means of earning a living. The psychological implication is that is we could
have an overall picture of the lifestyle an individual prefers (that is his or her system of
interests) and the counsellor could recommend the suitable profession even before the
client entering the working life.
The instrument drawn up as a result is Strong Vocational Interest Bank (SVIB) and,
subsequently (1974), when the same test developed versions for men and women, its
name was changed into Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory – SCII; this version has not
undergone much change. At present, Campbell is no longer involved in the making of the
instrument, so that now it is called Strong Interest Inventory – SII. Revisions have been
operated by Hansen and Campbell (1985), Borgen (1988), and Hansen (1992).
Only a few items were replaced from the initial version, those related to the religious
activities, so that the 325 items in the 1985 edition are unchanged.