In 1927, E.K. Strong, a psychologist, developed the first interest inventory.

This
tool measured individuals' interests and compared them to those of people working in
various occupations. It was called the Strong Vocational Interest Blank.

Interest inventories can be a great starting point in your search for a career that you will
love. Interest inventories look at a person's likes and dislikes, their favorite activities, and
their personality. Then they compare those qualities with the qualities of people who are
already working in specific careers.

An interest inventory is a testing instrument designed for the purpose of measuring and
evaluating the level of an individual's interest in, or preference for, a variety of activities;
also known as interest test.

The advantages of using an interest inventory revolve around helping people make
educational and career plans. They are designed to help people match their interests with
occupational, educational and leisure pursuits. These assessment tools can point individuals
in the direction of areas of study or work that they may find enjoyable and satisfying.

Interest, Aptitude & Achievement

An interest inventory is different from both achievement and aptitude test.

An achievement test measures an individual’s current ability to perform a particular task.
An aptitude test measures potential or capacity of performing that task in the future.
An interest inventory, on the other hand, measures a person’s liking for a particular task
without reference to the individual’s actual ability to perform the task or potential for doing
so in the future.
E,g: A high school student may show high interest in the field of nursing. Interest alone,
however, does not mean that he ir she has any current nursing skills, not dies it indicate that
the student has mental capacity, physical stamina or emotional make u for the success in
nursing field.

Interests are the result of what you do, what you learn, and whom you know.
These factors change greatly from year to year as your knowledge and experience grows. It
is difficult to be interested in something if, for example, you do not understand what it is.
Interests can be influenced by outside factors.
“Interest” can be easily lost. We’ve all picked up and discarded hobbies because at some
point or other something about them piqued our interest.
Interests are transitory

Aptitudes or “talent” is the innate, natural ability to do something well. We are all born with
them. Discovering what those are is part of the joy of becoming a self-aware person.
 Aptitudes are the result of inheritance and early development.

Limitation of Interest Inventories:

1. Some of the tests reveal ability rather than interest. But interest is not the same thing as
ability. So some tests are not fully valid or reliable.

2. The tests presuppose that the subject possesses a particular interest. But it can reveal the
interest that is present at the time of test, and not afterwards. The interests revealed may
not remain permanent. Moreover the interests are cultivable also. At the time of testing a
particular interest may not have developed fully, but it may develop afterwards. It has been
seen that some interests develop during the vocation.

3. The interest inventories reveal facts on the basis of the report given by the subject. The
accuracy of the report is still a problem. Some people do not reveal facts.

4. The questions in the inventories deal with certain types of activities, and not all these
lead to clear-cut vocations. Again, there is much overlapping between one activity and
another. An occupation is not one interest but a combination of activities or interests.

5. The predictictive side of the inventories have also been tested. On investigation Proctor
found that these have 25% permanence in school studies. Strong finds correlation with
future vocation as 0.75, i.e., less + 1.

Inspite of the above limitations, Interest Inventories are very useful in determining the
future trends of the individual’s vocational life.

Research Reference:

McKay, D. R. (n.d.). Knowing Your Interests Can Help You Choose a Career. Retrieved from
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/interest-inventories-526168

XAP. (n.d.). College Foundation of West Virginia (CFWV). Retrieved from

https://secure.cfwv.com/Home/Article.aspx?

http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/343/Interest-Inventory.html

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.intersourcerecruiting.com/3-blog/blog-sp-723/22-interest-

is-different-than-aptitude.html