Evidence of concurrent prediction of the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (CISS) for college major selection

This study examined evidence of concurrent criterion validity of the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (CISS) for predicting college majors compared to that for the Strong Interest Inventory (SII). The sample consisted of 62 females and 66 males who were enrolled in an introductory psychology class at a large midwestern university. Data included each student's profile of scores on the interest and skill components of the CISS Occupational Scales and on the SII Occupational Scales, and information regarding her or his chosen major. Students' college majors were matched with Occupational Scales on the CISS and SII profiles, and hit rates were calculated to determine the accuracy of the scores for identifying college majors. Excellent and moderately good matches were found between chosen majors and the interest component of the CISS Occupational Scales for 69.3% of the women and 75.8% of the men. In addition, the results of this study indicated that the interest component of the CISS Occupational Scales and the SII Occupational Scales had comparable levels of concurrent prediction. However, the skill component of the CISS had lower levels of concurrent prediction than did the interest component for college major selection.