Self-Directed Search (SDS)
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Realistic - practical, physical, hands-on, tool-oriented
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Most people can be categorized as one of six personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic,
Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
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There are six kinds of work environments: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising,
and Conventional.
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People search for environments that will let them exercise their skills and abilities, express their
attitudes and values, and take on agreeable problems and roles.
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A person’s behavior is determined by an interaction between his/her personality and the
characteristics of the environment.
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The degree of congruence (or agreement) between a person and an occupation (work
environment) can be estimated by a hexagonal model.
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The degree of consistency within a person or an environment is also defined by using the
hexagonal model. Adjacent types are most consistent. Opposite types are most inconsistent.
(there are 3 levels of consistency)
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The degree of differentiation of a person or a work environment modifies predictions made from
a person’s SDS profile. Well defined people are most likely to exhibit the characteristics
attributed to their codes. On the SDS, the degree of differentiation is defined by subtracting the
lowest score from the highest summary score.
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The Rule of 8 can be used to decide when a difference between two summary scale scores is
large enough to be meaningful.
Investigative - analytical, intellectual, scientific, explorative
Artistic - creative, original, independent, chaotic
Social - cooperative, supporting, helping, healing/nurturing
Enterprising - competitive environments, leadership, persuading
Conventional - detail-oriented, organizing, clerical
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The Rule of Full Exploration suggests that the client should look at all permutations of their SDS
code.
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The Rule of Intra-Occupational Variability suggests that every occupation includes a variety of
people or types and subtypes.
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The Rule of Asymmetrical Distributions of Types and Subtypes suggests that the distribution of
SDS codes among and within the six categories is extremely uneven.
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The Daydream Summary Code is a summary of a person’s past and current aspirations from the
SDS Daydreams section.
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The Iachan Index is the most accurate technique of assessing the degree of agreement between
any pair of three-letter codes.
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Identity is an indicator of the degree of clarity of the picture of one’s goals, interests, and
talents. High Identity = High Clarity, Low Identity = Low Clarity.
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A Summary Code indicates which three personality types an individual most resembles.
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Index of Agreement between Current Occupational Choice and SDS Summary Code.
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SDS codes are approximate, not precise.
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The first letter of the code is the most important, most descriptive and most reliable.
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People with rare codes may have difficulty finding congruent occupations.
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Flat profiles may mean: too young or inexperienced; well integrated person with multiple talents
and interests, or confused and disorganized person; high-flat could suggest person with high
energy and a wide range of interests and talents; low flat could suggest self-depreciation and
diffuse sense of identity.
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Counselor Impression – does it make sense from what you know about the client and the world
of work.
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Like any inventory, the SDS will not work for everyone.