Which figure is recognized as the founder of the vocational guidance movement, advocating talent and personality-based career matching?

• A. John Holland
• B. Frank Parsons
• C. B.F. Skinner
• D. John Bowlby

Answer: (B)

Frank Parsons is recognized as the founder of the vocational guidance movement. He introduced the idea that career decisions should be made through a deliberate match between a person’s abilities, interests, and personality and the requirements and opportunities of occupations. He advocated a systematic, counseling-based approach that used assessment to help individuals understand their strengths and preferences and then compare them to real-world job possibilities. This laid the groundwork for modern career counseling by treating career choice as a process of informed, talent- and personality-based matching.

For context, other figures contributed in different ways: John Holland is known for later developing a personality–environment fit theory with six career types; B.F. Skinner is associated with behaviorist psychology; John Bowlby with attachment theory.