Person-Environment Fit

Historical and Theoretical Influences

The core concepts of person-environment fit models can be traced to a number of sources. As stated above, Parsons's template matching approach and trait-factor counseling models were important influences on the evolution of person-environment fit models. Another important influence is captured in Kurt Lewin's famous formulation of the interaction of person with environment: B = f (P, E). Lewin proposed that behavior does not arise from a purely mechanistic interaction of person with environment, but rather it is influenced by the weight and value an individual gives to elements of the environment. Individuals bring unique learning histories to a given situation. These histories impact their interpretations and valuing of environmental features. Consequently, different individuals will behave differently given the same environment features. Another influence is found in Hans Selye's conceptualization of stress as arising from a mismatch between organism and environment. In occupational settings, a mismatch between worker and workplace is expected to give rise to job dissatisfaction and/or poor job performance. It should be noted that person-environment fit models have been successfully applied to a wide range of behavior settings. However, applications to vocational psychology are the most sophisticated, both in terms of the variables assessed and the psychometric models used, and the most widely used.

Subjective or Objective Environment Debate

As might be expected given the influence of Lewin's field theory, many researchers working with person-environment fit models choose to assess the work environment as it is perceived by the worker. In keeping with Lewin's thinking, it is argued that the perceived or subjective environment is what individuals are actually responding to in a given setting. However, it is important to note that some person-environment fit researchers reject operationalizing work settings subjectively for the very same reasons put forward by others arguing for its primacy. These researchers argue that because an individual's perception of an environment is so colored by that individual's unique learning history, the perceived environment is too variable and too subjective to be meaningfully applied across groups of individuals. These researchers argue that the environment should be defined only by objectively determined and directly measurable attributes such as behaviors and physical features. Roger Barker's behavior setting theory represents the best articulated and operationalized approach to the objective assessment of environments.

...