A NEW THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTION OF VOCATIONAL INTERESTS IN THE CHINESE CULTURAL CONTEXT: THE WBCI SIX-DIMENSIONAL HIERARCHICAL MODEL

Abstract

Vocational interest theory has long been dominated by Holland’s RIASEC model. Although its simplicity, interpretability, and practical usefulness remain influential, its broad-band categories are increasingly unable to capture finer-grained differences in contemporary occupational structures and non-Western cultural contexts. This article proposes the WBCI six-dimensional hierarchical model, composed of six first-order dimensions and twelve second-order factors, to reflect the Chinese cultural context and occupational ecology. The model highlights functionally important distinctions that are often compressed in traditional classifications, such as influential interaction versus supportive interaction, technical construction versus normative execution, and business expansion versus transactional allocation. This purely conceptual article systematically clarifies the theoretical gaps addressed by WBCI, its construct boundaries, its comparative relationship with existing models, and its future validation path. WBCI provides a theoretically clearer, more culturally embedded, and more operational framework for vocational assessment, career counseling, major selection, and occupational matching.