Psychologist Dale Prediger (1982) proposed that John Holland's RIASEC hexagon can be explained with just two underlying axes: data versus ideas, and people versus things. This quiz focuses on the first one, the foundation of the UNIACT interest inventory, widely used in career guidance in the U.S.
- Data: you prefer concrete facts, figures, and verifiable procedures.
- Balanced: you move comfortably between both depending on the task.
- Ideas: you prefer abstract concepts, possibilities, and meaning.
15 statements, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you want the full map of your vocational interests, you can follow up with the RIASEC career test.
All possible results
Data-Oriented
You prefer concrete facts, figures, and verifiable procedures. You feel more comfortable with precision than with the ambiguity of an open-ended idea.
Read more about Data-Oriented
Prediger described this axis as the one separating people who process information in a systematic, verifiable way from those who prefer to generate meaning and possibility from it.
What this result means
You feel most comfortable working with information that can be checked, measured, or precisely classified. A project with no clear answer appeals to you less than one with concrete data to dig into.
Related environments and occupations
- Accounting, data analysis, auditing, applied statistics.
- Process engineering, quality control, logistics.
- Any role that pairs this axis with your RIASEC career test result: for example, Data + Conventional points toward administration, and Data + Realistic toward precision trades.
An important note
This result is orientation-only and informational, inspired by Dale Prediger's (1982) model of the dimensions underlying Holland's RIASEC hexagon: it's a starting point for exploring your interests, not a closed answer.
Balanced Between Data and Ideas
You move comfortably between the concrete and the abstract, depending on what each task calls for, without a strong preference for either extreme.
Read more about Balanced Between Data and Ideas
This isn't an all-or-nothing axis: most real jobs combine stretches of precision with stretches of interpretation, and plenty of people move comfortably through both.
What this result means
You don't lean heavily toward data or toward ideas. You might enjoy digging into a specific figure one moment and debating an abstract concept the next, without either one feeling clearly more comfortable than the other.
Related environments and occupations
- Roles that combine analysis and strategy: consulting, product management, applied research.
- Any job that alternates precision-based tasks with interpretation or creation.
An important note
This result is orientation-only and informational, inspired by Dale Prediger's (1982) model of the dimensions underlying Holland's RIASEC hexagon: it's a starting point for exploring your interests, not a closed answer.
Idea-Oriented
You prefer abstract concepts, possibilities, and meaning. The open-endedness of an idea appeals to you more than the precision of a fixed data point.
Read more about Idea-Oriented
The ideas end of the spectrum, according to Prediger, doesn't avoid information: it uses it as a starting point for generating something new, not as an end in itself.
What this result means
You feel more comfortable generating possibilities, interpreting meaning, or proposing something original than verifying whether a piece of data is exact. An open-ended project with no single right answer appeals to you more than one with fixed procedures.
Related environments and occupations
- Design, writing, theoretical research, brand strategy.
- Philosophy, the humanities, innovation, developing new concepts.
- Any role that pairs this axis with your RIASEC career test result: for example, Ideas + Artistic points toward original creation, and Ideas + Investigative toward theory or basic research.
An important note
This result is orientation-only and informational, inspired by Dale Prediger's (1982) model of the dimensions underlying Holland's RIASEC hexagon: it's a starting point for exploring your interests, not a closed answer.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from the RIASEC career test?
This quiz measures only one of the two axes that, according to Dale Prediger (1982), underlie the structure of Holland's RIASEC hexagon. The RIASEC career test identifies your full profile across all six of Holland's types.
What is Prediger's data-ideas axis?
Together with the people-things axis, it's one of two dimensions Dale Prediger proposed as the foundation of Holland's hexagon: the kind of information you prefer to work with (concrete, verifiable facts, or abstract concepts and possibilities).
Is this the same as being a logical or a creative person?
It's related, but not identical: it describes the kind of information you feel most comfortable working with, not a general capacity for reasoning or creativity.
Is this quiz reliable?
It's an orientation-only, informational approximation inspired by Prediger's model, the foundation of the UNIACT inventory: it doesn't replace guidance from a qualified career counselor.
How long does the quiz take?
Between 3 and 4 minutes: 15 statements with five answer options each.
Is it free?
Yes, it's completely free: no sign-up or payment needed to take the test and see your result.