Theory of Work
Adjustment:
Person-Environment
Correspondence Theory
PSY 714
Instructor: Emily E. Bullock
TWA Theory
 Originally developed in the 1950’s at the Univ. of Minnesota
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to address the needs of a voc. rehab. population
Person-Environment Correspondence Theory is the
generalized TWA theory when applied to populations other
than voc. rehab
Considered a Person-Environment (P-E) “fit” theory
Theory often considered too complex for the typical
practitioner
Focuses satisfaction and skills assessment
TWA theory does not integrate personality and interests as
typically defined; although similar constructs exist
Typically best applied to work settings
Main Points of the Theory of
Word Adjustment (TWA)
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Work is conceptualized as an interaction between an individual and a work environment.
The work environment requires that certain tasks be performed, and the individual brings
skills to perform the tasks.
In exchange, the individual requires compensation for work performance and certain
preferred conditions, such as a safe and comfortable place to work.
The environment and the individual must continue to meet each other's requirements for the
interaction to be maintained. The degree to which the requirements of both are met may be
called correspondence.
Work adjustment is the process of achieving and maintaining correspondence. Work
adjustment is indicated by the satisfaction of the individual with the work environment, and
by the satisfaction of the work environment with the individual--by the individual's
satisfactoriness.
Satisfaction and satisfactoriness result in tenure, the principal indicator of work adjustment.
Tenure can be predicted from the correspondence of an individual's work personality with
the work environment.
Work personalities and work environments can be described in terms of structure and style
variables that are measured on the same dimensions.
This information presented in A Psychological Theory of Work Adjustment: An IndividualDifferences Model and Its Applications, by René V. Dawis and Lloyd H. Lofquist and
http://www.psych.umn.edu/psylabs/vpr/twa1.htm
TWA Theory:
Definition of important terms
 E and P
 Needs and Skills
 Satisfaction and Satisfactoriness
 Correspondence
 Adjustment
TWA theory
 Structure and Style
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Flexibility
Activeness
Reactiveness
Perseverance
 Personality and Self
TWA Theory
 Assessment
http://www.psych.umn.edu/psylabs/vpr/default.ht
m
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Skills-GATB recommended
Needs-typically categorized according to values and
scaled
Personality
 Practice
 Thoughts on TWA as a theory of Career
Development…