Personality tests & Psychological assessments

Todays post is about personality tests and psychological assessments.

A growing trend, especially in business, is to use personality tests to profile potential employees. I thought I would do a bit of research about these tests and share what I found.

What are they?

Taught in psychology, education and business courses, personality tests or psychological assessments are primarily used by psychologists and counsellors. They are verbal or written tests designed to evaluate a person’s behaviour. These tests can help the assessor to understand why one person is good at something, while the other is good at another.

These tests are not a new thing

Historical evidence of testing has been found in China from the year 2200 BC. Documents recorded an elaborate system of competitive examinations were used for selecting government personnel. Some of the tests used were designed to assess the personal characteristics of applicants.

Many hundreds of years later, Robert Woodworth developed the first personality questionnaire during World War I.  It was used to obtain personality information as a means of detecting psychiatric problems for the U.S. Army.

Although personality tests have been around for a long time, their use dramatically increased after 1988, when federal law banned the use of polygraphs by employers. Since then, numerous different questionnaires, tests and personality inventories have been developed.

Types of tests

There are two basic types of personality tests: self-report inventories and projective tests.

Self-report inventories involve having the participants read questions and then rate how well the question or statement applies to them. Two of the most common self-report inventories are the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory).

Projective tests involve presenting the participant with a vague scene, object, or scenario and then asking them to give their interpretation of the test item. One well-known example of a projective test is the Rorschach Inkblot Test.

Main uses

Personality tests are tools designed to measure one’s personality. They can be used for a number of different purposes, from diagnosing psychological problems to screening applicants for employment and job training.

These tests may also be used for school psychology, career and occupational counselling, relationship counselling, clinical psychology, and employment testing.

They are a tool that people can use to better understand themselves and those they interact with. They can then use this knowledge to reduce conflict and improve working relationships.

Are they accurate?

As with everything, statistics can be translated either “for” or “against”. Over the years many major personality tests have faced challenges to its reliability and validity.

However, one in five companies uses some means of testing to screen job candidates, to hire the right type of person and to eliminate unfavourable types.

Personality testing today is a roughly $500 million industry, with an annual growth rate estimated at 10% to 15%. Millions of workers take assessments each year as part of personnel selection, to improve collaboration and teamwork, and to identify satisfying career paths.

On a personal note, I have undertaken a couple of these tests as part of research with a prior employer. The results were very interesting and surprisingly accurate. Scott has also recently undertaken a MBTI test and found the result to be “true to form”.

If you are interested in exploring your personality type, you could consider trying a personality test.

We hope you found this interesting,

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper

Sources – Oxford Handbooks – Leverage EduVery Well Mind – Lumen Learning – Psychology Junkie

My Iridology Update

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Back in May, Scott wrote a post about an Iridology workshop he attended.

Finally, he has found the time to ‘read’ my eyes. So I thought I would share what his Iridology charts and reference books tell him about by eyes.

First, the structure of my Iris

Using the book ‘Iridology Basic Skills by Narelle S Duncan” to assist with the details.

It seems I have what is called a Linen Iris.

The book states that a person with a Linen Iris has the following physical characteristics;

– good general health with normal energy, strength and endurance levels.

– a medium resistance to disease, a standard pain tolerance, and average recuperative powers.

However, is susceptible to disease, particularly stress related conditions and digestive imbalances.

In regards personal characteristics, a Linen Iris indicates a broad-minded person.

Someone easy to be around and has a tendency to be a good listener.

Has strength of character with the ability to understand other people’s vulnerabilities and emotional problems.

Next are the markings in the Iris

I have a couple of marks that are identified as a Jewel and a Flower. These are associated with other personality traits.

A Jewell is associated with traits such as intellectual influence, analytical and attention to detail.

Other traits are a tendency to over think and to be goal driven.

A Flower is associated with traits such as emotional decisions and instant gratification. This mark is also associated with an attraction to colours and photography.

The presence of both types of markings in the Iris indicates a combination of both of these personality traits.

I found this information really interesting. Many of these statements are correct in describing me. Maybe not 100% of all of the points, however every day is different. Those of you who know me may have a different opinion.

There are other indications in my eyes that may be records of past illnesses and injuries. At this stage Scott does not have the skills to correctly decipher them.

I can see how this practice would enable a practitioner to have a better understanding of their patient. This then gives them the ability to tailor their approach and treatment to suit the individual.

Our eyes really can be a window into our soul.

 

On that note, till the next post,

 

Live Clean n Prosper

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