The History and Application of Personality Testing in the Workplace

I used to work at a job where I had to give people a test to see if they could successfully perform a job, and the test would sometimes reveal that the tester answered the questions in a way to make them appear better. Although the test showed that the tester was trying to make themselves look good, not all tests are able to do that. So, like mentioned before, a hiring manager should be careful if they do decide to utilize a personality test for hiring

After investing my 15 minutes on this test I found that this test was not credible at all. It was just a method of luring people to know about their personality and getting hits on their website. The test was utterly meaningless. The questions seemed to be simple yet direct in the beginning but later on they became repetitive and boring. There was nothing that could make me ponder over some aspect of my own persona.

This paper introduces the overview of personality assessment approaches in use currently in society. It proceeds to review the big five personality measures, its validity in prediction of personality types (Archer, 2011). The topic on MIPS questionnaires use in personality measurements and scoring methods used by the system is reviewed. Aspects on the social desirability trait and the distortion produced in responses to evaluation questionnaires, being a significant part of the problems in personality assessment is examined. Social desirability does not have an influence on the predictive validity of personality assessments. It is not related to performance in the job. Various strategies used for reduction of social desirability have been studied. The various tools used in assessments are recapitulated including some methodological aspects (Weiner, 2009). Cultural aspects in evaluation of personality discussed are touched upon. Two case studies are used to show the real life situation of personality assessment.

Bornstein, R. F. (2007). Toward a process-based framework for classifying personality tests [Peer comments on the journal article “Advancing personality assessment terminology: time to retire ”objective“ and ”projective“ as personality test descriptors” by G. J. Meyer, & J. E. Kurtz. Journal of personality assessment, 2 (89), 202-207.

Psychometrics came as a consequence from the theories in psychology which tried to find out if there was a way to measure a person’s intelligence.The first types of the psychometric tests were developed by Sir Francis Galton in the late 1800’s, and were later modified by psychometricians James McKeen Cattell and Charles Spearman. Today, psychometric tests are usually used by employers in recruitment and selection process in order to measure the abilities of a potential employee in specific skills such as: intelligence, critical reasoning, motivation and personality profile. Psychometric tests play an important role in selection practice: 70 percent of firms use them (Sackleton and Newell, 1991). The fundamental assumption of psychometrics is that people differ from each other, for instance in terms of their friendliness, their ability to use mathematics, or their motivation to gain success could be different and these differences can be measured. A definition offered for a psychometric test is “an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behaviour” (Anastasi, 1990)

Recruitment and selection tests “aim to provide a potential employer with an insight into how well you work with other people, how well you handle stress, and whether you will be able to cope with the intellectual demands of the job” (Psychometric Success, 2013). These tests are split into personality tests and aptitude/ability test. LL would benefit from personality tests for all employees to ensure

Businesses have to be very careful with the tests that they administer. Pre-employment screenings have gained a lot of scrutiny in the public over whether the test is considered unfair and biased. Tests are subject to two distinct forms of bias. There is a measurement bias. This happens when individuals from different subpopulations receive lower scores then what was predicted. The second form is the relational bias. This occurs if there is a measure differs across groups. According to Drasgow (1987), there is little evidence found regarding relational bias. Administering tests that show high face validity can help a business during these situations. Also, the point of the assessment is to predict job performance after the applicant is hired.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator over the years has become an extremely popular test among the average individual and the large business corporations. It fascinately breaks down people’s personality and gives them a rough code for how their brain function and what they are more inclined to do depending on the circumstances. Despite the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator large popularity there are many stipulations and suspicions about the credibility of the test. The two major arguments that are presented in David Pittenger’s article Cautionary comments regarding the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are large businesses using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test as a tool to indicate who should be hired for particular jobs and accersey of test results, especially when the individual takes the test again and

Personality assessment instruments continue to be widely uses by the public and widely examined by the public. Since the early 20th century a number of personality instruments have been very useful in

An individual’s personality is measured with a personality assessment instrument that encompasses theories and technique. Traditionally psychoanalytical theories provided an outline for accepting behavior that was abnormal and perceptions that prophesized the outcome for prospect behavior. Since projecting personality trait occurs, career counselors, and organizations utilize personality assessment instruments for screening potential employees for qualification. Additionally, personality assessment instruments are used in detecting personality disorders and abnormal behaviors. This

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a popular tool used to indicate a person’s personality type and the sequence in which they perceive the world. In Pittenger’s (2005) article he disagreed with the validity of the MBTI and wants people in the workplace to be leery of using it to determine the abilities of current and future employees. His views came across as arbitrary due to the fact that he thinks that the MBTI claims to have omniscient abilities and then proceeds to argue why it is untrustworthy. The MBTI, is an in-depth personality test, but it cannot stand up to Pittenger’s trifling criticisms, nor can any personality test; however, this does diminish the validity of the MBTI.

Allport defines personality as ‘the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment’ (Allport, 1937). An individual’s unique personality traits and attributes are a powerful indicator of how he/she will interact with the work environment. The difference between average and outstanding employees can often be solely personality related. As the employee is the most valuable asset to the company, ‘selecting the right employee during the process is critical’ (Carbery and Cross, 2013, pp. 41-53)

Personality is defined as consistent behaviour patterns and intrapersonal processes that come from an individual themselves (Burger 2014).In other words, who we are as a person. Personality factors can be attractive to particular parts of the employment industry for example; being neat and tidy or loud and creative could be an attractive factor to the employer. There is an ongoing debate throughout society on whether Personality tests are a good indicator of employment strategies and whether they are a big predictor of hard workers, motivated workers and intelligence within the workplace.

Companies have started to use personality tests in the past five years so that they can find a potential employee’s strengths and weaknesses. If questions and answers are quite accurate and test is done properly it can help an employer to find more about person’s advantages and disadvantages. It is very important to know because one of the most important points is that most of personality tests help to recognize unqualified candidates. “Although experts warn that many personality assessments don't deliver what they promise, legitimate scientifically validated tests are helping employers evaluate job candidates to select those best suited for particular positions. Other tests are designed to measure intelligence, honesty, management aptitude and other qualities.”

The historical use of the terms objective and projective to classify a personality test, and the problems with such classification.