The principle behind personality questionnaires is that it is
possible to quantify your intrinsic personality characteristics by
asking you about your feelings, thoughts and behavior. You will be
presented with statements describing various ways of feeling or
acting and asked to answer each one on a 2 point, 5 point or 7
point scale. For example;
1. I enjoy public speaking?
2. I have clear personal goals?
| A)
strongly disagree |
B)
disagree |
C)
neutrals |
D)
agree |
E)
strongly agree |
3. I am good at dealing with difficult people?
| A)
very strongly disagree |
B)
strongly disagrees |
C)
disagree |
D)
neutral |
E)
agree |
|
F)strongly agree |
G)
very strongly agree |
The number of questions you are expected to answer varies from
about 50 to 200, depending on the duration of the test. At first
glance, these tests may seem to be both simplistic in their
approach and unrealistic in their aims. After all, how can
something as complex as your personality be measured and
quantified in so little time and with so few questions. In
addition, it is easy to see that some of the questions are
imprecise and could be answered honestly in different ways
depending on your particular interpretation of them on the day.
For example, take question 3 above 'I am good at dealing with
difficult people? Your answer to this question depends on your
interpretation of two things. Firstly 'good', does this mean good
compared to other people in your office, good compared to the
general public or good compared to some other group? Secondly
'difficult people', does this mean people who are abusive and
violent, people who are withdrawn, people who are selfish or what?
The important point to remember is that even the best of the
personality questionnaires used in selection are far from perfect.
They are seriously constrained because the number of questions is
limited by the time available - the personality questionnaire is
usually only one of a battery of tests, interviews and other
exercises that make up the selection process. However, even if we
accept that these tests do have some shortcomings, we still need
to know what they are trying to measure and why.
What are Personality Types and Traits?
Psychologists define personality as:
“The particular pattern of behavior and thinking that
prevails across time and contexts, and differentiates one person
from another.”
The goal of psychologists is to understand the causes of
individual differences in behavior. In order to do this one must
firstly identify personality characteristics (often called
personality traits), and then determine the variables that produce
and control them.
A personality trait is assumed to be some enduring characteristic
that is relatively constant as opposed to the present temperament
of that person which is not necessarily a stable characteristic.
Consequently, trait theories are specifically focused on
explaining the more permanent personality characteristics that
differentiate one individual from another. For example, things
like being; dependable, trustworthy, friendly, cheerful, etc.
One of the first trait theories was developed in ancient Greece by
the physician Galen who suggested that our personality was a
reflection of the four humors (fluids) that were important in the
human body.
|
Personality Type |
Person is… |
Associated Humor |
|
Choleric |
bad tempered, irritable |
Yellow Bile |
|
Melancholic |
gloomy, pessimistic |
Black Bile |
|
Phlegmatic |
sluggish, non-excitable |
Phlegm |
|
Sanguine |
cheerful, passionate |
Blood |
If one of these humors dominated the others then the
personality type associated with that humor would be observed. The
kind of strict categorization suggested by theories like Galen’s
suggests that there very different types of personalities.
More recently, personality theories have leaned more towards the
idea that we all have similar personality traits or
characteristics, but the extent to which we possess that trait
differs. For example, we often classify people as tall or short,
but we don’t really think that people must be either one or the
other. We understand that height is a trait the some of us have
more of than others, but we all have it to some extent. If we
accept the existence of common personality traits that we all have
to varying extents, then the next stage is to agree on how to
define them.
Psychologists have used a technique known as factor analysis to
identify groups of items, which are strongly inter-correlated
(these groups of items are known as factors), and believe that
these factors provide operational definitions of personality
traits. These traits are validated by correlations between scores
on these factors and observed behavior. For example, a factor
emphasizing extraversion would be correlated with outgoing
behavior.
How
Many Personality Traits Are There? >
Everything you need to pass
psychometric tests |
