VAG MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Centre Code No. : 2005

A PROJECT REPORT ON

THE PSYCHOMETRIC TOOL KIT OF HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

By: Harish Chander Khanduri

Roll No. :510734148

A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of Master of Business Administration of Sikkim Manipal University,
India

Sikkim-Manipal university of Health, Medical and technological sciences.

Distance education wing
Syndicate house
Manipal-576104

1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introductory page

Acknowledgement

Chapter 1

1.1 Executive summary

1.2 Objectives of study
1.3 Literature review
1.4 Research Methodology

Chapter 2

2.1 Psychometric testing: Myths and Realities

2.2 The big five personality dimensions
2.3 Firo-B: Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation-Behavior
2.4 MBTI: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
2.5 The DiSC personality model
2.6 16PF®
2.7 Johari window
2.8 The Belbin team roles inventory
2.9 Aptitude and Ability Tests
2.10 Speed and Power Tests
2.11 Verbal Ability Tests
2.12 Verbal Reasoning Questions
2.13 Numerical Ability Tests
2.14 Numerical Critical Reasoning

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Chapter 3

3.1 Data Analysis & Interpretation

3.2 Findings

3.3 Conclusion
3.4 Limitations

Chapter 4

4.1 References

4.2 Annexure
(A) Questionnaire used
(B) Some filled questionnaires
(C) MBTI questionnaire

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I here by declare that the project report entitled

A PROJECT REPORT ON
THE PSYCHOMETRIC TOOL KIT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Masters of business Administration to Sikkim-Manipal University, India, is my original
work and not submitted for the award of any other degree, diploma, fellowship, or any
other similar title or prizes

Place : New Delhi Harish Chander Khanduri

Date : Roll No.-510734148

4
The project report of

Harish Chander Khanduri

A PROJECT REPORT ON
THE PSYCHOMETRIC TOOL KIT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Is approved and is acceptable in quality and form

Internal Examiner External Examiner

5
This is to certify that the project report entitled

A PROJECT REPORT ON
THE PSYCHOMETRIC TOOL KIT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters Of

Businees Administration of Sikkim-Manipal University of Health, Medical &
Tecnological Sciences

Harish Chander Khanduri has worked under my supervision and guidance and that
no pat of this report has been submitted for the award of any other degrre,
diploma, fellowship or other similar titles or prizes and that the work has not been
publihed in any journal or Magazine.

Reg. No.- 510734148 Certified

Neeti Raj Sharma (MBA)
Assistant Manager- Human Resource

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Psychometric testing today is employed in a wide variety of setting, from educational to industrial
organizations, for a diverse range of purposes. Especially from the HR point of view, its uses
have increased manifold over the last few years.

The term “Psychometric Testing” evokes different reactions in different people. Some people
think of it as an enigmatic thing, some other treat it as recent fade and still others tend to think of
it as something fearsome. By and large, a negative perception has been woven around
psychometric tests.

A psychological test in reality is essentially an objective and standardized measure of a sample

of behavior. Psychological tests are like the tests in any other science, insofar as observations
are made on a small but carefully chosen sample of an individual's behavior. An important point
to notice here is that psychometric tests include both personality tests as well as the aptitude
tests like verbal ability, numerical reasoning etc.

Keeping in mind the growing use of these psychometric tests by HR professionals all over the
world, this topic for the project was chosen The scope of the project and the activities carried out
were divided into the following four stages:

STAGE-I: Readings for having a basic understanding of the project

The first stage involved extensive reading of various magazines, books, internet websites etc. to
have an idea about the chosen topic of interest that is ‘the psychometric tools used by the
organizations.’ Various magazines like HRM Review, books on psychological testing etc. were
read for the asid purpose.

STAGE-II: Collecting data relating to psychometric testing

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This stage involved a collecting data with respect to the chosen topic of interest. Secondary data
for this purpose was collected from various sources such as Human resource books, books on
psychometric testing, magazines, journals, internet etc.

STAGE-III: Questionnaire designing and primary data collection

In this stage a questionnaire was under the guidance of our faculty, to collect data relating to the
topic from human resource personnel working in different organizations. This questionnaire was
then circulated through internet and was uploaded at citehr.com so that relevant data could be
collected.

STAGE-IV: Data analysis and conclusions.

In the final stage of the project the data so gathered was interpreted and analyzed. Upon
analysis of data conclusions were drawn and the findings were finally added to the project report.

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

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The objectives of this project report have been manifolds. In general the purpose of the project is
to have in-depth analysis and knowledge about the chosen topic of interest. In a larger
perspective the project aimed at finding out and studying the various psychometric tools that are
being used today by the human resource managers and department all the world. A number of
psychometric tools are being used by companies across industries. The project aims at studying
these psychometric tools and their importance in the current scenario. The following have been
the main objectives behind this study:

 To understand what is psychometric testing and study the various types of tests.

 To understand Principles of psychometric testing

 To study some of the most commonly used psychometric tools in the tool kit of human
resource managers and departments.

 To study the application and use of these psychometric tools in various processes of
human resources.

 To understand the ethical issues involved in the use of these psychometric tools by the
human resources department.

 To have an idea of how many companies in India are actually using these tests/tools.

 To find out in what all areas of HR are the human resource professionals using these
psychometric tests

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

What is a psychological test?

A psychological test is essentially an objective and standardized measure of a sample of

behavior. Psychological tests are like the tests in any other science, insofar as observations are
made on a small but carefully chosen sample of an individual's behavior. In this respect, the
psychologist proceeds in much the same way as the biochemist that tests a patient's blood or a
community’s water supply by analyzing one or more samples of it.

The diagnostic or predictive value of a psychological test depends on the degree to which it
serves as an indicator of a relatively broad and significant area of behavior.

Measurement of the behavior sample directly covered by the test is rarely, if ever, the goal of
psychological testing. The child's knowledge of the word list of 50 words is not, in itself, of great
interest. Nor is the job applicant's performance on a specific set of 20 arithmetic problems of
much importance. If, however, it can be demonstrated that there is a close correspondence
between and his total mastery of vocabulary, or between the applicant's score on the arithmetic
problems and her computational performance on the job then the tests are serving their purpose.

The degree of similarity between the test sample and the predicted behavior may vary widely. At
one extreme, the test may coincide completely with a part of the behavior to be predicted.

Rorschach inkblot test, in which an attempt is made to predict from the respondent's associate’s
to inkblots how he or she will react to other people, to emotionally toned stimuli, and to other
complex, everyday-life situations. Despite their superficial differences, all these tests consist of
samples of the individual's behavior. And each must prove its worth by an empirically
demonstrated correspondence between the examinee’s performance on the test and in other
situations.

Psychometric tests aim to measure aspects of your mental ability or your personality.

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They have been used since the early part of the 20th century and were originally developed for
use in educational psychology. These days, outside of education, you are most likely to
encounter psychometric testing as part of the recruitment or selection process. Tests of this sort
are devised by occupational psychologists and their aim is to provide employers with a reliable
method of selecting the most suitable job applicants or candidates for promotion.

Psychometric tests aim to measure attributes like intelligence, aptitude and personality, providing
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.
Most of the established psychometric tests used in recruitment and selection make no attempt to
analyze your emotional or psychological stability.

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 90

80

70

60 US
Fortune
500 UK
50
Times
Top 100
40

30

20

10
% age of companies using Psychometric testing

Psychometric testing is now used by over 80% of the Fortune 500 companies in the USA and by
over 75% of the Times Top 100 companies in the UK. Information technology' companies,
financial institutions, management consultancies, local authorities, the civil service, police forces,
fire services and the armed forces all make extensive use of use psychometric testing.

Psychometric tests

Selection & Career

Recruitment Progression

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As an indicator of your personality, preferences and abilities, psychometric tests can help
prospective employers to find the best match of individual to occupation and working
environment. As a recruitment and selection tool, these tests can be applied in a straightforward
way at the early stages of selection to screen-out candidates who are likely to be unsuitable for
the job or, using a more sophisticated approach, to provide guidance on career progression to
existing employees. Because the results of psychometric tests are used to influence such
important personnel decisions it is vital that the tests themselves are known to produce accurate
results based on standardized methods and statistical principles.

A psychometric test should be:

• Objective: The score must not affected by the testers' beliefs or values

• Standardized: It must be administered under controlled conditions

• Reliable: It must minimize and quantify any intrinsic errors

• Predictive: It must make an accurate prediction of performance

• Non Discriminatory: It must not disadvantage any group on the basis of gender, culture,

ethnicity, etc.

PRINCIPLES OF PSYCOMETRIC TEST

Standardization

Standardization implies uniformity of procedure in administering and scoring the test. If the
scores obtained by different persons are to be comparable, testing conditions must obviously be
the same for all.

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In order to secure uniformity of testing conditions, the test constructor provides detailed
directions for administering each newly developed test. The formulation of directions is a major
part of the standardization of a new test. Such standardization extends to the exact materials
employed, time limits, oral instructions, preliminary demonstrations, ways of handling queries
from test takers, and every other detail of the testing situation.

Objective measurement

Some aspects of the objectivity of psychological tests have already been touched on in the
discussion of standardization. Thus, the administration, scoring, and interpretation of scores are
objective insofar as they are independent of the subjective judgment of the particular examiner.
Anyone test taker should theoretically obtain the identical score on a test regardless of who
happens to be the examiner. This is not entirely so, of course, because perfect standardization
and objectivity have not been attained in practice. But at least such objectivity is the goal of test
construction and has been achieved to a reasonably high degree in most tests.

There are other major ways in which psychological tests can be properly described as objective.
The determination of the difficulty level of an item or of a whole test is based on objective,
empirical procedures.

Reliability

How good is this test? Does it really work? These questions could-and occasionally do-result in
long hours of futile discussion. Subjective opinions, hunches, and personal biases may lead, on
the one hand, to extravagant claims regarding what a particular test can accomplish and, on the
other hand, to stubborn rejection. The only way questions such as these can be conclusively
answered are by empirical trial. The objective evaluation of psychological tests involves primarily
the determination of the reliability and the validity of the test in specified situations.

As used in psychometrics, the term "reliability" basically means consistency. Test reliability is the
consistency of scores obtained by the same persons when retested with the identical test or with
an equivalent form of the test. Reliability may be checked by comparing the scores obtained by

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the same test takers at different times, with different sets of items, with different examiners or
scorers, or under any other relevant testing condition.

Types of reliability

Test retest reliability: The most obvious method for finding the reliability of test scores is by
repeating the identical test on a second occasion. The reliability

Alternate-form reliability: One way of avoiding the difficulties encountered in test-retest

reliability is through the use of alternate forms of the test. The same persons can thus be tested
with one form on the first occasion and with another, equivalent form on the second. The
correlation between the scores obtained on the two forms represents the reliability coefficient of
the test.

Split half reliability: From a single administration of one form of a test it is possible to arrive at a
measure of reliability by various split-half procedures. In such a way, two scores are obtained for
each person by dividing the test into equivalent halves. It is apparent that split-half reliability
provides a measure of consistency with regard to content sampling. Temporal stability of the
scores does not enter into such reliability, because only one test session is involved. This type of
reliability coefficient is sometimes called a coefficient of internal consistency, since only a single
administration of a single form is required.

Validity

The degree to which the test actually measures what it purports to measure. Validity provides a
direct check on how well the test fulfills its function. The determination of validity usually requires
independent, external criteria of whatever the test is designed to measure. For example, if a

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medical aptitude test is to be used in selecting promising applicants for medical school, ultimate
success in medical school would be a criterion.

Such a composite measure constitutes the criterion with which each student’s initial test-score is
to be correlated. A high correlation, or validity coefficient, would signify that those individuals who
scored high on the test had been relatively successful in medical schools, whereas those scoring
low on the test had done poorly in medical school.

The validity coefficient enables us to determine how closely the criterion performance could have
been predicted from the test scores.

In a similar manner, tests designed for other purposes can be validated against appropriate
criteria. A vocational aptitude test, for example, can be validated against on-the-job success of a
trial group of new employees. A pilot aptitude battery can be validated against achievement in
flight training.

Tests designed for broader and more varied uses are validated against a number of
independently obtained behavioral indices; and their validity can be established only by the
gradual accumulation of data from many different kinds of investigations.

The scores of these persons are not themselves employed for operational purposes but serve
only in the process of testing the test. If the test proves valid by this method, it can then be used
on other samples in absence of criterion measures. Validity tells us more than the degree to
which the test is fulfilling its function. It actually tells us what the test is measuring. By studying
the validation data, we can objectively determine what the test is measuring. It would thus be
more accurate to define validity as the extent to which we know what the test measures.

Ethical and Social Considerations in Testing

In both their research and the practical applications of their procedures, psychologists have long
been concerned with questions of professional ethics. A concrete example of this concern is the
systematic empirical program followed in the early 1950s to develop the first formal code of

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ethics for the profession. This extensive undertaking resulted in the preparation of a set of
standards that was officially adopted by the American Psychological Association (APA) and first
published in 1953. These standards undergo continual review and refinement, leading to the
periodic publication of revised editions. The current version, Ethical Principles of Psychologists
and Code of Conduct (APA, 1992), 1 comprises preamble and six general principles designed to
guide psychologists toward the highest ideals of the profession. It also provides eight ethical
standards with enforceable rules for psychologists functioning within diverse contexts.

User qualification and professional competence

The Ethics Code principle on competence states that psychologists "provide those services and
use only those techniques for which they are qualified by education, training, or experience."
Thus, a relatively long period of intensive training and supervised experience is required for the
proper of individual intelligence tests and most personality tests.

This is important because well-trained examiners choose tests that are appropriate for both the
particular purpose for which they are testing and the persons to be examined. They are also
cognizant of the available research literature on the chosen test and able to evaluate its technical
merits with regard to such characteristics as norms, reliability, and validity. In administering the
test, they are sensitive to the many conditions that may affect test performance.

Responsibilities of test publishers

The purchase of tests is generally restricted to persons who meet certain minimal qualifications.
The catalogs of major test publishers specify requirements that ill be met by purchasers. Usually,
individuals with a master's degree in psychologist equivalent qualify. Some publishers classify
their tests into levels with reference to user qualifications, ranging from educational achievement
and vocational proficiency tests, through group intelligence tests and interest inventories, to such
clinical instruments as individual intelligence tests and most personality .Distinctions are also
made between individual purchasers and authorized intuitional purchasers of appropriate tests.

Efforts to restrict the distribution of tests have a dual objective: security of the test materials and
prevention of misuse.

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Another professional responsibility pertains to the marketing of psychological tests by authors
and publishers. Tests should not be released prematurely for general use. Nor should any claims
be made regarding the merits of a test in the absence of sufficient objective evidence. When a
test is distributed early for research purposes only, this condition should be clearly specified and
the distribution of the test restricted accordingly. The test manual should provide adequate data
to permit an evaluation of the test itself as well as full information regarding administration,
scoring, and norms.

Protection of privacy

A question arising particularly in connection with personality tests is that of invasion of privacy. In
a report entitled Privacy and Behavioral Research (1967), the right to privacy is defined as the
right to decide for oneself how much one will share with others one's thoughts, feelings, and
facts about one's personal life; this right is further characterized as "essential to insure freedom
and self-determination." Insofar as some tests of emotional, motivational, or attitudinal traits are
necessarily disguised, the examinee may reveal characteristics in the course of such a test
without realizing that he or she is so doing. For purposes of testing effectiveness, it may be
necessary to keep the examinee in ignorance of the specific ways in which the responses to
anyone test are to be interpreted. Nevertheless, a person should not be subjected to any testing
program under false pretenses. Of primary importance in this connection is the obligation to have
a clear understanding with the examinee regarding the use that will be made of test results.

Confidentiality

Like the protection of privacy, to which it is related, the problem of confidentiality of test data is
multifaceted. The fundamental question is: Who shall have access to test results? Several
considerations influence the answer in particular situations. Among them are the security of test
content, the hazards of misunderstanding test scores, and the need for various persons to know
the results.

There has been a growing awareness of the right of individuals to have access to the findings in
their own test reports. The test taker should also have the opportunity to comment on the
contents of the report and, if necessary, to clarify or correct factual information. Counselors are

18
now trying more and more to involve clients as active participants in their own assessment. For
these purposes, test results should be presented in a form that is readily understandable, free
from technological jargon or labels, and oriented toward the immediate objective of the testing.
Proper safeguards must be observed against misuse and misinterpretation of findings.

Discussions of the confidentiality of test records have usually dealt with accessibility to a third
person, other than the individual tested (or parent of a minor) and the examiner. The underlying
principle is that such records should not be released without the knowledge and consent of the
test taker, unless such a release is mandated by law or permitted by law for valid purposes.
Another problem pertains to the retention of records in institutions. On the one hand, longitudinal
records on individuals can be very valuable.

On the other hand, the availability of old records opens the way for such misuses as incorrect
inferences from obsolete data and unauthorized access for other than the original testing
purpose. Similarly, when records are retained for many years, there is danger that they may be
used for purposes that the test taker (or the test taker's parents) never anticipated and would not
have approved. To prevent such misuses, when records are retained either for legitimate
longitudinal use in the interest of the individual or for acceptable research purposes, access to
them should be subject to unusually stringent controls.

Communicating test results

In recent years, psychologists have begun to give more thought to the communication of test
results in a form that will be meaningful and useful to the recipient. Certainly, the information
should not be transmitted routinely, but should provide appropriate interpretive explanations.
Broad levels of performance and qualitative descriptions in simple terms are to be preferred over
specific numerical scores, except when communicating with adequately trained professionals.

In all test-related communication, it is desirable to take into account the characteristics of the
person who is to receive the information. This applies not only to that person's general education
and her or his knowledge about psychology and testing, but also to her or his anticipated
emotional response to the information. The consideration of emotional reactions to test
information is especially important when persons are learning about their own assets and

19
shortcomings. When an individual is given her or his test results, not only should the data be
interpreted by a properly qualified person, but facilities should also be available for counseling
anyone who may become emotionally disturbed by such information.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In order to understand and achieve the objectives of the project and to have an
in-depth knowledge about the chosen topic of interest it was important to gather
the relevant data from various sources.

To accomplish the objective of any research project, data can be collected from
two main sources:

DATA COLLECTION SOURCES

1) Primary Sources of Data

Primary data are those that are collected by the researcher himself. Primary data collection is
necessary when a researcher cannot find the data needed in secondary sources. Market
researchers are interested in primary data about demographic / socioeconomic characteristics,
attitudes/opinions/interests, awareness/knowledge, intentions, motivation, and behavior. Three
basic means of obtaining primary data are observation, surveys, and experiments. The choice is
influenced by the nature of the problem and by the availability of time and money.

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 2) Secondary Sources of Data

Secondary data are the data that are collected by others and is to be "re-used" by the
researcher. The most common sources of secondary data today are books, research journals,
internet etc.

To accomplish the objectives of this research work, both primary as well as

secondary sources of data collection were used.

For the purpose of this project some primary data was collected by using questionnaires. This
eleven questions long questionnaire was designed with the help of expertise of our human
resource and marketing faculty.

To collect the data, these questionnaires were then circulated on internet, sent to various
companies by e-mails and were uploaded on citehr.com a community of HR practioners and
professionals. The purpose was to find the practical application, use and
satisfaction derived by the organizations from using these psychometric tools.

Apart from that it was important to collect data from various secondary sources
as well. The various sources from which secondary data was gathered included
various books by eminent authors of human resource and psychology, a number
of journals, research papers and the internet search engines, magazines etc.

PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING

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Myths and Realities

Psychometric testing today is employed in a wide variety of setting, from educational to industrial
organizations, for a diverse range of purposes. Especially from the HR point of view, its uses
have increased manifold over the last few years.

The term “Psychometric Testing” evokes different reactions in different people. Some people
think of it as an enigmatic thing, some other treat it as recent fade and still others tend to think of
it as something fearsome. By and large, a negative perception has been woven around
psychometric tests.

In reality, it’s none of the thing mentioned above. Psychometric testing is simply standardized,
objective measure of a sample of behavior. It is standardized because the procedure of
administrating the test, the environment in which the test is taken, and the method of calculating
the individual score are uniformly applied. It is called objective because a good test measures
the individual differences in an unbiased, scientific manner without the interference of extraneous
factors.

A psychometric test typically is designed to produce a quantitative assessment of one or more

psychological attributes. It includes ability tests that measure achievement, aptitude, intelligence,
etc; and personality tests that measure different dimensions of an individual’s personality.

Some of the popular psychometric tests being used today by corporates the world over are 16
PF, MBTI. OPQ32, Thomas Personal Profiling system, Gordon’s Personal Profile
Inventory, Rorschach Ink-Blot Test, FIRO-B, Picture Frustration Test and TAT

One particular problem with many of the psychometric tests has been that they are too lengthy
and it requires a lot of time to administer, score, interpret and analyze the same. This particular
problem has been reduced to a great extent with advances in computer science and information
technology.

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Now, it’s possible to obtain the software versions of most of the popular and standardized tests.
Besides, several impendent testing agencies also offer online testing services where
assessment can be done online and report sent through e-mail.

All said and done, now there are no two opinions about the fact that psychometric testing can
really be a very powerful tool for a variety of HR functions such as selection, placement, potential
appraisal, career planning and counseling.

From the industry perspective, it is to be borne in mind that psychometric tests can only aid and
inform a decision, they cannot provide a definitive answer. There cannot be a substitute for
experience. Therefore, the psychometric tests should ideally be used in conjunction with a
thorough interview by experienced and trained individuals.

Advantages of psychometric testing

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  Properly developed psychometric tests and questionnaires, when used by competent and
appropriately qualified individuals, have the following advantages:

 They lead to judgments that are likely to be more valid than judgments made by other
means. This is the most important advantage of psychometric assessment.

 They are relatively cheap and easy to administer when compared to other approaches.
For example, although it may seem relatively expensive for a company to pay for its staff
to become qualified in psychometric assessment and then on top of this to pay for the
cost of the testing itself, these costs pale into insignificance when one considers just how
long it would take to obtain the same information about a person. At the risk of putting it
simplistically, it could be argued that the information obtained from a good personality
questionnaire might take several months of knowing and working with a person to obtain
by other means.

 They are likely to lead to considerable cost-benefits in the long term. Whether it is for
selection of new staff or development of existing staff, the expenses involved in
psychometric assessment are minimal when compared with the costs of high-turn over,
under-performance or misemployment of staff.

Disadvantages of psychometric testing

 There are numerous tests and questionnaires on the market which purport to be
'psychometric instruments' but which are not. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for untrained
people to distinguish these from good psychometric instruments. In many cases, these
tests and questionnaires have been put together by people with no background in
psychometrics and they have very little actual utility and value for the purposes for which
they are marketed.

 Lack of correct training is also a significant danger in the use of psychometric testing.
Although there exists in the UK a training qualification system developed by the British
Psychological Society, it is not uncommon for tests to be used by people who are not

24
 adequately trained to use them. Indeed, even attendance at a recognized training course
is no guarantee that a person will at all times use tests and questionnaires correctly since
some instruments, particularly personality questionnaires, require considerable
experience and the possibility of misinterpretation or inappropriate interpretation of results
is ever-present.

 It is the use of personality questionnaires to try to assess a person's ability or skill in a

particular area. eg, if a person scores highly on a personality dimension called
'Leadership', this does not mean that he or she will actually possess a high level of
leadership skill. Rather it means that the person has the basic personality characteristics
that are commonly found amongst effective leaders and, with sufficient experience and
given the development of certain necessary skills, has the potential to become an
effective leader. Unfortunately however, scores on scales such as this are often taken to
imply that the person already has all the necessary skills and is already capable of
performing at a high level in the area in question.

THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS

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Introduction

Since the days of Plato, scholars have been trying to develop lists of personality traits. About 100
years ago, a few personality experts tried to catalogue and condense the many personality traits
that had been described over the years. They found thousands of words in Roget’s Thesaurus
and Webster’s Dictionary that represented personality traits. They aggregated these words into
171 clusters, and then further shrunk them down to five abstract personality dimensions. Using
more sophist acted techniques, recent investigations identified the same five dimensions known
as BIG FIVE PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS.

Some scholarly works refer to the Big Five as the Five-Factor Model. These factors are also
referred to as the OCEAN or CANOE models of personality because of the acronym composed
of their initial letters. When scored for individual feedback, they are frequently presented as
percentile scores, with the median at 50%. For example, a Conscientiousness rating in the 80th
percentile indicates a relatively strong sense of responsibility and orderliness, whereas an
Extraversion rating in the 5th percentile indicates an exceptional need for solitude and quiet.

The personality traits used in the 5 factor model are Extraversion, Agreeableness,
Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness to experience. It is important to ignore the
positive or negative associations that these words have in everyday language. For example,
Agreeableness is obviously advantageous for achieving and maintaining popularity. Agreeable
people are better liked than disagreeable people. On the other hand, agreeableness is not useful
in situations that require tough or totally objective decisions. Disagreeable people can make
excellent scientists, critics, or soldiers.
None of the five traits is in themselves positive or negative; they are simply characteristics that
individuals exhibit to a greater or lesser extent.

Each of these 5 personality traits describes, relative to other people, the frequency or intensity of
a person's feelings, thoughts, or behaviors. Everyone possesses all 5 of these traits to a greater
or lesser degree. For example, two individuals could be described as 'agreeable' (agreeable
people value getting along with others). But there could be significant variation in the degree to
which they are both agreeable. In other words, all 5 personality traits exist on a continuum (see
diagram) rather than as attributes that a person does or does not have.

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 -ve +ve
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Neuroticism
Openness to
experience

Extraversion

Extraversion is marked by pronounced engagement with the external world. Extraverts enjoy
being with people, are full of energy, and often experience positive emotions. They tend to be
enthusiastic, action-oriented, individuals who are likely to say "Yes!" or "Let's go!" to
opportunities for excitement. In groups they like to talk, assert themselves, and draw attention to
themselves. Introverts lack the exuberance, energy, and activity levels of extraverts. They tend
to be quiet, low-key, deliberate, and disengaged from the social world. Their lack of social
involvement should not be interpreted as shyness or depression; the introvert simply needs less
stimulation than an extravert and prefers to be alone. The independence and reserve of the
introvert is sometimes mistaken as unfriendliness or arrogance. In reality, an introvert who
scores high on the agreeableness dimension will not seek others out but will be quite pleasant
when approached.

Agreeableness

Agreeableness reflects individual differences in concern with cooperation and social harmony.
Agreeable individual’s value getting along with others. They are therefore considerate, friendly,
generous, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests with others'. Agreeable people also
have an optimistic view of human nature. They believe people are basically honest, decent, and
trustworthy. Disagreeable individuals place self interest above getting along with others. They
are generally unconcerned with others' well-being, and therefore are unlikely to extend
themselves for other people. Sometimes their skepticism about others' motives causes them to
be suspicious, unfriendly, and uncooperative. Agreeableness is obviously advantageous for
attaining and maintaining popularity. Agreeable people are better liked than disagreeable people.

27
On the other hand, agreeableness is not useful in situations that require tough or absolute
objective decisions. Disagreeable people can make excellent scientists, critics, or soldiers.

Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness concerns the way in which we control, regulate, and direct our impulses.
Impulses are not inherently bad; occasionally time constraints require a snap decision, and
acting on our first impulse can be an effective response. Also, in times of play rather than work,
acting spontaneously and. impulsively can be fun. Impulsive individuals can be seen by others
as colorful, fun-to-be-with, and zany. Nonetheless, acting on impulse can lead to trouble in a
number of ways. Some impulses are antisocial. Uncontrolled antisocial acts not only harm other
members of society, but also can result in retribution toward the perpetrator of such impulsive
acts. Another problem with impulsive acts is that they often produce immediate rewards but
undesirable, long-term consequences.

Examples include excessive socializing that leads to being fired from one's job, hurling an insult
that causes the break up of an important relationship, or using pleasure inducing drugs that
eventually destroy one's health. Impulsive behavior, even when not seriously destructive,
diminishes a person's effectiveness in significant ways. Acting impulsively disallows
contemplating alternative courses of action, some of which would have been wiser than the
impulsive choice. Impulsivity also sidetracks people during projects that require organized
sequences of steps or stages. Accomplishments of an impulsive person are therefore small,
scattered, and inconsistent.

A hallmark of intelligence, what potentially separates human beings from earlier life forms, is the
ability to think about future consequences before acting on an impulse. Intelligent activity
involves contemplation of long-range goals, organizing and planning routes to these goals, and
persisting toward one's goals in the face of short-lived impulses to the contrary. The idea that
intelligence involves impulse control is nicely captured by the term prudence, an alternative label
for the Conscientiousness domain. Prudent means both wise and cautious. Persons who score
high on the Conscientiousness scale are in fact, perceived by others as intelligent the benefits of
high conscientiousness are obvious. Conscientious individuals avoid trouble and achieve high
levels of success through purposeful planning and persistence. They are also positively regarded

28
by others as intelligent and reliable. On the negative side, they can be compulsive perfectionists
and workaholics. Furthermore, extremely conscientious individuals might be regarded as stuffy
and boring. Unconscientiously people may be criticized for their unreliability, lack of ambition,
and failure to stay within the lines, but they will experience many short-lived pleasures and they
will never be called stuffy.

Neuroticism

Freud originally used the term neurosis to describe a condition marked by mental distress,
emotional suffering, and an inability to cope effectively with the normal demands of life. He
suggested that everyone shows some signs of neurosis, but that we differ in our degree of
suffering and our specific symptoms of distress. Today neuroticism refers to the tendency to
experience negative feelings. Those who score high on Neuroticism may experience primarily
one specific negative feeling such as anxiety, anger, or depression, but are likely to experience
several of these emotions. People high in neuroticism are emotionally reactive. They respond
emotionally to events that would not affect most people, and their reactions tend to be more
intense than normal. They are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and
minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. Their negative emotional reactions tend to persist for
unusually long periods of time, which means they are often in a bad mood. These problems in
emotional regulation can diminish a neurotic's ability to think clearly, make decisions, and cope
effectively with stress. At the other end of the scale, individuals who score low in neuroticism are
less easily upset and are less emotionally reactive. They tend to be calm, emotionally stable, and
free from persistent negative feelings. Freedom from negative feelings does not mean that low
scorers experience a lot of positive feelings; frequency of positive emotions is a component of
the Extraversion domain.

Openness to experience

Openness to Experience describes a dimension of cognitive style that distinguishes imaginative,

creative people from down-to-earth, conventional people. Open people are intellectually curious,
appreciative of art, and sensitive to beauty. They tend to be, compared to closed people, more
aware of their feelings. They tend to think and act in individualistic and nonconforming ways.
Intellectuals typically score high on Openness to Experience; consequently, this factor has also

29
been called Culture or Intellect. Nonetheless, Intellect is probably best regarded as one aspect of
openness to experience. Scores on Openness to Experience are only modestly related to years
of education and scores on standard intelligent tests. Another characteristic of the open cognitive
style is a facility for thinking in symbols and abstractions far removed from concrete experience.
Depending on the individual's specific intellectual abilities, this symbolic cognition may take the
form of mathematical, logical, or geometric thinking, artistic and metaphorical use of language,
music composition, or performance, or one of the many visual or performing arts.

People with low scores on openness to experience tend to have narrow, common interests. They
prefer the plain, straightforward, and obvious over the complex, ambiguous, and subtle. They
may regard the arts and sciences with suspicion, regarding these endeavors as abstruse or of no
practical use. Closed people prefer familiarity over novelty; they are conservative and resistant to
change.

Openness is often presented as healthier or more mature by psychologists, who are often
themselves open to experience. However, open and closed styles of thinking are useful in
different environments. The intellectual style of the open person may serve a professor well, but
research has shown that closed thinking is related to superior job performance in police work,
sales, and a number of service occupations.

Subordinate Personality Traits or Facets

Each of the big 5 personality traits is made up of 6 facets or sub traits. These can be assessed
independently of the trait that they belong to.

Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism Openness to

experience

Friendliness Trust Self efficacy Anxiety Imagination

Gregariousness Morality Orderliness Anger Artistic

interest

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Assertiveness Altruism Dutifulness Depression Emotionality

Activity level Cooperation Achievement Self Adventures

striving consciousness ness

Excitement modesty Self discipline immoderation Intellect

seeking

cheerfulness sympathy cautiousness vulnerability liberalism

It is possible, although unusual, to score high in one or more facets of a personality trait and low
in other facets of the same trait. For example, you could score highly in Imagination, Artistic
Interests, Emotionality and Adventurousness, but score low in Intellect and Liberalism. It is
important to understand that personality questionnaires which measure more than five traits or
factors are not measuring the big 5 traits plus others. They are simply choosing to classify one or
more of the 30 facets shown above as a trait or factor.
FIRO-B: FUNDAMENTAL INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP ORIENTATION-
BEHAVIOUR

About the instrument

FIRO-B is a unique, world-leading indicator of interpersonal style. Developed in the 1950s it is

now one of the most widely used tools for helping people to understand themselves and their
relationships with others better. It is a personality inventory that measures interpersonal style -
how you behave toward others, and what you expect from others in their behavior toward you.

The FIRO-B questionnaire was devised by American psychologist, Will Schutz, in the 1950's
when he studied the relationships within small teams of submariners. This research was then
extended to look at how people in general interact with one another and what the drivers is that
generate or inhibit certain behaviors.

The Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B) is a highly valid and

reliable tool that assesses how an individual's personal needs affect that person's behavior

31
towards other individuals. This highly valid and reliable self-report instrument offers insight into
an individual's compatibility with other people, as well as providing insight into that person's own
individual characteristics.

The FIRO-B questionnaire is based on Will Schutzs wish to provide an understanding of the
fundamental differences between people and how these impact on relationships. It can
dramatically increase an individual's understanding of areas such as how they come across to
others, how and why conflict can develop and how to understand and manage their own needs
when interacting with others. It measures how a person typically behaves towards others and
how that person would like others to behave towards them.
Underlying FIRO is the assumption that preferences, as well as behavior, can be changed (at
will). Thus FIRO is not a theory of inherent, immutable personality traits. Rather, it provides
material for development efforts.

Individuals should be allowed around 2 hours in total to complete the 54 questions long
questionnaire and discuss the results. For teams, the FIRO-B questionnaire is best used within a
half-day or full-day team-building event.

FIRO describes interpersonal behavior in terms of three primary dimensions:

1. Need for Inclusion: This relates to whether one wants to be "in" or "out" of a particular
group. A person's need for recognition, belongingness, and participation. Someone
with high need for inclusion will make an effort to include others in his/her activities.
He/she will try to belong to or join social groups; basically will try to be with people as
much as possible (expressed behavior). Such a person would also expect or want
others to invite him join them and would like people to notice him/her (wanted
behavior).

2. Need for Control: need for control relates to whether one wants to be "up" or "down",
super ordinate, subordinate while working with others or in a group. It relates to a
person's desire for influencing others, leading others and responsibility. Such a person
shall try to exert control and influence over things. He/she would enjoy organizing

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 things and directing others (expressed behavior). Such a person will feel most
comfortable working in well defined situations and would like to get clear expectations
and instructions from others (wanted behavior).

3. Need for Affection: need for affection relates to whether a person wants to be "close"
or "distant" to/from others. Closeness, warmth, and sensitiveness characterize such
people. This person shall make an effort to get close to people and would be
comfortable expressing his/her personal feelings and will try to be supportive of others
(expressed behavior). This person would also want others to act warmly towards
him/her and will enjoy when people share their feelings with them and would love it
when people encourage him and appreciate his efforts (wanted behavior).

These dimensions are fundamental to all human social organisms, whether an infant in the early
stages of child development, small groups, or organizations.

FIRO-B measures these three dimensions from two perspectives:

1. Expressed behavior: It is the behavior one feels most comfortable showing, what a
person prefers to do, and how much that person wants to initiate action.

2. Wanted behavior: It is the behavior one wants to be shown by others, how much a
person wants others to initiate action, and how much that person wants to be the
recipient.

APPLICATION OF FIRO-B

FIRO-B is a highly reliable self-report instrument that offers insight into an individual's
compatibility with other people, as well as providing insight into that person's own individual

33
characteristics. The underlying assumption of FIRO-B is that preferences, as well as behavior,
can be changed at will. The instrument can be used in one-to-one, team or group situations. The
qualified user has a range of applications at their disposal, providing the versatility demanded in
contemporary workplace environments. This highly reliable and practical instrument has vast
applications such as:

Team building and team development

FIRO-B can help in Identifying likely sources of compatibility or tension between people working
in a group or team. By improved communication, openness and trust it can help to resolve
conflicts and create better understanding amongst team players. The instrument can hence be
effectively used in team building and team development.

Individual development and executive coaching

FIRO-B is a powerful tool and can be used in executive coaching or self development. It helps
individuals to increase their self-awareness and interpersonal effectiveness, by identifying and
understanding their interpersonal style. Since the instrument increase self-awareness and
interpersonal effectiveness it can surely assist in individual development. It can also be used for
identifying leadership style. It can be used as part of a coaching process, or for career
development or personal growth of people.

Conflict resolution

Identifying the real cause of conflict is pre-requisite to effective management of conflict. By

effectively assisting in Identifying the likely causes of conflict between people this instrument can
help in effectively dealing with various types of conflicts that may be present in a group.

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Selection and placement

FIRO-B can also be used in combination with other assessment techniques. This can help to
structure interviews and assess likely team roles or interpersonal behavior.

Management and leadership development

The instrument is ideal to use with new and experienced managers; it will enable them to
understand their natural style and what impact this has on the way they communicate, to involve
others in decision-making and to delegate responsibility.

Relationship counseling

These days FIRO-B instrument is also being used in relationship counseling by identifying
possible sources of incompatibility and dissatisfaction between partners.

Others

The FIRO-B is an ideal tool to use for interpersonal behavior measurement and assessment,
including:
• Management and supervisor development
• Leadership development (used with MBTI as part of the Leadership report )
• Identifying leadership preferred operating styles
• Employee development
• Team building and explaining team roles
• Improving team effectiveness
• Sensitivity training
• Advancing career development

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BENEFITS OF USING FIRO-B

• FIRO-B is a unique instrument especially because most personality instruments examine

individual characteristics but not relationship styles.

• It is a practical tool that offers insights into interpersonal needs and behaviors, the FIRO-B
questionnaire gives practical suggestions for improving relationships or increasing
effectiveness

• This tool can be easily combined with others, such as the MBTI ® instrument, to present a
comprehensive view of personal style for use in self- and group development.

• It is based on a comprehensive and powerful theory of interpersonal behavior

• The instrument has been revised, rewritten and redesigned so that all materials are now
clearer, more comprehensive and easier to use. The current edition is based on British
norms, increasing its relevance to European English users

• It has more detailed norms. These are subdivided by gender, age, educational level,
occupational level and industry sector and enable precise comparison with individual
scores.

• The tool can be introduced easily to existing HR practices for greater effectiveness. For
example, when used in coaching, the FIRO-B instrument will help an individual to
understand their motivation, choices and flexibility in working with others. When used as
part of a team program, undertaking the FIRO-B assessment enables the team to open
up, giving them an objective, practical framework that can be used to overcome barriers to
effective team operation and communication.

MBTI: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

36
About the Instrument

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self-report questionnaire and is the world's leading
personality assessment instrument. The authors of the MBTI, Katherine Cook Briggs and her
daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, were astute observers of human personality differences. They
studied and elaborated on the theories of Swiss psychiatrist Carl G. Jung (a contemporary of
Sigmund Freud and a leading exponent of Gestalt personality theory) and applied these theories
to acquiring a better understanding of people and their preferences for communicating with
others. The waste of human potential in World War II sparked the development of the MBTI by
Myers, and gave rise to her desire to give a wide range of individual's access to the benefits
found in understanding human differences as they relate to various psychological types. The
MBTI provides information about people's preferences for communicating and dealing with
information.

The MBTI personality instrument, which evolved from Jung's personality types, was developed
among non-clinical populations to assess normal individual differences, unlike inventories of
psychological adjustment (or maladjustment).

In her studies of people and extensive reading of Jung's theories, Myers concluded there were
four primary ways people differed from one another. She labeled these differences "preferences"
- drawing a similarity to "hand preferences" to illustrate that although we all use both of our
hands, most of us have a preference for one over the other and "it" takes the lead in many of the
activities in which we use our hands.

The MBTI personality instrument consists of four bipolar dimensions.

 Sensing –Intuition (SN)

 Thinking – Feeling (TF)
 Extraversion-Introversion (E-I)
 Judging-Perceiving (J-P)

37
Myers Briggs Type Indicator is based on a personality framework that helps individuals explore:

• Where they prefer to focus their attention (Extraversion or Introversion)

• The way they prefer to take in information (Sensing or Intuition)
• The way they prefer to make decisions (Thinking or Feeling)
• How they orientate themselves to the external world (Judging or Perceiving.

It provides information about individuals preferred style of working and interacting with others.
There is no right or wrong answers and a key feature of the MBTI is its focus on likely strengths
and positive qualities of different personality styles and thus the feedback people receive is
always constructive.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) describes an individual's personality preferences. The
MBTI questionnaire is the most widely used personality questionnaire worldwide. More than
3.5m questionnaires are completed worldwide every year and there are over 13,000 qualified
users in Europe. It is based on over 50 years research and development and is available in 19
languages. Over 600 dissertations have been written on the MBTI and there are well over 1,000
articles and dozens of books. An average of 2 million people in the United States takes the MBTI
each year and it has been translated into more than 30 languages.

The MBTI is a registered trademark of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust and is published by
CPP, Inc (formerly Consulting Psychologist Press) who also distributes the Inventory. The MBTI
is available from CPP and its licensees in approximately 20 foreign languages. In addition,
alternate versions of the inventory have been scientifically customized and validated for other
languages and cultures for which a straight translation of English language terms would yield
inaccurate results.

The Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT) is a non-profit educational

organization founded by Myers and psychologist Mary McCaulley to promote continued research
into psychological type and application of psychological type to foster enhanced personal
development, increased human understanding, and improved management of human conflict.
Another non-profit organization, The Association for Psychological Type (APT) is an international

38
member education and certifying organization for professionals who use type in their
occupations and professional practices. Membership is also open to lay persons who want to
enrich their understanding and application of type.

The Basic Model of MBTI proposes two kinds of Mental Processes and two kinds of Mental
Orientations.

TWO KINDS OF MENTAL PROCESSES ARE

1. Sensing –Intuition (SN)

2. Thinking – Feeling (TF)

TWO KINDS OF MENTAL ORIENTATIONS ARE

1. Extraversion-Introversion (E-I)

2. Judging-Perceiving (J-P)

THE TWO KINDS OF MENTAL PROCESSES ARE

SENSING - INTUITUION

The first set of mental preferences relates to how people "Perceive" or take in information. It
distinguishes a predisposition for gathering data directly through the senses as facts, details, and
precedents (Sensing) versus indirectly as relationships, patterns, and possibilities (Intuition).

A sensing personality prefers to focus on information gained from the five senses and on
practical applications whereas intuition prefers to focus on patterns, connections and possible
meanings. Hence those who prefer Sensing Perception favor clear, tangible data and
information that fits in well with their direct here-and-now experience. In contrast, those who
prefer Intuition Perception are drawn to information that is more abstract, conceptual, big-
picture, and represents imaginative possibilities for the future.

THINKING – FEELING

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The second set of mental preferences identifies how people form "Judgments" or make
decisions. It distinguishes a preference for deciding via objective, impersonal logic (Thinking)
versus subjective, person-centered values (Feeling).

A thinking personality prefers to base decisions on logic and objective analysis of cause and
effect on the other hand feeling prefers to base decisions on a valuing process, considering what
is important to people. Those who prefer Thinking Judgment have a natural preference for
making decisions in an objective, logical, and analytical manner with an emphasis on tasks and
results to be accomplished. Those whose preference is for Feeling Judgment make their
decisions in a somewhat global, visceral, harmony and value-oriented way, paying particular
attention to the impact of decisions and actions on other people. Judging likes a planned,
organized approach to life, and prefers to have things decided but perceiving likes a flexible,
spontaneous approach and prefers to keep options open.

One of the practical applications of the MBTI and understanding these preferences is in
supporting better Teamwork. Differences in these mental preferences lead to quite different
value structures and communication styles, which can hamper mutual understanding and
cooperation.

For example, people who share Sensing and Thinking preferences find they are naturally on the
same wavelength; they easily understand one another, making good teammates and partners.
Likewise, people who share Intuition and Feeling have a similar kinship among them. However,
in the "real" world, it is more likely that you'll find a mixed bag of people, a variety of types, in the
same work group. While this diversity can be a useful strength, contributing to greater depth and
breadth of team competence, there will be natural communication barriers within the team due to
their natural mental language differences.

Such differences can be overcome, and the communication gap bridged, with mutual respect
and practice learning to "talk" and "think" in a second or third language. A MBTI workshop can
be seen as an introduction to learning the language, habits and culture of other types.

TWO KINDS OF MENTAL ORIENTATIONS ARE

40
 1. Extraversion-Introversion (E-I)

2. Judging-Perceiving (J-P)

There are two other mental preferences that are part of the Myers-Briggs model: Energy
Orientation and Outer World Orientation. The first one is the dimension of personality discovered
by Carl Jung that became widely adopted by general psychology: Extraversion-Introversion. The
second is the dimension of personality that is Myers' unique contribution to Jung's theory, an
element she inferred from Jung's work but was not clearly addressed as an essential component
of his theory of types. This is the style or orientation one uses in dealing with the external world:
Judging or Perceiving. Energy Orientation pertains to the two forms of Energy Consciousness
each of us experiences on a daily basis. We occupy two mental worlds: one is inwardly turned,
the other is outward. One of these worlds is our elemental source of energy; the other
secondary.

EXTROVERSION-INTROVERSION

It distinguishes a preference for focusing attention on, and drawing energy from, the outer world
of people and things versus the inner world of ideas and impressions. Those who prefer
Introversion draw their primary energy from the inner world of information, thoughts, ideas, and
other reflections. When circumstances require an excessive amount of attention spent in the
"outside" world, those preferring Introversion find the need to retreat to a more private setting as
if to recharge their drained batteries. In contrast, those who prefer Extraversion are drawn to the
outside world as their elemental source of energy. Rarely, if ever, do extraverted preference
people feel their energy batteries are "drained" by excessive amounts of interaction with the
outside world. They must engage the things, people, places and activities going on in the outside
world for their life force. Hence an introvert prefers to draw energy from the outer world of
activity, people and things; an extrovert on the other hand prefers to draw energy from the inner
world of reflections, feelings and ideas.

While the E-I dimension was Jung's gift to general psychology, unfortunately it has been widely
distorted into a well-unwell scale with characteristics of Introversion being cast in a negative light
and conversely characteristics of Extraversion cast in a positive light. This cultural bias frequently
leads natural introverted types to mis-identify their primary preference as Extraversion.

41
Extraverted Orientation relates to which mental preference one relies upon in dealing
with/relating with the Outside World. It is the mental function that takes the lead in the
extraverted portion of a person's personality. When this leading function is one of the two
Judging mental preferences, then this orientation is called Judging. When this leading function is
one of the two Perceiving mental preferences, then this orientation is called Perceiving

JUDGING – PERCEIVING

It distinguishes an outward preference for having things planned and organized (Judging) versus
a flexible style based more on staying open to options than deciding (Perceiving). Those who
prefer Judging rely upon either their T or F preference to manage their outer life. This typically
leads to a style oriented towards closure, organization, planning, or in some fashion managing
the things and or people found in the external environment. The drive is to order the outside
world. While some people employ an assertive manner, others "ordering touches" - with respect
to people - may be light.

Those who prefer Perceiving rely upon either their S or N preference to run their outer life. This
typically results in an open, adaptable, flexible style of relating to the things and people found in
the outside world. The drive is to experience the outside world rather than order it; in general
lack of closure is easily tolerated.

For person's whose Energy Orientation preference is E, the Extraverted Orientation (J or P)

points to their dominant function, ergo "what you see is what you get." But for those whose
Energy Orientation favors I, their Extraverted Orientation (J or P) is opposite their dominant
function. Thus the four IxxJ types - whose extraverted style is judging - are actually Perceiving
types on the inside! Thus their extraverted "personality" can mask their primary nature. Likewise
the four IxxP types - whose extraverted style is Perceiving and thus tend to have an open style -
are actually on the inside Judging oriented.

Differences in Energy Orientation and/or Extraverted Orientation can produce conflicts for
people and life management problems.

Extraverted types who work best by thinking out loud and considering matters in dialogue can be
frustrated by introverted types whose best work on thinking and considering is done internally

42
and detached from active interaction. "Why doesn't she want to tell me what she is thinking; why
won't she shares her concerns; what is he hiding?" Likewise introverted types can be harassed
by the natural style of extraverted types. "If he'd just shut up, I'd be able to think about what he
said; Why do we have to decide right now; I can’t give you a good answer unless I have some
time to reflect on it!" Introverted types used to reflecting before they speak are frustrated by
extraverted types who frequently seem to change their mind and change course (because they
reflect out loud, may think or talk about it later, and then finally conclude - something different).

Types with an extraverted Judging orientation are frequently put off by extraverted Perceiving
types disorderly attention to things and people around them - their failures to properly plan,
organize, manage, and finish affairs. Perceiving types can be seen as "flakes" who constantly
put things off til the absolute last minute. Types with an extraverted Perceiving orientation often
see their opposite number as control freaks and imperceptive draft horses with blinders on - and
even then they sometimes miss things that are right in front of their noses! Extraverted Judging
types are naturally drawn to management positions; Extraverted Perceiving types naturally resist
being managed!

The mellowing process of aging sometimes produces similar mellowing of the J and P
orientations. Extraverted Perceiving types discover a need and an appreciation for a greater
degree of order in their external affairs and Extraverted Judging types discover a need and an
appreciation for a greater degree of openness and discovery in their external life.

The Type Code for the 16 Types

The permutations of these four preference dichotomies result in the 16 personality types that
form the basis of Myers' model and the MBTI inventory.

E or I Which is your most favored Energy Source?

S or N Which your most favored Perceiving Mental Process?

T or F Which is your most favored Judging Mental Process?

J or P Which kind of mental process leads your Outside World Orientation?

The sixteen personality types of MBTI result from the cross-products of these four dimensions
and are shown in the following figure. Each of these is associated with a unique set of behavioral

43
characteristics and values. These provide a useful starting point for individual feedback, self-
exploration and group discussion.

The Sixteen Types at a Glance ( By Charles Martin, Ph.D.)

ISTJ

For ISTJs the dominant quality in their lives is an abiding sense of responsibility for doing what
needs to be done in the here-and-now. Their realism, organizing abilities, and command of the
facts lead to their completing tasks thoroughly and with great attention to detail. Logical
pragmatists at heart, ISTJs make decisions based on their experience and with an eye to
efficiency in all things. ISTJs are intensely committed to people and to the organizations of which
they are a part; they take their work seriously and believe others should do so as well.

ISFJ

For ISFJs the dominant quality in their lives is an abiding respect and sense of personal
responsibility for doing what needs to be done in the here-and-now. Actions that are of practical
help to others are of particular importance to ISFJs. Their realism, organizing abilities, and
command of the facts lead to their thorough attention in completing tasks. ISFJs bring an aura of
quiet warmth, caring, and dependability to all that they do; they take their work seriously and
believe others should do so as well.

INFJ

For INFJs the dominant quality in their lives is their attention to the inner world of possibilities,
ideas, and symbols. Knowing by way of insight is paramount for INFJs, and they often manifest a
deep concern for people and relationships as well. INFJs often have deep interests in creative
expression as well as issues of spirituality and human development. While the energy and
attention of INFJs are naturally drawn to the inner world of ideas and insights, what people often
first encounter with INFJs is their drive for closure and for the application of their ideas to
people's concerns.

INTJ

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For INTJs the dominant force in their lives is their attention to the inner world of possibilities,
symbols, abstractions, images, and thoughts. Insight in conjunction with logical analysis is the
essence of their approach to the world; they think systemically. Ideas are the substance of life for
INTJs and they have a driving need to understand, to know, and to demonstrate competence in
their areas of interest. INTJs inherently trust their insights, and with their task-orientation will
work intensely to make their visions into realities.

ISTP

For ISTPs the driving force in their lives is to understand how things and phenomena in the real
world work so they can make the best and most effective use of them. ISTPs are logical and
realistic people, and they are natural troubleshooters. When not actively solving a problem,
ISTPs are quiet and analytical observers of their environment, and they naturally look for the
underlying sense to any facts they have gathered. ISTPs do often pursue variety and even
excitement in their hands-on experiences. Although they do have a spontaneous, even playful
side, what people often first encounter with them is their detached pragmatism.

ISFP

For ISFPs the dominant quality in their lives is a deep-felt caring for living things, combined with
a quietly playful and sometimes adventurous approach to life and all its experiences. ISFPs
typically show their caring in very practical ways, since they often prefer action to words. Their
warmth and concern are generally not expressed openly, and what people often first encounter
with ISFPs is their quiet adaptability, realism, and "free spirit" spontaneity.

INFP

For INFPs the dominant quality in their lives is a deep-felt caring and idealism about people.
They experience this intense caring most often in their relationships with others, but they may
also experience it around ideas, projects, or any involvement they see as important. INFPs are
often skilled communicators, and they are naturally drawn to ideas that embody a concern for
human potential. INFPs live in the inner world of values and ideals, but what people often first
encounter with the INFP in the outer world is their adaptability and concern for possibilities.

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INTP

For INTPs the driving force in their lives is to understand whatever phenomenon is the focus of
their attention. They want to make sense of the world -- as a concept -- and they often enjoy
opportunities to be creative. INTPs are logical, analytical, and detached in their approach to the
world; they naturally question and critique ideas and events as they strive for understanding.
INTPs usually have little need to control the outer world, or to bring order to it, and they often
appear very flexible and adaptable in their lifestyle.

ESTP

For ESTPs the dominant quality in their lives is their enthusiastic attention to the outer world of
hands-on and real-life experiences. ESTPs are excited by continuous involvement in new
activities and in the pursuit of new challenges. ESTPs tend to be logical and analytical in their
approach to life, and they have an acute sense of how objects, events, and people in the world
work. ESTPs are typically energetic and adaptable realists, who prefer to experience and accept
life rather than to judge or organize it.

ESFP

For ESFPs the dominant quality in their lives is their enthusiastic attention to the outer world of
hands-on and real-life experiences. ESFPs are excited by continuous involvement in new
activities and new relationships. ESFPs also have a deep concern for people, and they show
their caring in warm and pragmatic gestures of helping. ESFPs are typically energetic and
adaptable realists, who prefer to experience and accept life rather than to judge or organize it.

ENFP

For ENFPs the dominant quality in their lives is their attention to the outer world of possibilities;
they are excited by continuous involvement in anything new, whether it be new ideas, new
people, or new activities. Though ENFPs thrive on what is possible and what is new, they also
experience a deep concern for people as well. Thus, they are especially interested in possibilities

46
for people. ENFPs are typically energetic, enthusiastic people who lead spontaneous and
adaptable lives.

ENTP

For ENTPs the driving quality in their lives is their attention to the outer world of possibilities; they
are excited by continuous involvement in anything new, whether it be new ideas, new people, or
new activities. They look for patterns and meaning in the world, and they often have a deep need
to analyze, to understand, and to know the nature of things. ENTPs are typically energetic,
enthusiastic people who lead spontaneous and adaptable lives.

ESTJ

For ESTJs the driving force in their lives is their need to analyze and bring into logical order the
outer world of events, people, and things. ESTJs like to organize anything that comes into their
domain, and they will work energetically to complete tasks so they can quickly move from one to
the next. Sensing orients their thinking to current facts and realities, and thus gives their thinking
a pragmatic quality. ESTJs take their responsibilities seriously and believe others should do so
as well.

ESFJ

For ESFJs the dominant quality in their lives is an active and intense caring about people and a
strong desire to bring harmony into their relationships. ESFJs bring an aura of warmth to all that
they do, and they naturally move into action to help others, to organize the world around them,
and to get things done. Sensing orients their feeling to current facts and realities, and thus gives
their feeling a hands-on pragmatic quality. ESFJs take their work seriously and believe others
should as well.

ENFJ

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For ENFJs the dominant quality in their lives is an active and intense caring about people and a
strong desire to bring harmony into their relationships. ENFJs are openly expressive and
empathic people who bring an aura of warmth to all that they do. Intuition orients their feeling to
the new and to the possible, thus ENFJs often enjoy working to manifest a humanitarian vision,
or helping others develop their potential. ENFJs naturally and conscientiously move into action to
care for others, to organize the world around them, and to get things done.

ENTJ

For ENTJs the driving force in their lives is their need to analyze and bring into logical order the
outer world of events, people, and things. ENTJs are natural leaders who build conceptual
models that serve as plans for strategic action. Intuition orients their thinking to the future, and
gives their thinking an abstract quality. ENTJs will actively pursue and direct others in the pursuit
of goals they have set, and they prefer a world that is structured and organized.

APPLICTAION

Many people believe trait instrumentation, such as the MBTI, provides leverage in predicting
behavior in social groups. MBTI's four dimensions were found to be correlated with four of the
Big Five robust personality dimensions.

Organizational consultants may use the MBTI to encourage a better fit between personalities
and roles. Because the basic assumption under-girding the MBTI is that the types it identifies are
immutable in nature, the consultant's mission has more to do with enhanced articulation of
individual differences and organizational responsibilities than with behavior change.

Some research has indicated that the distribution of MBTI types is highly skewed in the working
population. Sundstrom and associates found that nearly three-quarters of their sample of
managers in business were Thinking-Judging types. Perhaps business settings are self-selecting
in this regard, hiring Thinking-Judging types over other types (Thinking-Perceiving personalities
and all Feeling types). Or, it may be that Feeling types, in general, are less inclined to seek
managerial positions.

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Individual development

Understand preferred working style and how to develop this to be more effective.

Management and leadership development

Help managers and leaders to appreciate the impact of their personal style on others. Identify
their strengths and any areas which they may need to develop to become more effective. Can be
used as part of an executive coaching programme

Team building and development

Increase awareness of the team's working style. Through this, improve team communication,
enhance problem solving, encourage appreciation of diversity and resolve conflict

Organizational change

Understand why people react differently to change and how to support them though the process

Improving communication

Help people to understand how to communicate effectively with different people and develop
influencing and persuading skills

It is also used for: Education and career counseling

Identify learning styles and motivations, improve teaching and training methods and provide
career guidance.

Relationship counseling

Improve the quality of relationships and interactions by understanding and valuing differences.

Benefits of Using the MBTI

Benefits to the Individual

• Increased self-awareness and better self-management

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 • Develop and appreciation and value for differences
• Improved communication § Increased interpersonal skills
• Can lead to motivated behavior
• Provides a guideline of how to be a more effective leader, manager, teacher, learner, and
team member
• Help discover how your individual personality can help you be successful or how your
personality can get in your way

Benefits to the Team

• Improved communication
• Can provide an effective avenue for conflict resolution
• Increased problem resolution
• Better understanding of the decision making process
• Facilitates team building
• Assists in diagnosing cultural and organizational issues.
• Identify leadership style

Other benefits

• Easy to use, score and explain plus Short and quick to complete.
• People enjoy working with the questionnaire and find the results helpful
• Revised and updated in 1998, increasing its accuracy, ease of use and relevance to
European English users.
• Provides a powerful conceptual framework, allowing you to deepen your knowledge and
apply it in many situations.
• Promotes a constructive approach to individual differences.

The DISC Personality Model

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About the Instrument

DISC is an acronym for Direct, Influencing, Steady and Compliant behaviors.

DISC is the four quadrant behavioral model based on the work of William Moulton Marston Ph.D.
(1893 - 1947) to examine the behavior of individuals in their environment or within a specific
situation. DISC looks at behavioral styles and behavioral preferences. Marston, the father of the
DISC, was a graduate of Harvard University.

DiSC is a model of human behavior that helps to understand "why people do what they do." The
dimensions of Dominance, influencing, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness make up the model
and interact with other factors to describe human behavior.

It was Marston’s 1928 “Emotions of Normal People”, which introduced DISC theory to the public.
He defined four categories of human behavioral styles, types or temperament, now know as "D"
for Dominance-Drive-Direct, "I" for Influence (Marston chose the term inducement, "S" for
Steadiness or Stability (Marston used submission) and "C" for Compliant, Conscientious, or
Cautious, (Marston used compliance). Interestingly enough Marston never developed his
D.I.S.C. theory into the present four quadrant model, yet now a days DISC has become one of
the most popular and user friendly four quadrant models for understanding behavioral styles and
personality types, with various companies offering models with quadrants, circles, wheels, and
diamonds to graphically represent the positioning of these behavioral and personality styles and
types.

A DISC Profile is a personality testing technique that uses a simple questionnaire as a basis for
revealing insights into a person's behavior. Recruiters around the world have been using this
personality test technique for decades

DISC lies somewhere between two poles. While it isn't a full 'personality test' in the strict
technical sense, it provides an insight into an individual style that is more than adequate to
predict the likely trends of their behavior in the future. It does this by evaluating four key factors
in an individual style, rather than the sixteen or more that are often seen in full personality tests
(for example, DISC makes no attempt to measure such factors as intelligence).

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This confers the advantage of greater accessibility: while a full test battery will often contain
literally hundreds of questions, and take hours to complete, a DISC personality profile
questionnaire contains only twenty-four, and can be usually be performed in fifteen minutes or
less. This also provides advantages in the area of interpretation; while the interpretation of
results from a full test remains in the province of experts, DISC results are sufficiently well-
defined that their interpretation can be almost completely automated.

At its most basic level, DISC measures four factors of an individual's behavior: Dominance,
Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. These are fairly complex constructs, and aren't easily
expressed in single words, but they can be characterized as assertiveness, communication,
patience and structure.

The real power of DISC, though, comes from its ability to interpret the relations between these
factors. For example where a highly Dominant person has an equally high level of Influence, they
will behave quite differently to an equally Dominant individual without that Influence. The factors
combine like this to provide (theoretically) around one million different 'profiles' (that is,
combinations of the four factors).

Using this information, a DISC profile can be used to describe a person's general approach,
including their motivations and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and some of the basic
assumptions they make about other people. It can also go far in helping to predict how a person
will react to a specific set of circumstances.

The D.I.S.C. personality model was developed by William Moulton Marston and influenced by
Carl Jung, profiles four primary behavioral styles, each with a very distinct and predictable
pattern of observable behavior. Applied in corporate, business and personal situations the DISC
inventory can lead to professional and personal insights.

Understanding the DISC patterns has empowered millions internationally to better understand
themselves and others. The results of the online disc profile report are designed to provide
targeted insights and strategies for interpersonal success through more effective communication,
understanding and tolerance. DISC is used for personal growth and development, training,
coaching and managing of individuals, groups, teams, and organizations.

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The DISC Profile is a nonjudgmental tool for understanding behavioral types and personality
styles. The DISC Personality behavioral model looks at one's behavior based on their personality
and the situations one finds them in. DiSC is a nonjudgmental assessment developed through
research and repeated validation with the purpose of helping people with the skills to their and
others' understanding behavioral styles and personality types.

DiSC describes how people behave as they respond to their environment. It gives valuable
insight into one's own behavior as well as the behavior of others. It is one of the most successful
and widely used personal and professional development instruments providing the leading edge
approach to improve self-awareness, relationships, performance, productivity, communication,
teamwork, and leadership.

DiSC Profile Products and the DiSC Personality Tests are based on the 1928 publication of
psychologist William Moulton Marston, The Emotions of Normal People.

He classified four categories of human behavioral type, style or temperament-- Dominance,

Influence (Marston chose the term inducement), Steadiness or Stability (originally submission)
and Compliant, Conscientious, or Cautious, (originally compliance). It should be noted that
Marston never developed his D.I.S.C. model into a four quadrant model though now a days
DISC has become one of the modest popular four quadrant models, with various companies
using quadrants, circles, wheels, and diamonds to graphically represent the positioning of
behavioral and personality styles and types. The D.I.S.C. model looks at behavioral styles and
behavioral preferences

DiSC uses a four quadrant model that looks at your primary dimensions:

 Dominance
 Influence
 Steadiness
 Conscientiousness

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Dominance: Direct and Decisive

These people tend to be independent and results driven. They are strong-willed people who
enjoy challenges, taking action, and immediate results. The bottom line is their focus tends to be
on the bottom line and results. Dominance: People who score high in the intensity of the 'D'
styles factor are very active in dealing with problems and challenges, while low D scores are
people who want to do more research before committing to a decision. High "D" people are
described as demanding, forceful, egocentric, strong willed, driving, determined, ambitious,
aggressive, and pioneering. Low D scores describe those who are conservative, low keyed,
cooperative, calculating, undemanding, cautious, mild, agreeable, modest and peaceful.

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Influence: Outgoing and Optimistic. These individuals tend to be very social and out going.
They prefer participating on teams, sharing thoughts, and entertaining and energizing others.
People with High I scores influence others through talking and activity and tend to be emotional.
They are described as convincing, magnetic, political, enthusiastic, persuasive, warm,
demonstrative, trusting, and optimistic. Those with Low I scores influence more by data and
facts, and not with feelings. They are described as reflective, factual, calculating, skeptical,
logical, suspicious, matter of fact, pessimistic, and critical.

Steadiness: Stability and Status Quo. These people tend to be your team players and are
supportive, cooperative and helpful to others. They prefer being behind the scene, working in
consistent and predictable ways. They are often good listeners and avoid change and conflict.
People with High S styles scores want a steady pace, security, and don't like sudden change.
Low S intensity scores are those who like change and variety. High S persons are calm, relaxed,
patient, possessive, predictable, deliberate, stable, consistent, and tend to be unemotional and
poker faced. People with Low S scores are described as restless, demonstrative, impatient,
eager, or even impulsive.

Conscientiousness: Cautious. These people are often focused on details and quality. They
plan ahead; constantly check for accuracy, and what to know "how" and "why". Persons with
High C styles adhere to rules, regulations, and structure. They like to do quality work and do it
right the first time. High C people are careful, cautious, exacting, neat, systematic, diplomatic,
accurate, and tactful. Those with Low C scores challenge the rules and want independence and
are described as self-willed, stubborn, opinionated, unsystematic, arbitrary, and careless with
details.

DISC applications

The DISC Profile: a learning tool

The DISC Profile, as a learning tool can be used to create rapid rapport and connection with
people is fundamental in selling, managing, and leadership. Understanding behavioral styles

55
benefits personal and professional relationships by improving communication skills and reducing
conflict. Imagine being able to better understand what motivates people and being able to
recognize how to effectively deal with others.

Career Development

In its simplest terms, using personality testing for career development is a very similar process to
that seen in recruitment or assessment scenarios. A person's DISC profile series is compared
against an ideal Job Profile for a particular career, and the closeness of the match between the
two styles will give an indication of how well that individual's style is suited to the career area in
question. However it must be noted that there are a multitude of factors that must affect the
decisions a person takes about their career. DISC personality testing alone cannot provide a
definitive conclusion, but it is able to provide guidance in deciding whether a particular career
path is suited to an individual or not. We should also point out that DISC personality profile
results tend to be less reliable for young people under the age of twenty or so, because before
this age the personal style tends to be in something of a state of flux. The precise age at which
the behavioral type reaches a stable form will vary from individual to individual, of course.

Once a career decision has been made, DISC personality testing can also help in preparing
application letters and curricula vitæ or resumés. DISC personality profiles help to highlight the
particular areas of strength within a person's behavior, and these can be included in applications.
Because so many organizations use DISC personality tests, it may even be plausible to include
a full printed DISC personality profile with a job application.

Training and employee development, coaching and mentoring

The DISC personality assessment is available to individuals, business, organizations and

corporations. DISC personality behavioral profiles are research based and designed to help you
understanding behavioral styles and personality types. Applied in corporate, business and
personal situations "DISC" can lead to understanding, better communication and heightened
positive attitude.

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The DISC is most often used for training and employee development, coaching and mentoring or
employees and sometimes as a part of a hiring process (though it is not designed as a hiring
tool). The DISC personality assessment is available to individuals, business, organizations and
corporations. DISC personality behavioral profiles are research based and designed to help you
understanding behavioral styles and personality types through our online disc questionnaire
format. The D.I.S.C. model, developed by William Moulton Marston and influence by Carl Jung,
profiles four primary behavioral styles, each with a distinct and predictable pattern of observable
behavior. Applied in corporate, business and personal situations "DISC" can lead to
understanding, better communication and heightened positive attitude. Insights into the DISC
patterns have empowered millions internationally to better understand themselves and others.
This online disc profile report is designed to provide targeted strategies and insights for
interpersonal success through effective communication, understanding and tolerance. These
insights have been utilized for personal growth and development, training,
coaching and managing of individuals, groups, teams, and organizations.

Understanding your DISC profile gives you insight for rapid rapport and connection with people a
fundamental skill in selling, managing, and leadership. Understanding behavioral styles
benefits personal and professional relationships by improving communication skills, attitude, thus
reducing conflict and stress. Imagine being able to better understand what motivates people and
being able to recognize how to effectively deal with.

Individuals and organizations worldwide have used DiSC Profile test for organizational
development and performance that deliver results by:

• improving internal communication

• job interview/hiring process enhancement
• helping sales and customer service professionals:
o create and maintain relationship based sales and customer service
o identify customers' DiSC styles and how to adapt their sales
or support styles accordingly
o stay focused on customer needs
o manage difficult customer situations
• enhancing individual and team performance

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 • reducing workplace tension, conflict, and violence
• promoting a greater understanding of one's own behavior and the behavior of others
• promoting understanding and appreciation of differences
• improving management effectiveness

Irony Marston developed the D.I.S.C. model but he never copyrighted his disc profile test. Yet,
today, 75 years after the publication of his book, over 5 million people have taken various forms
of the DISC profile throughout the world. Marston's original work continues to be enhanced by
ongoing behavioral research and profiles can be found in than 50 languages by various
publishers of the disc assessment. With this evolution of various versions of the DISC of varying
quantity and validity.

16PF®
About the Instrument

16 PF is the standard abbreviation for the 16 Personality Factors multivariate-derived by

psychologist Raymond Cattell. The Cattell 16PF (16 Personality Factor) model is probably the
most-widely used system for categorizing and defining personality.

The 16 PF is based on the 16 "source traits" put forth by Raymond B. Cattell in the 1940's.
Cattell was what we call a trait theorist. Using a fancy statistical technique called Multiple
Abstract Variance Analysis (MAVA), Cattell identified clusters of "surface traits," consistent
behavioral responses, and "temperament and ability source traits," underlying variables that
determine the surface traits. The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire based on Cattell's
theories was first published in 1949 and is now in its fifth edition; it is published in 40 languages.

In 1946 Raymond Cattell used the emerging technology of computers to analyse the Allport-
Odbert list. He organized the list into 181 clusters and asked subjects to rate people whom they
knew by the adjectives on the list. Using factor analysis Cattell generated twelve factors, and
then included four factors which he thought ought to appear. The result was the hypothesis that

58
individuals describe themselves and each other according to sixteen different, independent
factors.

With these sixteen factors as a basis, Cattell went on to construct the 16PF Personality
Questionnaire, which remains in use by universities and businesses for research, personnel
selection and the like. Although subsequent research has failed to replicate his results, and it has
been shown that he retained too many factors, the current 16PF takes these findings into
account and is considered to be a very good test.

In 1963, W.T. Norman replicated Cattell’s work and suggested that five factors would be
sufficient.

The 16 primary factors are each weighted and combined with other relevant factors into global
factors.

Unlike other common personal profiling tools such as Myers Briggs or Belbin, the 16PF defines
our basic, underlying personality, without regard to how we apply it or the environment in which
we apply it. A simple analogy would be to think of the human being as a personal computer.
Personality profiles such as 16PF measure the basic features of the PC such as the size of the
hard disk, RAM, processing speed and so on. They're relatively unchanging features of the PC
that strongly influence its performance, but which we don't normally see. Intelligence Quotient
(IQ) is a indication of the breadth and complexity of the software loaded on the PC, which it uses
to process ideas and information. But the way in which the PC performs is mainly influenced by
its environment - as represented by the user who gives it information and asks it to perform
tasks.

So our underlying personality is there all the time, but the way we see it is affected by our
intelligence, and by our upbringing and education, which may have taught us either to
emphasize or suppress aspects of our personality. However, if you can understand what your
personality is, you can then make better use of the strengths it gives you, and make allowances
for the resultant weaknesses. Because personality is relatively unchanging through adult life,
this understanding will be of long-term value to you.

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THE 16 PERSONALITY FACTORS

Each factor can be measured on a scale, determined by completing a questionnaire, and the
word pairs below indicate the extremes of each scale. The letter codes were ascribed to each
scale as a shorthand notation.

Factor Descriptors
A Warmth Reserved Outgoing
B Reasoning Less Intelligent More Intelligent
C Emotional Stability Affected by feelings Emotionally stable
E Dominance Humble Assertive
F Liveliness Sober Happy-go-lucky
Rule
G Expedient Conscientious
Consciousness
H Social Boldness Shy Venturesome
I Sensitivity Tough-minded Tender-minded
L Vigilance Trusting Suspicious
M Abstractedness Practical Imaginative
N Privateness Straightforward Shrewd
O Apprehension Self-Assured Apprehensive
Openness to
Q1 Conservative Experimenting
Change
Q2 Self-Reliance Group-dependent Self-sufficient
Q3 Perfectionism Self-conflict Self-control
Q4 Tension Relaxed Tense

The sixteen factors of the instrument are as follows.

Factor A (Warmth)

It measures a person's emotional orientation toward others - the degree to which contact with
others is sought and found rewarding as an end in it. This is sometimes known as a person's
"affinitive tendency".

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High scorers like and need to be with others. They rarely like to be alone, and may indicate that
spending large amounts of time alone is very difficult or demotivating for them. They need and
want high levels of interpersonal contact and have a "the more, the merrier" approach to life.

Low scorers are more interested in tasks or ideas than in people-interaction. They may like and
value other people, but don't enjoy "small talk" or superficial social interactions. They are more
prone to spend longer periods of time in solitary activities and to enjoy that. They may or may
not be shy, but simply don't tend to find social interaction rewarding.

All of us have needs for both sociability and solitude, but a high A person has a large "sociability
bucket" and a small "solitude bucket"; the reverse is true of a low A person. High A types
quickly become bored or lonely when alone; low A types tend to enjoy private or solitary
activities, but can feel "lonely in a crowd". High A types are often strongly motivated by social
rewards, while low A types tend not to respond to such rewards.

Factor B (Reasoning)

It measures a person's way of thinking and reasoning. It is correlated with what we

conventionally think of as intelligence or problem-solving ability, but low scorers should not be
thought of as lacking in intelligence. It's better to think of them as having a different kind or
style of intelligence - as being "street smart" as opposed to "book smart".

High scorers are mentally quick and absorb new information rapidly and efficiently. As a result,
they are often easily bored by mundane or routine tasks and often have a high need for
intellectual challenge. They often enjoy mental complexity or difficulty. They may enjoy formal
or academic learning contexts.

Low scorers are most comfortable with familiar, well-known tasks in which they can draw heavily
on past experience and can utilize a concrete style of learning by doing. They may be very
effective hands-on learners but often need more time to assimilate and adjust to new
information. They may find mental complexity aversive or unpleasant. They may prefer
practical, experiential learning contexts.

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Factor C (Emotional Stability)

It measures a person's proneness to mood swings or "ups and downs" in the emotional life.
High scorers are less likely to experience wide variations in mood, and are more emotionally
stable or "steady as she goes" in their emotional experience. Low scorers more
characteristically experience a wider range of emotional fluctations - peaks and valleys on the
"roller coaster" of life.

As a result, high scorers are usually better able to manage stress in a positive, proactive way - to
remain solution-focused under stress or to "keep their cool" in a crisis. However, for the same
reason, some others may experience or perceive them as unduly stoic or "above it all" in a
fashion that could be seen as either reassuring or annoying, depending on the perceiver's own
personality and needs.

Low scorers typically struggle more with stress, yet may also experience a richer and fuller
emotional life (the bitter as well as the sweet). In some cases, low scorers can be strong
advocates for others because of their capacity to empathize with the "underdog" - they know
from experience what it means to struggle. (A high proportion of effective counselors score on
the low side of factor C for this reason.)

Factor C is sometimes called "ego strength" because it is associated with a person's ability to
tolerate stresses and difficulties without becoming emotionally overwhelmed. However, factor C
is not a measure of mental health or neuroticism. Both high and low scores are normal variants
of personality.

Factor E (Dominance)

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It measures a person's place on the "pecking order" of interpersonal assertiveness. It is a
measure of dominance versus submissiveness in an interpersonal context. It is also a measure
of the extent to which a person likes to be in control of situations involving other people.

High scorers enjoy being in control and value power. They are often seen as "natural leaders"
by others (but may, if scores are excessive, strike others as domineering or autocratic if their
control orientation is not moderated by other factors). It is common for high scorers to use
competitive terms like "mastering" a subject or "conquering" a problem; a positive correlate is
tenacity and force of will. High scorers tend to like competition and to think of interpersonal
situations in primarily competitive terms.

Low scorers make few demands on others and instead like to accommodate the needs and
wishes of other people, sometimes making insufficient room for their own to be expressed. They
dislike conflict, enjoy pleasing others, and like cooperativeness and harmony-seeking. They may
not enjoy or seek leadership roles, and if placed in such roles, may not be seen as
"conventional" or "strong" leaders; they lead, not by the force of their will or personality, but by
other traits such as positional authority and responsibility.

While high scorers need to be careful not to overwhelm others with excessive assertiveness (or
aggressiveness), low scorers can profit from learning how to be more direct and assertive. High
scorers can benefit from learning how to be more cooperative and conciliatory, while low scorers
can productively gain by learning how to be more competitive and positively confronting.

Factor F (Liveliness)

It measures a person's natural exuberance or energy level. Thinking of the same factor in a
different way, it provides a measure of deliberateness and caution (low scores) versus
impulsivity and lack of inhibition (high scores).

High scorers are usually uninhibited, playful, adventurous types who enjoy being the center of
attention. They may become bored easily and like to jump from one thing to another. As a
result, they are at their best in "generalist" work roles that allow them to wear many different hats
and to move from one activity to another without investing too deeply in any one of them. As a

63
result, they need to watch their tendency to overgeneralize ("jack of all trades, master of none")
and may need to strengthen their ability to maintain interest and attention in the face of difficulty
or complexity. "Variety is the spice of life" is a high F slogan. In extreme cases, high F types
can be seen as rather fickle, self-focused, or superficial by others who have a different pattern of
traits.

Low scorers are usually deliberate, cautious, careful, focused, and serious-minded types. Their
sense of humor is more of the wry, subtle form, and even if they have a dry wit, others are likely
to perceive them as sober, serious, even perhaps rather dour people. They usually like to "dig
deep" into what interests them, having longer attention spans than high F types, and so are at
their best in "specialist" work roles that allow them to become technical experts in a chosen field
of endeavor. However, they need to watch their tendency to overspecialize ("learning more and
more about less and less") and may need to strengthen their ability to deal well with more
casual, superficial interactions and roles. In extreme cases, low F cases can be seen as rather
dull, plodding, or one-sided (monomanically devoted to a single cause, issue, value, or role) by
others who have a different pattern of traits.

Factor G (Rule Consciousness)

It measures a person's orientation to rules, procedures, and social expectations. To a

considerable extent, it is a measure of ethical and moral responsibility and dutifulness. High
scorers are usually highly ethically driven and responsible, although the reverse is not always the
case: low scorers are not necessarily irresponsible or unethical, but are, at a minimum, prone to
think of ethics in unconventional terms. High scorers are more rule- or principle-governed, while
low scorers are more results-governed.

Thus, a high scorer is likely to stick to the rules even if this means that a desired result cannot be
obtained. "I'd rather be right than President" is a high G dictum. High scorers' dutifulness and
moral conventionality make them desirable in the eyes of most employers, which is why factor G
correlates with employer ratings of workers to a stronger degree than any other personality
factor. However, very high scorers may become unnecessarily rigid or unbending about the
rules - a "Regulation Charlie" (or Charlene).

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Low scorers are prone to think that rules are made to be broken (or at least bent) if this is what it
takes to achieve a desired result. This does not necessarily translate into unethical behavior
(though very low scorers are statistically likely to strike others as ethically challenged or, in the
extreme case, even rather conscienceless), but it does suggest a different kind of focus - on in
which outcomes, not rules, are the major emphasis.

Factor H (Social Boldness)

It measures social initiative taking and, to a lesser extent, a general orientation toward risk taking
of any sort. "Shyness" versus "social boldness" is one way to think of this factor. However,
other kinds of risks besides social risks are also in view in this factor.

High scorers are social initiative takers who are comfortable with such activities as networking,
self-marketing, introducing themselves to others, small talk, and "schmoozing". As a result,
nearly all sales and marketing professionals are high H types. High H types show more
"courage", social and otherwise, and in the extreme show a high need for thrill seeking or "living
on the edge". Most people who engage in "extreme sports", for instance, are high H types.

Low scorers are more likely to be shy and to find social initiative taking aversive and difficult.
They prefer a small number of close relationships to a large number of more superficial ones and
probably do not enjoy meeting new people in large group contexts. They may show a more
general pattern of risk aversion and timidity, and probably enjoy quieter, "safe" pursuits.

Factor I (Sensitivity)

It is a complex factor that is difficult to summarize in a single phrase. It has to do with two
related qualities: objectivity versus subjectivity, and tough-mindedness versus tender-
mindedness.

High scorers are generally emotionally sensitive, empathic, aware of feelings, and prone to make
decisions on a more personal or subjective basis (focused on personal values or the needs of
others). As a result, they do well in roles that call for interpersonal sensitivities and an emphasis

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on "feeling" issues. However, they may, especially in the extreme, lack objectivity, and may
have a difficult time seeing the dark side of something about which they care deeply. Others
may see them as "thin-skinned" or "wearing their heart on their sleeve."

Low scorers are generally objective, analytical, logical, and prone to make decisions on a more
impersonal basis (focused on cause and effect or rational consequences). As a result, they do
well in roles that call for analytical logic or impersonal objective reasoning (which are more likely
to involve working with things, ideas, or data rather than with human beings and their needs and
problems). However, they may, especially in the extreme, lack sensitivity, and may seem to
have an "emotional blind spot" - lacking an emotional vocabulary or the ability to sense their own
needs and feelings as well as those of others. Others may see them as "armor-plated" or
"having ice in their veins".

Factor L (Vigilance)

It has to do with the balance between trust and skepticism.

High scorers are more careful, vigilant, wary, or skeptical about trusting others and are less likely
to assume that others' motivations are trustworthy or benign. They are more likely to "read
between the lines" in evaluating others - which means that they are less likely to be taken in by
those who have a hidden agenda, but also that they are more likely to imagine a hidden agenda
when, in fact, none exists. Very high scores are associated with a tendency to blame or suspect
others in unnecessary ways. However, moderately high scores simply mean a cautious stance
that says, “I will trust those who earn my trust.”

Low scorers are more prone to take others at face value and to trust others' motivations,
sometimes in excessive or unrealistic ways. The positive side of low scores is a natural
tendency to feel a sense of "connectedness" with others and to "give others the benefit of the
doubt" in dealings with them. The negative side, especially with extreme scores, is a certain
naivete or gullibility in dealing with others - a tendency to be taken in by those who are not
worthy of trust.

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Some professions require higher L scores than others: those which require skepticism or an
ability to read between the lines. Examples of professions that reward higher than average L
scores are IRS auditors, police detectives, and insurance underwriters.

Factor M (Abstractedness)

It has to do with practicality versus creativity, or a literal detail orientation versus an imaginative
big picture orientation. Think of a camera with two different lenses: a close-up lens that reveals
fine details, and a telephoto lens that shows how elements in a scene are associated with one
another. Low scores are like the close-up view, high scores are like the wide-angle view.

High scorers are generally creative, imaginative, and insightful. Often, they are abstract or
theoretical in orientation (focused on ideas, not their practical implementation). Their focus is
generally strategic (the "thousand-year view"). However, in their ideophoria, they can miss or
underattend to details and can lack practicality. The absent-minded professor is that of a very
high M person.

Low scorers are very much in touch with practical realities, live by them, make decisions on a
literal and factual basis. They tend to be focused on here-and-now results and outcomes, and
ask "how", not "why". Their focus is generally tactical (this hour, this day, this week). However,
they can be blind to wider meanings and implications, can be overly literal or even nitpicky about
details, and generally can miss the forest for the trees.

According to psychiatrist David Keirsey, this factor is the biggest "psychological divide" between
persons, especially in the workplace: those who focus on what is (low M) tend not to understand
those who focus on what could or might be (high M), and vice versa. As a result, the world of
work is strongly segregated along these lines: people seek work that provides them either with a
steady stream of facts and details (low M) or a steady stream of ideas and possibilities (high M).
Neither would be happy in the other role. In the extreme, low M people can see high M types as
having their head in the clouds, and high M types can see low M people as having their feet
stuck in the mud.

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Factor N (Privateness)

It has to do with self-disclosure, and consequently, how easy a person is to get to know, as well
as how well s/he keeps private matters confidential. Low scorers are more forthright; high
scorers are more discreet.

High scorers are careful and selective about self-disclosure (when, where, and with whom they
share information). They are slower to open up to others and, as a result, may strike others as
hard to get to know. "I respect her/him, but I really don't know her/him" is something that others
may often say about high N types. These people tend to do well in roles that require caution
about the disclosure of information (such as a diplomat, a payroll clerk, or a human resource
professional) or that require political "savvy".

Low scorers are "what you see is what you get" or "shoot from the lip" types who are quick to
disclose information and are much less selective about when, where, and with whom they share.
They strike others as more open and forthright, but may be more politically naïve or may not
keep secrets well. People usually know exactly where they stand, but may not trust them with
confidential or private information.

Note that low scorers strike others as more "artless" while high scorers can come across as
"shrewd", although high N types are not inherently manipulative; they are simply careful about
sharing information. "Loose lips sink ships" is a high N motto.

Factor O (Apprehension)

It has to do with apprehension in two senses. One is a general proneness to worry. The other is
a propensity to self-doubt and self-blame (intrapunitiveness): being hard on oneself, selling
oneself short, treating oneself stringently or harshly.

High O persons tend to be merciless self-critics. While this suggests high performance
standards (and, indeed, high O types are often also high on factor G and, to a lesser extent, Q3),
it also suggests a general tendency toward self-blame that is not necessarily productive. High
scorers are also prone to experience such states as worry and guilt.

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Low O persons are self-assured, self-confident, and rarely worry about themselves. They are
certain of their capabilities and invest little energy in introspection of a self-evaluative sort.
However, with very low scores, these positive traits can turn into complacency, blindness to
areas of needful self-improvement, arrogance, or even denial of one's true faults (so-called
"anxiety binding").

In general, low O persons might profitably learn to be a bit harder on them, and high O persons
might learn to cut themselves some slack.

Factor Q1 (Openness to Change)

It has to do with a person's orientation to change, novelty, and innovation. The Chinese word for
change literally means "dangerous opportunity" - low scorers are more attuned to the danger
side (and hence tend to resist change), while high scorers are more oriented to the side of
opportunity (and hence tend to seek out change).

High scorers like change, respond positively to change, seek change, and want to "boldly go
where no one has gone before". They are quick to jump on the change bandwagon and tend to
become bored, frustrated, or demoralized by situations that provide insufficient change. In the
extreme, they can be "change junkies" who see change for change's sake, who needlessly
reinvent the wheel, or who are intolerant or dismissive of tradition, convention, and stability.

Low scorers like the known, the tried and true, and the time-tested. At least initially, they tend to
be skeptical of change or to respond negatively to it, avoid needless change, like things as they
are, and say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". They are guardians of stability and constancy and tend
to be threatened, frustrated, or demoralized by situations that provide excessive change. In the
extreme, they can drag their feet about change or can seem reactionary to others.

Factor Q2 (Self Reliance)

It has to do with a propensity to seek group support - or to strike out on one's own. Nicholas
Lore divides the vocational world into "tribals" (those who like to be "a bee in the hive") and "lone
wolves" (those who like to do be a one-man or one-woman show). This captures factor Q2 well.

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High scorers like to solve problems on their own - in the extreme, they "ask for help when the
request is pried out from between their cold, dead fingers" - and prize self-reliance. They like to
act independently and may be attracted to entrepreneurial roles or to individual contributor roles
for this reason. They may find it hard to delegate or may run the risk of overly isolating
themselves, being seen as "not a team player" in a culture that may consist of more low Q2
types.

Low scorers like group support and group consensus, think in terms of collaborative, team-based
action, and may have a hard time acting alone or independently. They may be attracted to
"corporate" roles in which there are high levels of social support for what they do and in which
team outcomes, not individual outcomes, are emphasized.

There is some evidence that high scorers gravitate to smaller companies (including the ultimate
in smallness, solo practitiones roles as self-employed individuals), while low scorers gravitate to
larger companies. Cultures that emphasize individual activity and achievement attract high Q2
types; those that emphasize teamwork and collaboration, low Q2 people.

Factor Q3 (Perfectionism)

It is another complex factor that encompasses more than one core element. Part of the factor
has to do with "task orientation" versus "process orientation". Another has to do with a "structure
seeking" versus "structure avoidant" tendency. A third has to do with image management.

Think of a person driving cross-country. One person might have a goal of getting to the
destination as quickly and efficiently as possible (the high Q3 style). Another might have a goal
of enjoying the trip, taking the scenic route, stopping along the way whenever the mood struck
them (the low Q3 style). Thus, the idea of "the destination versus the journey" is one way to
differentiate high versus low scorers.

High scorers are more organized, systematic, methodical, goal oriented, focused on
conventional achievement (including outward status markers of success and image), like high
levels of structure, and tend to have steady work habits oriented around starting tasks promptly,
working first and playing second, and taking deadlines seriously. When taken to excess, these

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traits may degenerate into rigidity, inflexibility, and an inability to handle the unexpected or to
stop and smell the roses. High scorers lose efficiency as the amount of environmental structure
decreases.

Low scorers are more flexible, adaptable, spontaneous, emergent, and process oriented. They
are often less focused on achievement as an end in itself, and may care less about what "the
Joneses" think. They are better starters than finishers and tend to work in "feast or famine"
spurts, mixing work and play and treating deadlines flexibly. When taken to excess, these traits
may degenerate into procrastinating, drifting, waffling, and an inability to hold oneself
accountable. Low scorers lose efficiency as the amount of environmental structure decreases.

Factor Q4 (Tension)

It is about patience or impatience in response to environmental delays, stresses, and demands.

A good informal test for a person's Q4 score is to watch their behavior in a crowded grocery
store when the "express lane" is crawling along at molasses-in-February speed.

High scorers are "always on the go", "fidgety", constantly busy, efficiency-minded, and driven to
make things happen. Delays frustrate them, producing impatience, tension, and irritability.
However, they also get things done.

Low scorers are patient, relaxed, placid - "don't worry, be happy". They take life in stride, which
means less stress, but also less of a sense of internal urgency, hence less done.

High scorers (especially if also high on Q3) tend to "somatize" stress (ulcers, migraine
headaches, and hypertension). Low scorers are less likely to express stress in physiological
ways.

Using all 16 Factors, and a more comprehensive set of descriptions than we've given here, you
can create a pretty accurate picture of someone's personality. Combinations of factors also give
a more detailed picture, and with the help of a competent adviser, you can begin to recognize the
"real you" that lies beneath the outward self created by your upbringing and environment.

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However, absorbing the data from all 16 factors can get complicated, and in recent years a
variation of 16PF called 16PF5 has become more commonplace.

THE 16PF5 MODEL

16PF5 takes the 16 Factors of 16PF and groups them together into 5 overall themes (hence the
name). Clearly there is some overlap between the 16 Factors, but narrowing them down to 5
Factors give a much sharper picture of the underlying personality. If you want to know what's
behind any one of the 5 Factors you can "zoom in" on the relevant 16 Factors to see what the
drivers are. Some of the 16 appear in more than one of the 5 themes, by the way. The Five
Global Factors are

 Extraversion
 Anxiety
 Will
 Independence
 Self control

5 Factors Descriptors

Introverted, socially Extroverted, socially

EXTRAVERSION
inhibited participative

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 Easily worried and generally
ANXIETY Low anxiety, unperturbed
tense

Open minded, receptive to

WILL Resolute and determined
ideas

Accommodating and
INDEPENDENCE Independent and persuasive
selfless

Free-thinking and
SELF CONTROL Structured and inhibited
impulsive

Business applications

Selection

The 16PF factors can be mapped against the competencies required to be successful in a
particular role. When used as part of a structured selection process, the questionnaire results
can highlight areas to explore further during interview, eliciting a more comprehensive picture of
each candidate’s strengths and development needs. This makes the selection process more

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effective. For successful candidates, the 16PF questionnaire can be used to create individual
development plans.

Development

The questionnaire can assess the management/leadership potential and style of an individual,
which can then be used to formulate an effective development plan.

Executive coaching

The questionnaire can be used in combination with additional tools (such as the 360 degree
feedback tool, Benchmarks®) to provide senior-level management with an essential
understanding of their own behavior and an objective assessment of how their style impacts on
others. The individual can then be coached, building on this platform to establish clear
development objectives.

Teambuilding

Building a team profile using the 16PF instrument will highlight areas that may add to or detract
from team effectiveness, allowing key areas for team development to be identified. Each
individual will also be able to build an appreciation of other team members’ strengths, promoting
increased productivity and understanding.

Other applications include career guidance and counseling.

Other uses of the 16PF include:

 Facilitating self-understanding and an appreciation of diversity

 Providing a platform for career planning and career self-management
 Enhancing effective communication, conflict resolution, problem solving, and decision
making

BENEFITS

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  Quick and easy to complete
 Can be completed on paper, or electronically
 Available in UK English and many European languages
 Easy to score, interpret and feed back
 Proven reliability and validity
 Norm data is available for the UK population
 The fifth edition is based on over 50 years of research and testing

JOHARI WONDOW

About the Instrument

A Johari window is a metaphorical tool created by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955 in the
United States, as a model for mapping personality awareness, used to help people better
understand their interpersonal communication and relationships. It is used primarily in self-help
groups and corporate settings as a heuristic exercise.

When performing the exercise, the subject is given a list of 55 adjectives and picks five or six
that they feel describe their own personality. Peers of the subject are then given the same list,
and each pick five or six adjectives that describe the subject.

Adjectives selected by both the participant and his or her peers are placed into the Arena
quadrant. This quadrant represents traits of the participant of which both they and their peers are
aware.

Adjectives selected only by the participant, but not by any of their peers, are placed into the
Façade quadrant, representing information about the participant of which their peers are
unaware. It is then up to the participant whether or not to disclose this information.

Adjectives that are not selected by the participant but only by their peers are placed into the
Blind Spot quadrant. These represent information of which the participant is not aware, but

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others are, and they can decide whether and how to inform the individual about these "blind
spots".

Adjectives which were not selected by either the participant or their peers remain in the Unknown
quadrant, representing the participant's behaviors or motives which were not recognized by
anyone participating. This may be because they do not apply, or because there is collective
ignorance of the existence of that trait.

The 55adjectives are as follows:

Able Accepting Adaptable Bold Brave

Caring
Calm Cheerful Clever Complex

Confident Dependable Dignified Energetic Extroverted

Friendly Giving Happy Helpful Idealistic

Independent Ingenious Intelligent Introverted Kind

Mature
Knowledgeable Logical Loving Modest

Nervous Observant Organised Patient Powerful

Proud Quiet Reflective Relaxed Religious

Responsive Searching Self-assertive Self-conscious Sensible

Sentimental Shy Silly Spontaneous Sympathetic

Tense Trustworthy Warm Wise Witty

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 A JOHARI WINDOW

The Johari Window, named after the first names of its inventors, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham,
is one of the most useful models describing the process of human interaction. A four paned
"window," as illustrated above, divides personal awareness into four different types, as
represented by its four quadrants: open, hidden, blind, and unknown. The lines dividing the four
panes are like window shades, which can move as an interaction progresses.

In this model, each person is represented by their own window

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JOHARI QUADRANT 1 - 'OPEN SELF/AREA' OR 'FREE AREA' OR 'PUBLIC
AREA', OR 'ARENA'

Johari region 1 is also known as the 'area of free activity'. This is the information about the
person - behavior, attitude, feelings, emotion, knowledge, experience, skills, views, etc - known
by the person ('the self') and known by the group ('others').

For example in my case the "open" quadrant represents things that both I know about myself,
and that you know about me. For example, I know my name. The knowledge that the window
represents, can include not only factual information, but my feelings, motives, behaviors, wants,
needs and desires... indeed, any information describing who I am. When I first meet a new
person, the size of the opening of this first quadrant is not very large, since there has been little
time to exchange information.

The aim in any group should always be to develop the 'open area' for every person, because
when we work in this area with others we are at our most effective and productive and the group
is at its most productive too. The open free area, or 'the arena', can be seen as the space where
good communications and cooperation occur, free from distractions, mistrust, confusion, conflict
and misunderstanding.

Established team members logically tend to have larger open areas than new team members.
New team members start with relatively small open areas because relatively little knowledge
about the new team member is shared. The size of the open area can be expanded horizontally
into the blind space, by seeking and actively listening to feedback from other group members.
This process is known as 'feedback solicitation'. Also, other group members can help a team
member expand their open area by offering feedback, sensitively of course. The size of the open
area can also be expanded vertically downwards into the hidden or avoided space by the
person's disclosure of information, feelings, etc about him/herself to the group and group
members. Also, group members can help a person expand their open area into the hidden area
by asking the person about him/herself. Managers and team leaders can play an important role
in facilitating feedback and disclosure among group members, and in directly giving feedback to
individuals about their own blind areas. Leaders also have a big responsibility to promote a
culture and expectation for open, honest, positive, helpful, constructive, sensitive
communications, and the sharing of knowledge throughout their organization. Top performing

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groups, departments, companies and organizations always tend to have a culture of open
positive communication, so encouraging the positive development of the 'open area' or 'open
self' for everyone is a simple yet fundamental aspect of effective leadership

JOHARI QUADRANT 2 - 'BLIND SELF' OR 'BLIND AREA' OR 'BLIND SPOT'

Johari region 2 is what is known about a person by others in the group, but is unknown by the
person him/herself. For example in my case the "blind" quadrant represents things that you
know about me, but that I am unaware of. For example, perhaps in our ongoing conversation,
you may notice that eye contact seems to be lacking. You may not say anything, since you may
not want to embarrass me, or you may draw your own inferences that perhaps I am being
insincere. Then the problem is how I can get this information out in the open.

By seeking or soliciting feedback from others, the aim should be to reduce this area and thereby
to increase the open area ie, to increase self-awareness. This blind area is not an effective or
productive space for individuals or groups. This blind area could also be referred to as ignorance
about oneself, or issues in which one is deluded. A blind area could also include issues that
others are deliberately withholding from a person. We all know how difficult it is to work well
when kept in the dark. No-one works well when subject to 'mushroom management'. People who
are 'thick-skinned' tend to have a large 'blind area'.

Group members and managers can take some responsibility for helping an individual to reduce
their blind area - in turn increasing the open area - by giving sensitive feedback and encouraging
disclosure. Managers should promote a climate of non-judgmental feedback, and group
response to individual disclosure, which reduces fear and therefore encourages both processes
to happen. The extent to which an individual seeks feedback, and the issues on which feedback
is sought, must always be at the individual's own discretion. Some people are more resilient than
others - care needs to be taken to avoid causing emotional upset.

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JOHARI QUADRANT 3 - 'HIDDEN SELF' OR 'HIDDEN AREA' OR 'AVOIDED
SELF/AREA' OR 'FACADE'

Johari region 3 is what is known to us but kept hidden from, and therefore unknown, to others.
This hidden or avoided self represents information, feelings, etc, anything that a person knows
about him/self, but which is not revealed or is kept hidden from others. The hidden area could
also include sensitivities, fears, hidden agendas, manipulative intentions, and secrets - anything
that a person knows but does not reveal, for whatever reason. It's natural for very personal and
private information and feelings to remain hidden, indeed, certain information, feelings and
experiences have no bearing on work, and so can and should remain hidden. However, typically,
a lot of hidden information is not very personal, it is work- or performance-related, and so is
better positioned in the open area.

Relevant hidden information and feelings, etc, should be moved into the open area through the
process of 'disclosure'. The aim should be to disclose and expose relevant information and
feelings - hence the Johari Window terminology 'self-disclosure' and 'exposure process', thereby
increasing the open area. By telling others how we feel and other information about ourselves we
reduce the hidden area, and increase the open area, which enables better understanding,
cooperation, trust, team-working effectiveness and productivity. Reducing hidden areas also
reduces the potential for confusion, misunderstanding, poor communication, etc, which all
distract from and undermine team effectiveness.

Organizational culture and working atmosphere have a major influence on group members'
preparedness to disclose their hidden selves. Most people fear judgment or vulnerability and
therefore hold back hidden information and feelings, etc, that if moved into the open area, ie
known by the group as well, would enhance mutual understanding, and thereby improve group
awareness, enabling better individual performance and group effectiveness.

The extent to which an individual discloses personal feelings and information, and the issues
which are disclosed, and to whom, must always be at the individual's own discretion. Some
people are more keen and able than others to disclose. People should disclose at a pace and
depth that they find personally comfortable. As with feedback, some people are more resilient
than others - care needs to be taken to avoid causing emotional upset.

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JOHARI QUADRANT 4 - 'UNKNOWN SELF' OR 'AREA OF UNKNOWN
ACTIVITY' OR 'UNKNOWN AREA'

Johari region 4 contains information, feelings, latent abilities, aptitudes, experiences etc, that are
unknown to the person him/herself and unknown to others in the group. These unknown issues
take a variety of forms: they can be feelings, behaviors, attitudes, capabilities, aptitudes, which
can be quite close to the surface, and which can be positive and useful, or they can be deeper
aspects of a person's personality, influencing his/her behavior to various degrees. Large
unknown areas would typically be expected in younger people, and people who lack experience
or self-belief.

Examples of unknown factors are as follows, and the first example is particularly relevant and
common, especially in typical organizations and teams:

• an ability that is under-estimated or un-tried through lack of opportunity, encouragement,

confidence or training
• a natural ability or aptitude that a person doesn't realize they possess
• a fear or aversion that a person does not know they have
• an unknown illness
• repressed or subconscious feelings
• conditioned behavior or attitudes from childhood

The processes by which this information and knowledge can be uncovered are various, and can
be prompted through self-discovery or observation by others, or in certain situations through
collective or mutual discovery, of the sort of discovery experienced on outward bound courses or
other deep or intensive group work. Counseling can also uncover unknown issues, but this would
then be known to the person and by one other, rather than by a group.

Whether unknown 'discovered' knowledge moves into the hidden, blind or open area depends on
who discovers it and what they do with the knowledge, notably whether it is then given as
feedback, or disclosed.

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Again as with disclosure and soliciting feedback, the process of self discovery is a sensitive one.
The extent and depth to which an individual is able to seek out discover their unknown feelings
must always be at the individual's own discretion. Some people are more keen and able than
others to do this.

Uncovering 'hidden talents' - that is unknown aptitudes and skills, not to be confused with
developing the Johari 'hidden area' - is another aspect of developing the unknown area, and is
not so sensitive as unknown feelings. Providing people with the opportunity to try new things,
with no great pressure to succeed, is often a useful way to discover unknown abilities, and
thereby reduce the unknown area.

Managers and leaders can help by creating an environment that encourages self-discovery, and
to promote the processes of self discovery, constructive observation and feedback among team
members. It is a widely accepted industrial fact that the majority of staff in any organization are at
any time working well within their potential. Creating a culture, climate and expectation for self-
discovery helps people to fulfil more of their potential and thereby to achieve more, and to
contribute more to organizational performance.

A note of caution about Johari region 4: The unknown area could also include repressed or
subconscious feelings rooted in formative events and traumatic past experiences, which can stay
unknown for a lifetime. In a work or organizational context the Johari Window should not be used
to address issues of a clinical nature.

Much, much more has been written on the Johari window model of human interaction. The
process of enlarging the open quadrant is called self-disclosure, a give and take process
between me and the people I interact with. Typically, as I share something about myself (moving
information from my hidden quadrant into the open) and if the other party is interested in getting
to know me, they will reciprocate, by similarly disclosing information in their hidden quadrant.
Thus, an interaction between two parties can be modeled dynamically as two active Johari
windows. For example, you may respond to my disclosure that I like "Cherry Garcia" by letting
me know what your favorite ice cream is, or where a new ice cream shop is being built, kinds of
information in your hidden quadrant. Incidentally, it is fattening, so be careful on how much you
eat!

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We believe disclosure to be healthy, at least that's the impression one gets after reading Freud.
However, Anita Kelly recently wrote that self-disclosure of personal secrets has its dangers. We
are often better off not telling secrets regarding our sexual behavior, mental health problems or
large-scale failures. "If you give people information about yourself, you give them power over
you," she says. Monica Lewinsky's disclosure to Linda Tripp and the ensuing scandal that
enveloped President Clinton is a case in point. Be forewarned that most secrets get passed
along to at least two more parties. People also misjudge how others respond to secrets.
Sometimes you get negative feedback. For example, women who reveal that she was raped may
be seen in the future as a victim or by men as damaged goods. Now, if you must tell your secret
to someone, chose that person very carefully. Chose someone whose response will give you
some insight into your problem. Unfortunately, such a person is often hard to find. So if you
cannot find anyone appropriate, consider this: that keeping secrets is healthy and tasteful,
because it is a way of managing your identity, and indicates you are secure and have self-
control. But it takes energy, because you have to be on constant guard not to accidentally reveal
something that is potentially damaging.

As ones level of confidence and self esteem develops, one may actively invite others to
comment on one's blind spots. A teacher may seek feedback from students on the quality of a
particular lecture, with the desire of improving the presentation. Active listening skills are helpful
in this endeavor. On the other hand, we all have defenses, protecting the parts of ourselves that
we feel vulnerable. Remember, the blind quadrant contains behavior, feelings and motivations
not accessible to the person, but which others can see. Feelings of inadequacy, incompetence,
impotence, unworthiness, rejection, guilt, dependency, ambivalence for loved ones, needs to
control and manipulate, are all difficult to face, and yet can be seen by others. To forcibly reveal
what another wishes not to see, is "psychological rape," and can be traumatic. Fortunately,
nature has provided us with a variety of defense mechanisms to cope with such events, such as
denial, ignoring.
The Johari window, essentially being a model for communication, can also reveal difficulties in
this area. In Johari terms, two people attempt to communicate via the open quadrants. On the
simplest level, difficulties may arise due to a lack of clarity in the interaction, such as poor
grammar or choice of words, unorganized thoughts, faulty logic etc. This induces the receiver to
criticize you, the sender, by revealing something that was in your blind quadrant. Then, if the
feedback works, you correct it immediately or perhaps on a more long term approach take a

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course in reading and writing. On a deeper level, you may be in a group meeting, and while you
secretly sympathize with the minority viewpoint, you voted with the majority. However, blind to
you, you actually may be communicating this information via body language, in conflict with your
verbal message. On an even deeper level, you in an interaction with others may always put on a
smiling, happy face, hiding all negative feelings. By withholding negative feelings, you may be
signaling to your friends to withhold also, and keep their distance. Thus, your communication
style may seem bland or distant.

Application and Importance

A team which understands itself - that is, each person having a strong mutual understanding with
the team - is far more effective than a team which does not understand each other- that is,
whose members have large hidden, blind, and/or unknown areas.

Team members - and leaders - should always be striving to increase their open free areas, and
to reduce their blind, hidden and unknown areas.

A person represented by the Johari Window example below will not perform to their best
potential, and the team will fail to make full use of the team's potential and the person's potential
too. Effort should generally be made by the person to increase his/her open free area, by
disclosing information about his/her feelings, experience, views, motivation, etc, which will
reduce the size of the hidden area, and increase the open free area.

Seeking feedback about the blind area will reduce the blind area, and will increase the open free
area. Discovery through sensitive communications, active listening and experience, will reduce
the unknown area, transferring in part to the blind, hidden areas, depending on who knows what,
or better still if known by the person and others, to the open free area.

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 BELBIN TEAM ROLE INVENTORY

About the instrument

The Belbin Team Inventory, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory or the Belbin Team
Role Inventory, is a test used to gain insight into an individual's personality type. It was
developed by Dr. Meredith Belbin after studying teams at Henley Management College.

During a period of over nine years, Meredith Belbin and his team of researchers based at Henley
Management College, England, studied the behavior of managers from all over the world.
Managers taking part in the study were given a battery of psychometric tests and put into teams
of varying composition, while they were engaged in a complex management exercise. Their
different core personality traits, intellectual styles and behaviors were assessed during the
exercise. As time progressed different clusters of behavior were identified as underlying the
success of the teams. These were named "Team Roles".

Dr Meredith Belbin defines a Team Role as "Our tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate
with others in a particular way." Although the original research and most people's association
with the Team Role model relates to teams there is strong evidence to support the view that
these natural tendencies exist in workplace activities outside the formal team.

These are:

Action-oriented roles Shaper, Implementer, and Completer Finisher

People-oriented roles Co-coordinator, Team worker and Resource Investigator

Cerebral roles Plant, Monitor Evaluator and Specialist

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THE BELBIN TEAM ROLES

The Belbin Model is a robust and highly effective concept on teamwork that is the product of
many years of research. British psychologist Dr Meredith Belbin has worked to achieve a
coherent and accurate system that explains individual behavior and its influence on team
success. These behavioral patterns are called "Team Roles" and these nine roles cover the
types of individual behavior at work in a team.

Developed from observations of over 200 teams, Belbin’s Team Roles have become part of
standard assessment and HR practice. Belbin’s framework can be used both to predict the
performance of existing teams and to construct teams around desired outcomes. It also gives
valuable insights for teambuilding and conflict management.

Co-coordinator Resource Investigator Team Worker

Company Worker/
Shaper Completer finisher
Implementer

Plant Monitor/Evaluator Specialist

Co-coordinator

Characteristics: The co-coordinator is a person-oriented leader. Weakness: The co-

This person trusts, accepting, dominant and is committed to team coordinator may not stand out
goals and objectives. The co-coordinator is a positive thinker who in a team and usually does
approves of goal attainment, struggle and effort in others. The not have a sharp intellect.
co-coordinator is someone tolerant enough always to listen to
others, but strong enough to reject their advice.

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Shaper

Characteristics: The shaper is a task-focused leader who abounds in Weakness: He or she will
nervous energy, who has a high motivation to achieve and for whom challenge, argue or disagree
winning is the name of the game. The shaper is committed to and will display aggression in
achieving ends and will ‘shape’ others into achieving the aims of the the pursuit of goal
team. achievement. Two or three
shapers in a group, according
to Belbin, can lead to conflict,
aggravation and in-fighting.

Resource Investigator

Characteristics: The resource investigator is the executive who is Weakness: Weaknesses are a
never in his room, and if he is, he is on the telephone. The tendency to lose interest after
resource investigator is someone who explores opportunities and initial fascination with an idea,
develops contacts. Resource investigators are good negotiators and they are not usually the
who probe others for information and support and pick up other’s source of original ideas.
ideas and develop them. They are characterized by sociability and
enthusiasm and are good at liaison work and exploring resources
outside the group.

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Plant

Characteristics: The plant is a specialist idea maker characterized by Weakness: Weaknesses are a
high IQ and introversion while also being dominant and original. The tendency to disregard practical
plant tends to take radical approaches to team functioning and details and argumentativeness.
problems. Plants are more concerned with major issues than with
details.

Company worker/ implementer

Characteristics: Implementers are aware of external obligations Weakness: Implementers are

and are disciplined, conscientious and have a good self-image. conservative, inflexible and
They tend to be tough-minded and practical, trusting and slow to respond to new
tolerant, respecting established traditions. They are possibilities.
characterized by low anxiety and tend to work for the team in a
practical, realistic way. Implementers figure prominently in
positions of responsibility in larger organizations. They tend to
do the jobs that others do not want to do and do them well: for
example, disciplining employees.

Specialist

Characteristics:The specialist provides knowledge and technical Weakness: Their weaknesses

skills which are in rare supply within the team. They are often are single-mindedness and a
highly introverted and anxious and tend to be self-starting, lack of interest in other
dedicated and committed. peoples’ subjects

Monitor evaluator

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Characteristics: According to the model, this is a judicious, Weakness: Weaknesses are
prudent, intelligent person with a low need to achieve. Monitor that they may appear dry and
evaluators contribute particularly at times of crucial decision boring or even over-critical.
making because they are capable of evaluating competing They are not good at inspiring
proposals. The monitor evaluator is not deflected by emotional others. Those in high level
arguments, is serious minded, tends to be slow in coming to a appointments are often
decision because of a need to think things over and takes pride monitor evaluators.
in never being wrong.

Team worker

Characteristics: Team workers make helpful interventions to Weakness: They tend to be

avert potential friction and enable difficult characters within the indecisive in moments of
team to use their skills to positive ends. They tend to keep team crisis and reluctant to do
spirit up and allow other members to contribute effectively. Their things that might hurt others.
diplomatic skills together with their sense of humor are assets to
a team. They tend to have skills in listening, coping with awkward
people and to be sociable. Sensitive and people oriented.

Completer finishers

Characteristics: The completer finisher dots the it’s and crosses Weakness: Weaknesses,
the t’s. He or she gives attention to detail, aims to complete and according to Belbin, are that

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to do so thoroughly. They make steady effort and are consistent they tend to be over anxious
in their work. They are not so interested in the glamour of and have difficulty letting go
spectacular success. and delegating work.

Balanced teams

Teams work best when there is a balance of primary roles and when team members know
their roles, work to their strengths and actively manage weaknesses.

• To achieve the best balance, there should be:

• One Co-coordinator or Shaper (not both) for leader
• A Plant to stimulate ideas
• A Monitor/evaluator to maintain honesty and clarity
• One or more Implementer, Team worker, Resource investigator or
Completer/finisher to make things happen

Why use team role profiles

Individual Belbin profiles can offer tremendous insight into individual and team operating
methods.

An inventory of Team Role skills, strengths and allowable weaknesses can be used to add value
to everything from a stand-alone experiential simulation to the composition of management and
project teams.

Each individual invariably brings different skills and behaviors to a team. The Belbin Model offers
us a unique and highly effective way to blend these elements to build the perfect team. In
Belbin's words "Nobody is perfect - but a team can be". By using the Belbin profiles people can
better understand teams and the contributions of the individuals around them.

Practical Implications

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Based on Belbin's model of 9 team roles, managers or organizations building working teams
would be advised to ensure that each of the roles can be performed by a team member. Some
roles are compatible and can be more easily fulfilled by the same person; some are less
compatible and are likely to be done well by people with different behavioral clusters. This
means that a team need not be as many as 9 people, but perhaps should be at least 3 or 4.

Aptitude and Ability Tests

Aptitude and ability tests are designed to assess ones logical reasoning or thinking performance.
They consist of multiple choice questions and are administered under exam conditions. They are
strictly timed and a typical test might allow 30 minutes for 30 or so questions.

Multiple choice
question
Aptitude
and ability Exam conditions
test
Strictly timed

There are at least 5000 aptitude and ability tests on the market the most common ones can be classified
as follows:

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Verbal Ability Tests - Includes spelling, grammar, and ability to understand analogies and
follow detailed written instructions.

Numeric Ability Tests - Includes basic arithmetic, number sequences and simple mathematics.
In more complex numerical critical reasoning questions, blocks of information are provided that
require interpretation.

Abstract Reasoning Tests - Measures ones ability to identify the underlying logic of a pattern
and then determine the solution. They are deliberately designed so that the visual problem-
solving strategy will work better than any other approach.

Spatial Ability Tests - Measures ones ability to manipulate shapes in two dimensions or to
visualize three-dimensional objects presented as two-dimensional pictures.

Mechanical Aptitude Tests - Designed to assess ones knowledge of physical and mechanical
principles.

Data Checking Tests - Measure how quickly and accurately errors can be detected in data and
is used to select candidates for clerical and data input jobs.

Work Sample Tests - Involves a sample of the work that one will be expected do. These types
of test can be very broad ranging. They may involve exercises using a word processor or

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spreadsheet if the job is administrative or they may include giving a presentation or in-tray
exercises if the job is management or supervisory level.

Question Types and Scoring

One may be asked to answer the questions either on paper or using a PCor palm-top, as online
testing is becoming increasingly popular. The advantage of online testing is that once the test is
completed, an analysis of the results can be calculated straight away.

This means that the organization can continue with the selection process with the results 'in
hand' rather than keep one waiting or send one home and call one back in at a later date.
Another advantage is that one can take the test at a recruitment agency or even in ones own
home. Online testing is particularly suitable for initial screening as it is very cost-effective. Some
of the advantages of online testing are:

• . Increased cost-savings - no printed material is needed.

• . Increased security - test data can be easily encrypted.
• . Increased speed - scoring and interpretation are done immediately.
• . Increased standardization - question presentation is uniform.

Whichever type of test one is given; the questions are almost always presented in multiple-
choice format and have definite correct and incorrect answers. As one proceed through the test,
the questions may become more difficult and one will usually find that there are more questions
than one can comfortably complete in the time allowed. Very few people manage to finish these
tests and the object is simply to give as many correct answers as one can.

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Ideally, ones score should then be compared with the results of a control group, which has taken
the tests in the past. This control group could consist of other graduates, current job holders or a
sample of the population as a whole. Ones reasoning skills can then be assessed in relation to
this control group and judgments made about ones ability. This does happen sometimes. Often
however, ones score is simply compared to the other candidates. After all, the control group is
not applying for the job.

Speed and Power Tests

The types of question one can expect will depend on which aptitudes and abilities that are
needed in the job one are applying for. Aptitude and ability tests are classified as maximum
performance tests as they test what one can achieve when one are making maximum effort.
There are two different styles of maximum performance test; speed tests and power tests.

Aptitude
and ability
test

Power Speed
test test

In a speed test, the scope of the questions is limited and the methods one need to use to answer
them clear. Taken individually, the questions appear relatively straightforward.

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Speed test are concerned with how many questions one can answer correctly in the allotted
time.

Server January February March

units value units value units value

ZXC43 32 480 40 600 48 720

ZXC53 45 585 45 585 45 585

ZXC63 12 240 14 280 18 340

For example:
Q. 139 + 235 =
A) 372 B) 374 C) 376 D) 437

A power test on the other hand will present a smaller number of more complex questions. The
methods one need to use to answer these questions are not obvious, and working out how to
answer the question is the difficult part. Once one have determined this, arriving at the correct
answer is usually relatively straightforward.

For example:
Below are the sales figures for 3 different types of network server over 3 months.

Q. In which month was the sales value highest?

A) January B) February C) March

Q. What is the unit cost of server type ZXC53?

A) 12 B) 13 C) 14

In summary, speed tests contain more items than power tests although they have the same
approximate time limit. Speed tests tend to be used in selection at the administrative and clerical
level. Power tests tend to be used at the graduate, professional or managerial level. Although,

95
this is not always the case, as speed tests do give an accurate indication of performance in
power tests. In other words, if one does well in speed tests then one will do well in power tests.

Verbal Ability Tests

These tests usually involve grammar, analogies, and following detailed written instructions. They
can also include spelling, sentence completion and comprehension. Because they depend on
understanding the precise meaning of words, idioms and the structure of the language they
discriminate very heavily towards native speakers of the language in which the test has been
developed. If one speaks English as a second language, even if this is at a high standard, one
will be significantly disadvantaged.

One will usually find questions on all of the following:

Spelling
• Grammar
• Sentence Completion
• Analogies
• Word Groups
• Instructions
• Critical Reasoning
• Verbal Deductions

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These tests are widely used since most jobs require one either to understand and make
decisions based on verbal or written information or to pass this type of information to others. In
practice, the more straightforward types of question (spelling, grammar and instructions) tend to
be more applicable to administrative roles and the reasoning and deduction type of questions to
management roles.

Spelling Questions

Questions where one has to identify incorrectly spelt words are common in all levels of verbal
ability tests. The test designer needs to choose words which are fairly common and in regular
usage but which are often spelt incorrectly. There would be little point in using obscure words
which only a small percentage of candidates could be expected to know. This means that one
will almost certainly have heard of the word and know its meaning. This requirement to use
words which are in everyday use but which are commonly miss-spelt means that the test
designer has a relatively restricted list of words to choose from. This makes improving ones
performance on these spelling questions relatively straightforward.

Example Questions

Which of the following words are incorrectly spelt?

A) separate B) ordnance C) obviously D) sucess E) none of these

2. Choose the pair of words that best completes the sentence

The --------of the timetable caused some __n _

A) rivision B) revision C) revission D) revition

A) inconvenience B) inconvenince C) inconveneince D)inconveniance

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3. The following list of 20 words contains 10 that are incorrectly spelt. Write the letter

That corresponds to each incorrectly spelt word in the answer box

A) occurence I) dispair Q) independent

B) dissipate J) irritable R) insistant
C) weird K) accidently 5) excede
0) accommodate L) liaison T) privilege
E) embarrassment M) memento Answers
F) ecstacy N) millenium 1. 0
C) repetition 0) yield 2. B 0
H) batallion P) existance 3. A E F H I K N P R 5

In most cases the longer that one have been out of the education system the more ones spelling
will have deteriorated. Most people now use word processors with inbuilt spellchecking software
and it is very easy to forget how words are spelt as we don't physically write them down and
often rely on the software to correct them for us. Many people find it quite embarrassing when
they realize how much their spelling has deteriorated – this is one area where remedial action is
straightforward and is guaranteed to produce positive results.

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Missing Word Questions

These questions are designed to measure ones vocabulary, specifically ones understanding of
precise word meanings. One will usually be offered a choice of four or five words, any of which
could complete the sentence.

Example Questions

4. Which of these words completes the sentence in the way that makes most sense?
A spirit-level should be used to ensure that the surface is n _

A) straight B) flat C) horizontal D) parallel E)aligned

5. Which of these words completes the sentence in the way that makes most sense?
He avoided m because he was m _
A) redundency B) indispensable C) redundancy D) indispensible

6. Which of these words completes the sentence in the way that makes most sense?
The plan must be m to make the project mm
A) feasible B) revised C) rivised D) feasible

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Answers 4. C 5. C B 6. B A

These questions are relatively straightforward but because more than one of the options will
complete the sentence satisfactorily one must read it carefully and choose the best word. Note
also that some of these questions are testing one spelling ability and some are testing one
understanding of precise word meanings.

Related Word Questions

To answer these questions one need to understanding of precise meaning of the words in the
question and establish what exactly the relationship is between them. One should then look at
the answer options and decide which one is the most appropriate.
These questions test one reasoning ability as well as one vocabulary.

Example Questions

7. Which of these is the missing word? kick, m __ mm, walk

A) throw B) toes C) shin D) feet E)hand

8. Which of these is the missing word? key, n n_m, walk

A) lock B) stand C) board D) fob E)stone

9. Which of these is the missing word? water, m __ m , over

A) ice B) drive C) wet D) flow E)fall

Answers

7. D - Feet are used for both kicking 9and walking.

8. C - Board forms the words 'keyboard' and 'boardwalk'
. E- Fall forms 'waterfall' and 'fall over'

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There will usually be more than one possible answer, so it is important to read the question
carefully and pick the best option.

Synonym and Antonym Questions

These are words which have either the same or opposite meanings. Once again, these
questions test ones vocabulary - one need to know the precise meaning of the words given in
order to select the appropriate synonym (same meaning) or antonym (opposite meaning).

Example Questions

10. Which of two of these words are opposite in meaning?

A) lose B)winner C) victor D) loser E)vanquish

11. Which of these words is the odd one out?

A) swindle B) harass C) provoke D) annoy E) pester

12. Which of these words is the odd one out?

A) verify B) authenticate C) confirm D) ask E) substantiate

Answers

10. BD - are exact opposites.

11. A - The others are synonyms
12. D - The others are synonyms

Word Pair Questions

These questions take the form A is to Bas X is to Y. Firstly, one need to establish the relationship
between the 'A is to B' words before one can arrive at the answer. One may find it helpful to
mentally express the relationship before one look at the answer options. This can short circuit

101
the process of considering and rejecting each option because one know in advance exactly what
one are looking for.

Example Questions

13. Dog is to canine as wolf is to umuu

A) vulpine B) ursine C) piscine D) bovine E) lupine

14. Sadness is to happiness as defeat is to mum_

A) joy B)victory C) tears D) victor E)none of these

15. Paper is to timber as mm is to hide

A) tree B) seek C) ox D) animal E) leather

Answers

13. E- lupine means 'relating to the characteristics of wolves'

14. B- The word pairs are opposites
15. E- Paper is made from timber, leather is made from hide

Comprehension Questions

These questions consist of a short passage and some related questions. They will often be
about a topic which is unfamiliar to one, but this is an advantage rather than a disadvantage
because one need to answer the questions based only on the information that one are given -
not using any knowledge that YOI,I already have. Most people find that the best way to tackle
these questions is to scan the text fairly quickly to get the general idea and then to attempt each
question in turn, referring back to the appropriate part of the text.

Example Question
16. Read the following short passage and say whether or not the statements are true. There are
seven species of deer living wild in Britain. The Red Deer and the Roe Deer are native species.
Fallow Deer were introduced by the Romans and, since the seventeenth century, have been

102
joined by three other non-native species: Sika, Muntjac and Chinese Water Deer which have
escaped from parks. In addition, a herd of Reindeer was established in Scotland in 1952. Most of
the Red Deer in Britain are found in Scotland, but there are significant wild populations in south-
west and northwest England, East Anglia and the north Midlands. Red deer can interbreed with
the introduced Japanese Sika deer and in some areas, hybrids are common.

16a. All of the Red Deer in Britain are found in Scotland.

A) true B)false C) can't say

16b. Red Deer can interbreed with Fallow Deer.

A) true B) false C) can't say

16c. The Fallow Deer is not native to Britain.

A) true B)false C) can't say

16d. There are no Reindeer in England.

A) true B)false C) can't say

Answers
16a. B
16b.C*
16c. A
16d.C

*Note that one must answer the questions using only the information supplied. Red Deer cannot
interbreed with Fallow Deer but, because this is not stated in the text, one must answer 'can't
say' even if one know that the statement is technically false.

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Verbal Reasoning Questions

These questions are not concerned with measuring ones facility with English. They are designed
to test ones ability to take a series of facts expressed in words and to understand and
manipulate the information to solve a specific problem. These questions are usually restricted to
graduate and management level tests.

Example Question

17. Working together, Tom, Dick and Harry need 9 hours to paint a 400-metre long fence.
Working alone, Tom could complete the task in 18 hours. Dick can not work as fast and needs
36 hours to paint the fence by himself. If Tom and Dick take the day off, how long will it take
Harry to paint the fence by himself?
A) 9 B) 12 C) 18 D) 36

Answer

17. 0 - In 9 hours Tom would have painted half of the fence and Dick would have painted one
quarter of it. This leaves one quarter to be painted by Harry who must therefore work at the
same speed as Dick.

SUMMARY
Verbal Ability

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Verbal ability tests can be divided into tests of simple verbal ability, for example; spelling,
grammar, synonyms and antonyms etc. These tests usually consist of 30 to 40 questions which
need to be completed in 15 to 20 minutes. They are speed tests in that they don't require very
much reasoning ability. One either know the answer or one don't.
Verbal reasoning tests, on the other hand, are designed to measure ones problem solving
abilities. These questions may take the form of comprehension exercises, which are
straightforward (as long as one remember to read the relevant part of the text carefully) or more
complex statements where the best tactic is to make notes about what one can deduce from
each part of the text.

These tests usually consist of 10 to 15 questions, which need to be completed in 20 to 30

minutes and are designed to test one reasoning ability rather than one facility with the language.
Verbal Reasoning questions assess one ability to use words in a logical way. The questions
measure one understanding of vocabulary, class membership and the relationships between
words. Some questions measure ones ability to perceive and understand concepts and ideas
expressed verbally. While these questions are designed to measure reasoning ability rather than
educational achievement, it is generally recognized that one verbal reasoning test score will be
influenced by one educational and cultural background.

Numerical Ability Tests

The first type of numerical ability test covers basic arithmetic (addition, subtraction multiplication
and division), number sequences and simple mathematics (percentages, powers, fractions, etc).
This type of test can be categorized as a speed test and is used to determine one basic numeric.
Obviously one will not be allowed to use a calculator.

Arithmetic Questions

1. 139 + 235 =
A) 372 B) 374 C) 376 D) 437

2.139 - 235 =
A) -69 B) 96 C) 98 D) -96

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3.5 x 16 =
A) 80 B) 86 C) 88 D) 78

4.45/9=
A) 4.5 B) 4 C) 5 D) 6

5. 15% of 300 =
A) 20 B) 45 C) 40 D) 35 D) 35

Answers
l. B
2.0
3. A
4. C
5. B

These questions are directly applicable to many administrative and clerical jobs but can also
appear as a component of graduate and managerial tests. The speed at which one can answer
these questions is the critical measure, as most people could achieve a high score given
unlimited time in which to answer. One can therefore expect 25-35questions in 20-30 minutes.

Number Sequences

These questions require one to find the missing number in a sequence of numbers. This missing
number may be at the beginning or middle but is usually at the end.

7. Find the next number in the series 4 8 16 32 --

8. Find the next number in the series 4 8 12 20 --
9. Find the missing number in the series 54 49 -- 39 34
10. Find the first number in the series-- 1923 29 31-
A) 48 B) 64 C) 40 D) 46
A) 32 B) 34 C) 36 D) 38
A) 47 B) 44 C) 45 D) 46

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A) 12 B) 15 C) 16 D) 17

These number sequences can be quite simple like the examples above. However, one will often
see more complex questions where it is the interval between the numbers that is the key to the
sequence.

11. Find the next number in the series 3 6 11 18 n A) 30 B) 22 C) 27 D) 29

12. Find the next number in the series 4 8 46 42 38 -- A) 32 B) 30 C) 33 D) 34

These simple number sequences usually consist of four visible numbers plus one missing
number. This is because the test designer needs to produce a sequence into which only one
number will fit. The need to avoid any ambiguity means that if the number sequence relies on a
more complex pattern then there will need to be more visible numbers. For example;

13. Find the missing number in the series 4 3 5 9 12 17 -- A) 32 B) 30 C) 24

14. Find the missing numbers in the series 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 -- -- A) 19 B) 17
15. Find the missing numbers in the series 1 -- 4 7 7 8 10 9 -- A) 6 B) 3 C) 11

Answers
7. B - The numbers double each time
8. A - Each number is the sum of the previous two numbers
9. B - The numbers decrease by 5 each time
10. 0 - The numbers are primes (divisible only by 1 and themselves)
11. C - The interval, beginning with 3, increases by 2 each time
12. B - The interval, beginning with 2, doubles and is subtracted each time
13. 0 - Each number is the sum of the previous and the number 3 places to the left
14. C A - There are 2 simple interleaved sequences 5, 7,10,14,19 and 6, 8, 11
15. AD - There are 2 simple interleaved sequences J, 4, 7, 10, 13 and 6,7,8,9

To solve these number sequence questions efficiently, one should first check the relationship
between the numbers themselves looking for some simple arithmetic relationship. Then look at
the intervals between the numbers and see if there is a relationship there. If not, and particularly

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if there are more than 4 numbers visible, then there may be two number sequences interleaved.
One will occasionally find multiplication, division, or powers used in these sequences, but test
designers tend to avoid them as these operations soon lead to large numbers which are difficult
to work out without a calculator.

Letters of the Alphabet as Numbers

Another type of sequence question, which appears in these tests, involves the substitution of
letters of the alphabet for numbers. For example A=1, B=2 etc. It may seem strange to consider
these as numerical reasoning questions but they actually work in the same way once one have
changed them back into numbers.

16. Find the next letter in the series B EH K –

A) L B)M C) N D) 0

17. Find the next letter in the series A Z BY –

A) C B)X C) D D) Y

18. Find the next letter in the series T V X Z –

A) Y B) B C) A D)W

Answers

16. C - There are two letters missing between each one, so N is next 17. A - There are 2
interleaved sequences A, B, C and Z, Y, so C is next 18. B - Miss a letter each time and 'loop'
back, so B is next because arithmetic operations cannot be performed on letters there is less
room for ambiguity in these questions. This means that interleaved sequences can be used with
fewer visible letters than in questions that use numbers.

Question 17 for example can use 2 interleaved sequences even though only four letters are
visible. This would be very difficult to achieve with numbers. It· is implicit in these 'alphabetic
sequence' questions that the sequence 'loops' back around and starts again.

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See question 18. It is important to recognize this as it is not usually stated explicitly one are just
expected to know it.

If one sees more than one of these questions in a test then it is almost certainly worth taking the
time to write out the letters of the alphabet with their ordinal numbers underneath. One can then
treat these questions in a similar way to number sequence questions. This can save a lot of time
overall and avoids simple mistakes.

ABC D £ F G HI) K L M N 0 P Q R 5 T V V VI:Z Y Z

1 2 3 .4 5 6 7 8 910 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Numerical Critical Reasoning

Information is provided that requires one to interpret it and then apply the appropriate logic to
answer the questions. Sometimes the questions are designed to approximate the type of
reasoning required in the workplace. The questions will often use very specific illustrations, for
example the question may present financial data or use information technology jargon. However,
an understanding of these areas is not required to answer the question.

19. Below are the sales figures for 3 different types of network server over 3 months.

19a. in which month was the sales value highest? January B) February C) March

19b. What is the unit cost of server type ZXC53

A)12 B) 13 C) 14

19c. how many ZXC43 units could be expected to sell in April?

A)56 B) 58 C) 60

19d. Which server had its unit price changed in Mar.ch

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A)ZXCA43 B)ZXC53 C) ZXC63

DATA ANANLYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

After the collection of primary data relating to the use of psychometric tools by human resource
personnel in various organizations, the data so collected was analyzed and interpretations were
drawn.

Q.No.-1) Are you aware of the use of psychometric tools / tests for various HR functions,
by HR personnel all over the world?

Percentage of organizations aware of the use of

psychometric tools by HR professionals

0%

100%

Aware Not aware

Analysis:

The graph clearly shows that the Human Resource professionals of all the organizations that
were surveyed are aware of the use of various psychometric tools and tests that are being used

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by HR professional in organizations all over the world. This means that whether these
organizations are using these tests and tools or not, at least there is awareness about the
existence and use of such tests by human resource professional for various human resource
functions.
Q.No.2) Is your Organization using any psychometric test for any HR function?

Percentage of organizations using psychometric

tests

25%

75%

Using Not using

Analysis:

The survey clearly indicates that only one fifth of the organizations are actually using
psychometric tools for some or the other human resource functions. Our previous graph
indicates an absolute awareness about these tools still only 20% of the organizations are putting
to use these psychometric tests. Psychometric testing in India hence is a relatively unexplored
area of human resource.

On the basis of secondary data if we compare with the organizations in US or UK as many as

70-80 % of the top companies are using psychometric testing for various HR functions.

Hence it may be concluded that the use of psychometric testing in India is in its nascent stage ie.
The human resource professionals in India have just started to use these psychometric tools.

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Q.No.3) If no, do you plan to use any psychometric tool / test in future?

Percenatge of organizations planning to use

psychometric tools in near future

10%
30%

60%

Maybe Cant say No

Analysis:

The HR professionals in the organizations which were not using any type of psychometric tools
were asked if they were planning to do so in near future. Only as much as one third of the
respondent organizations said they might use these psychometric tools in near future. As much
as 60% of the respondents had no idea whether their organizations might be interested in using
these tests and tools. However there were 10% of the organizations that said a clear no to a

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possibility of their future use. It was a BPO Genpact, the reason provided was “The number of
people being hired runs in thousands on a monthly basis. Cannot afford the time and cost behind
a psychometric tool.”
What is interesting here is that the organizations and the human resource personnel in only 10%
of the organizations have said a clear No to the use of psychometric tools. In the previous graph
we concluded that psychometric testing is in its nascent stage in India, in this graph hence we
may conclude that maybe the HR professionals in India have some reservations over using
these tools because they either do not have the knowledge of the benefits derived from the use
of these psychometric tools or are unsure of how well these tests will fare in India.

Since only one respondent out of the total sample has said a clear ‘No’, it can be said that
educating the HR professionals about the benefits derived from the use of these tools and tests
may push the use of psychometric testing in India further.

The reason may again be attributed to the fact that psychometric testing is a relatively new
concept in India and there are hardly any companies or bodies in India which are promoting the
use of these tests and tools and to whom the whole process of psychometric testing can be
outsourced.

Q.No.4) \If yes, which tool/s is/are being used by your organization?

The organizations and human resource professionals were found to be using various
psychometric tools like:

 Belbin Team roles inventory,

 MBTI and number of other tests
 A large number of aptitude tests
 Behavior tests
 Personality tests
 FIRO-B

Q.No.5) For which HR function is your organization using these psychometric tests?

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In the data collection exercise it was found that these psychometric tools and tests are being
used for a whole gamut of human resource functions. This included for human resource
processes like:

 Recruitment and selection,

 Training and development
 Counseling,
 Feedbacks,
 Appraisals,
 Behavior analysis,
 Competency mapping
 For building career paths of employees
 Talent Development

Q.No.6) Is your organization satisfied with the result generated by using these
tools/tests?

Percentage of organizations satsfied with the use of

psychometric tools

0%
33%

67%

Satisfied Cant say Not satisfied

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Analysis:

Of the organizations that were surveyed and which were using psychometric tools it was asked if
they were satisfied with the use of these psychometric tools and tests. Almost two third of the
organizations surveyed said that they were satisfied with the results generated by these
psychometric tools and tests. And there were only 33% other organizations that were unsure of
the results generated by the use of these psychometric tests. An important point to note here is
that not even a single organization that is using these tools has shown any kind of
dissatisfaction. Hence there is a general level of satisfaction derived from the use of these
psychometric tools.

Q.No.7) /Do you plan to use any other psychometric tool/test in near future?

Percentage of organizations planning to use any

other psychometric tool

33%

67%

Yes Cant say

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 Analysis:

The organizations that were already using these psychometric tests and tools were then
asked if they were planning to use any other type of psychometric tool or test. Here only
thirty three percent of the human resource professionals have said that they are open to
trying more psychometric tools and as much as 67% respondents have said that they are not
sure about it. Again no one has said no, hence it can be said that human resource
professionals in these organizations are open to trying a few more tools, they may have some
reservations though.

Q.No.8) At what level do you usually use these psychometric tests (managerial,
supervisory etc.)

For what organizational level are organizations using

psychometric tooltools

33%

67%

All Top and Middle

Analysis:

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 The graph clearly indicates that the organizations that are using psychometric tools and tests
for not just top level management but also are exploiting their use at lower levels as well. As
many as 67% of the organizations using these tests and tools said, that they use these tests
and tools at all levels of management for various human resource functions.

In one of our previous analysis we established the fact that psychometric testing is new to
India still here we can see that the organizations that are pioneering the use of these tests
are actually trying to use these test at various levels, this shows that the human resource
professionals are actually willing to explore new opportunities and their focus today is not just
the white collared professionals but also employees working lower down the corporate
ladder.

Q.No.9) /How do you ensure standardization and objectivity in your tests?

Standardization implies uniformity of procedure in administering and scoring the test. Eg. For
scores to be comparable, testing conditions must be same for all. Objectivity implies that the
administration scoring and interpretation of scores are objective insofar as they are independent
of the subjective judgment of the practical examiner.

An interesting fact found here was that the human resource professional in the organizations
using these tests did not point out any particular manner in which they ensure standardization
and objectivity in their tests. At best organizations are trying to be objective and trying to ensure
standardization by making the use of these psychometric tools a very common phenomenon. It
may be said that concentration is more on learning by trial and error method rather than trying to
find out actual ways in which issues like objectivity and standardization can be addressed.

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Q.No.10) Is your organization aware of the various ethical issues involved in the use of
psychometric testing?

Percentage of organizations aware of the ethical

issues involved in the use of psychometric tools

25%

75%

Aware Not aware

Analysis:

All the human resource professionals surveyed were asked whether they are aware of the
various ethical and social issues involved in the use of psychometric testing.

It is interesting to know that even though only 25% of the organizations surveyed are actually
using these test still as many as 75% of the human resources professionals in all the
organization surveyed are aware of the various ethical issues involved in the use of

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psychometric tools and tests. This shows the level of interest these psychometric tools have
generated in the minds of human resource professionals and also that human resource
professionals in India are aware of the latest trends in human resource field of study.

Q.No.12) Do you have qualified professionals for administering and generating results
from these tools or you have outsourced the process?

Percentage of organizations which have outsourced

the whole process

33%

67%

Inhouse Outsource

Analysis:

The organizations that are using psychometric tests and tools were then asked whether they
have in-house expertise to use and generate the results from these tools and test or have they
outsourced the whole process.

The graph clearly shows that only one third of the organizations have outsourced the whole
process. It is interesting to know that two third of the organizations using these tools actually

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have in-house professionals to administer and use these tests for various human resource
functions. This shows the level of interest of these organizations in the usr of psychometric tools.

FINDINGS

All the data that was gathered from various human resource professionals was then analyzed
and interpretations were made. On the basis of these interpretations the following broad
conclusions were drawn about the use of psychometric tools by the organizations:

 It was found that there is an enormous amount of awareness in the human resource
professionals about the presence and use of psychometric tests and tools by the
organizations all over the world for various human resource processes.

 The survey clearly indicated that approximately only one fourth of the organizations in
India are actually using psychometric tools for some or the other human resource
functions as against 70-80 % organizations in US and UK. it was hence safely concluded
that psychometric testing in India is in its nascent stage ie. The human resource
professionals in India have just started to use these psychometric tools.

 Only one of the organizations that were surveyed and which were not using any
psychometric tools clearly denied using these psychometric tools and tests in future. It
was hence concluded that the HR professional in India just have some reservations in
using these tools and tests because they either do not have the knowledge of the benefits
derived from the use of these psychometric tools or are unsure of how well these tests will
fare in India. It can be said that educating the HR professionals about the benefits derived
from the use of these tools and tests may push the use of psychometric testing in India
further.

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  It was also found that as many as half the organizations that were surveyed and were
found to be using these tools and tests are satisfied with the use of these psychometric
tests. And are also planning to explore and exploit more psychometric tools in the best
interest of the organizations they are working for.

 The Survey results clearly indicate that the organizations are using psychometric tools
and tests for not just top level management but are using these tools and tests at lower
levels as well. As many as 75% of the organizations using these tests and tools said, that
they are using them at all levels of management for various human resource functions.

CONCLUSION

Keeping in mind the interpretations drawn from the survey and the findings there from, it is
concluded that use of psychometric tools by human resource professionals in India is a relatively
new phenomenon as compared to the countries in the west like US & UK.

However what is interesting is that there is an absolute awareness among human resource
professionals in India regarding the fact that these psychometric tools and tests can be and are
being used by human resource professionals all over the world. In fact here is a lot of awareness
about the ethical issues involved in the use of these psychometric tools and tests as well.

Hence it maybe concluded that the human resource professionals in India do have the
theoretical knowledge about these tools and test but are either not enough enterprising in
exploring new field of study in HR or else they have reservations over using these tools and tests
because they are unsure of the practical implications and benefits of these tests.

It is also important to mention here that there are few organizations that are using these
psychometric tools and tests and are extremely satisfied with the result generated and are not
only ready and willing to explore more psychometric tools but are actually using these tests and
tools at not just the top managerial level but also at lower levels down the corporate hierarchy.

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Use of psychometric tests in India hence remains an unexplored area of human resource
however it must also be kept in mind that the human resource professionals are willing to use
these test in future. It is hence the responsibility of human resource academicians to explore this
area of HR and gain some expertise on use of these tests in order to further promote the use of
psychometric testing in India.
RECOMMENDATIONS

On the basis of my research I would like to recommend to the human resource personnel in India
that they must be more enterprising in exploring the untouched and upcoming areas of human
resources. Psychometric testing in India for example is a relatively new phenomenon. The
human resource professionals must keep in constant touch with the latest trends and fads in the
human resource field of study. These professionals must also understand that in today’s
scenario; just having the theoretical knowledge is useless if you cannot put that knowledge to
practical use.

Apart from this it would be extremely beneficial for the human resource fraternity in India on the
whole, if the organizations and HR professionals that are actually using psychometric tests and
tools must come forward to share their views and experiences with other organizations which
may not be that strong financially to experiment with such things. Human resource personnel
working in foreign multinational companies must specially participate in activities that can
introduce new tools and techniques to their fellow human resource professionals.

More corporate level seminars and workshops must be organized where human resource
professionals from various organizations can forward to share their views, experiences and
knowledge. This would be beneficial for everyone on the whole. In fact it is about time when
human resource professionals in India form a national level forum that can conduct such
seminars and workshops to take human resource in India to higher levels.

As said by a great speaker “ In 21st century those who can read and write shall not be illiterate
but it would be those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn” keeping this in mind I would just like
to recommend to the human resource fraternity to be more enterprising and look forward to out
of the box thinking .

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 LIMITATIONS

A sincere attempt has been made to keep the project away from any kind of
redundancies, biases or errors, yet the readers may find certain limitation in the
project, which may be because of one or more of the following reasons:

 The validity and correctness of information relating the various tests and
tools are subject to the data gathered from various websites on the internet.

 The sample size for the survey is only 12 this. This is because only one HR
person per organizations could be used to represent their respective
organizations and human resource departments fill the questionnaire.

 The validity of data is subject to the views expressed by the respondents

working as human resource professionals in various organizations.

 The number of psychometric tools included in this project is only inclusive

and not exhaustive because it is practically impossible to include all the
psychometric tools from the toolkit of HR

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 REFERENCES

BOOKS

 Anastasi Anne, Urbina Susana

Psychological Testing,
Pearson Education, 2003.

 Mcshane S, Glinow A M, Sharma R,

Introduction to Organization Behavior,
Tata McGraw Hills, 2006.

E-Books

 D.Constantine-Simms,
Everything you need to know to pass psychometric tests.

Magazines
HRM Review February 2007

Search Engines
Google

Websites

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http://www.teamfocus.co.uk/different_types_of_psychometric_tests.htm

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/hr/selection/psychometric.htm

http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html

http://en.wikipedia.org

www.humanmetrics.com

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