Personality assessment for all…?
01/12/2009, Author: Alison France
I seem to be falling over personality assessments at every click of my mouse lately. Beyond our recognised occupationally-based personality assessments, a new breed of assessment has begun to infiltrate the internet and maybe even our collective consciousness. They are created for a multitude of uses; the most common being internet dating, self-improvement/interest and research.
Most recently, the BBC programme ‘Child of Our Time’ is carrying out a nationwide experiment to explore the nature vs nurture influences on our personality. Professor Michael Lamb and Dr Jason Rentfrow of the Department of Social and Development Psychology, University of Cambridge, have designed a personality assessment based on the big 5 personality traits (openness, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism). The questionnaire also gathers details about personal experiences and the results will be used to inform the continuing exploration of the nature vs nurture debate in the next series of ‘Child of Our Time’.
How do these assessments differ to occupational questionnaires?
Apart from the obvious difference of purpose the assessment was designed for, all of these questionnaires have two major differences to occupational personality assessments.
Firstly, as respondents are asked to complete them in their ‘spare time’ and can choose not to take or complete the assessment, the assessments themselves are becoming more user friendly and interesting to complete. Part of this is due to the varied content. However, question design and ‘look and feel’ of the internet sites are improving and becoming more varied.
Secondly, the reports are produced for, and provided directly to, the test taker (rather than a professional who interprets them first and – sometimes – provides feedback). This is increasing the requirement for well designed reports, accessible to all. The ‘Child of Our Time’ version is one of the best I’ve seen yet. Results are reported using video clips of Professor Robert Winston explaining the basics of that personality trait and excerpts of TV personalities sharing their types and their reactions to them. These are easily accessible to anyone and supported by additional detail on your personal homepage which is great to look at and easy to navigate. Admittedly, they do not provide the granularity we require for occupational use, however, they meet their purpose well.
Interestingly, questionnaire length tends to be around 30 minutes. This is similar to the time occupational users appear to be willing to take. The fact these are taken ‘for fun’ would have suggested a shorter length. However other motivations such as finding a partner or taking part in an experiment appear to be strong enough to encourage people to complete the questions.
What impact will this have on occupationally-based assessments?
All of the assessments I have come across have been designed by psychologists and appear to conform to psychometric requirements for reliability and validity. So, as far as I can see, the reputation of our trusted tool is not under threat.
Furthermore, the prevalence of these assessments may de-mystify personality questionnaires and may reduce the reluctance respondents and organisations sometimes have about assessing personality.
What do you think?
Take the ‘Child of Our Time’ – The big personality test and let us know your opinion.
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