Overview Of Psychometric Testing And Personality Tests Part I

Overview Of Psychometric Testing And Personality Tests Part I

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What are psychometric tests?

Psychometric tests are controlled assessments that seek to objectively measure aspects of an individual's mental competency, or elements of their personality. Indeed, the word 'psychometric' comes from the Greek words for mental (psyche) and measurement (metron).

There are many different types of psychometric assessment available to employers. Psychometric tests essentially fall into two groups. There are those that measure a person's capacity to comprehend the written word, or their ability to reason with figures, or to follow directions precisely. And then there are personality tests, assessing everything from motivation to values, from personality inclinations to working preferences.

Within psychology, personality is explained as those aspects of an individual that are considered relatively stable and prevailing and therefore can be evaluated using an assessment. These aspects, which almagamate to make us unique, also enable us to distinguish ourselves from other people and permit a comparison across individuals. Personality is not seen as something we possess but instead how we relate to our surroundings and the world around us.

Largely all accredited psychometrics that seek to measure aspects of personality, and many tests of ability, are devised by Occupational Psychologists. This is because assessments need to be composed carefully to make sure that they are fair to all applicants undertaking them.

Why do people take psychometric tests?

There are typically two principle uses for psychometric testing in the work environment: selection and development.

Psychometric testing is employed during the recruitment process to support the organisation to make the best choice in choosing the most suitable applicants, or to assist decision-making when choosing candidates for advancement. During selection for recruitment, psychometric tests should not be used in isolation. They represent just one method that employers can use in the selection process.

Psychometric testing can be very valuable during the recruitment of an individual as they can assist in identifying personalities/values/abilities, which are known to contribute to success in the role. For example, measures of cognitive ability are correlated with success in a managerial position. Such measures can be considerably more predictive than other selection approaches such as the unstructured interview.

One of the most common problems with using psychometric tests during the recruitment stage is that tests are often employed, but hiring managers often do not comprehend what the results mean in terms of whether the results should contribute to a yes/no outcome or not. For this reason, when conceiving a recruitment process which uses psychometric tests, it is always advisable to seek the guidance of an Occupational Psychologist who can recommend how the results should be used. An occupational psychologist can also advise on ethical test use, including how to explain the use of psychometric tests and good practice surrounding how to provide feedback to candidates.

Psychometrics can be extremely powerful when used for personal development. Common uses include psychometric testing when you are making a life-changing career choice. Understanding more about your personality and values can be extremely informative when trying to identify what occupation and type of organization will bring out the best in you. Psychometrics are also very useful in the context of team development. It can be useful to have a framework and language to explore similarities and differences between team members and how this can impact positively and negatively on day-to-day working relationships.

About the Author:
Alison Price C.Psychol is a freelance Occupational Psychologist who uses psychology to drive measurable organisational improvement through its employees and delivers a range of psychometric tests.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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