Tough Questions About Personality Tests

This is a mega-list of tough questions (and some easy ones) about personality tests and psychometric assessments. All answers are honest, but some are downright brutal. Read on.

Let's get one thing cleared up right from the start...

Like people, there is a wide range of reliability and accuracy in today's personality tests and psychometric assessments.

Many are for entertainment purposes only, the kind you'd read in a popular women's magazine from the '90s. Others take themselves a bit more seriously and some even have the backing of people with fancy letters after their name.

Whether it has a more scientific name like "psychometric assessment" or an easier to understand monicker of "personality test," they all can be evaluated by two measures:

• How accurate is it?
• How reliable and consistent are its results?

As you can imagine, not all personality tests and assessments are created equal, and only one stands at the top in accuracy and repeat reliability. We'll let you read on to find out which one reigns supreme.

Personality Test Basics

How is accuracy measured in a personality test?

Personality, as most of us consider it, represents a broad spectrum of characteristics and attributes of an individual. There are no personality tests or psychometric assessments that measure or analyze all of those attributes, so accuracy comes down to specifics. There are no standardized metrics for what constitutes accuracy other than the broad definition of "Does it represent what's there with a high degree of precision?"

Many personality tests are inaccurate but some have a high degree of precision in the particular areas they measure.

What is repeat reliability?

Unlike accuracy, which can only be tested for specific things within the personality spectrum, repeat reliability is easy to measure. You get a large group of people to take a personality assessment, then have them take it again at some point in the future (days, months, or even years later). You compare their results, and if they are identical, you have a 100% repeat reliability score. The further apart their results are, the lower the repeat reliability score.

The psychometric assessment with the highest repeat reliability score in the world is the Core Values Index™ at 97.7%.¹

If you take the CVI today and again in 10 years, your results would likely differ by less than 3%.

What's the difference between a personality test and a psychometric assessment?

Psychometrics is defined as the science of measuring mental capacities and processes, but in the context of psychometric assessments, it more commonly refers to the science of measuring personality. Personality tests, on the other hand, is a broad definition that's typically left up to the provider to decide what it means. In general, a psychometric assessment tends to be more precise, specific, and accurate, while a personality test tends to be more broad and less accurate. (In this article, we use the terms somewhat interchangeably.)

Can you fool a personality test?

Yes. This is one of the biggest flaws of poorly designed personality tests. One of the biggest ways you can tell if a personality test can be fooled, or if you can deliberately skew the results, is if the test uses full sentence questions as part of its method. An example would be, "When meeting a group of strangers, do you feel a. nervous, b. excited, or c. bored?" Choosing your answer based on a desired outcome is easy.

Well-designed personality tests, on the other hand, design their assessment using methods where the outcome is not easily discernible. The Core Values Index is one of these.

Aren't all personality tests just hokum and snake oil?

Many are, frankly. "For entertainment purposes only." Some personality assessments, typically the more specific ones, can be very useful within their limited scope. A select few, such as the CVI, are very accurate and reliable and have a wider range of applications.

How much is too much to pay for a personality test (assuming it has high repeat reliability and accuracy)?

Look at it in terms of value. Would you feel that spending a few hundred dollars on a personality test that helps you avoid a long and costly college education in a career track that's misaligned with your emotional hardwiring is too expensive?

What if you spent $50 on a psychometric assessment that reliably and accurately helped you find a job that made you happy and engaged? Many would consider that value to be priceless.

Personality Tests in Hiring and Employment

Can a personality test be used in hiring?

Hiring is when most people take psychometric assessments, and is where most of the psychometrics industry generates its revenue. Candidate selection and recruitment is arguably one of the most appropriate and high-value uses of accurate and reliable personality assessments. (Notice we specifically stated "accurate and reliable" — using an inaccurate or unreliable psychometric assessment can lead to bad hiring results.)

Is it ethical for an employer to require job applicants or employees to take a personality test?

It is no more or less ethical for an employer to have applicants take a reliable and accurate personality test than it is to conduct a job interview or review the candidate’s resume. It is an effort for the employer to determine if the candidate is emotionally hardwired for the needs of the role.

If Acme Design Co. is hiring a Creative Director, they want to know if a candidate is creative rather than logical and analytical.

Some poorly designed personality tests, including some big names in the psychometrics industry like MBTI™, can produce inconsistent or inaccurate hiring recommendations, and some can even induce bias in the hiring process.

Should my personality test results as part of my job application remain private?

Yes and no. If an employer is paying for you to take a personality assessment as part of your job application, that employer has a logical right to see your results. We don't think they have the right to share your results with anyone outside the organization, however.

I think my employer has discriminated against me because of my personality test results. What can I do?

Discrimination is a serious issue, and a well-designed psychometric assessment that is used properly during the hiring process can help reduce the likelihood of discrimination. Choosing another candidate who has a higher matched personality assessment score instead of you is not discrimination in and of itself, however.

I think I'm well suited for a particular job but the employer thinks I have the wrong personality type. What can I do?

If you take an accurate and reliable personality assessment and your results do not highly match the needs of the role, then your opinion about your fit for the role is likely to be the less accurate source on the matter.

My boss has a toxic personality type. What can I do?

There are many actions you can take that have nothing to do with personality tests — accept it, go above their head and talk to their boss about it, seek employment elsewhere, etc. You could also find a way to tactfully suggest the organization find a reliable and accurate psychometric assessment and have everyone take it, then analyze suitability for each role. This often goes by the somewhat cold-hearted name of "human capital audit" but the results can be profoundly positive when people shift into roles that are more closely aligned to their psychometric profile.

Change can be hard, but improvement can't happen without change.

I work in sales. Would guessing the personality type of a potential customer increase my chances of making the sale?

Absolutely! When you develop the ability to identify the likely personality profile of others, you gain the ability to tailor your communications and approach to the other person. They get the information they need in the way they prefer to receive it, and you more accurately and efficiently get your message across. That's a win-win and its value applies in every role, not just sales.

I've been very successful in my career but a personality test indicated I don't have the right profile. How can this be?

This question is about results. We call people like you "reluctant heroes." Some people accomplish their goals through lots of hard work and tenacity. But, have you ever had a co-worker in the same role that made it look easy? That person likely has a psychometric profile more closely aligned to the role, while yours isn't quite so highly matched. You might be able to achieve the same results in the end but it takes more effort on your part. Sometimes it's not about the results achieved but the ease through which you achieve those results.

I really like my job but a personality test indicated I have the wrong profile for what I do. How can this be?

It has been estimated that 70% of people are disengaged in their role.

This question is about happiness. You may like the company, your supervisor, or various aspects of your job, but something about it just doesn't fit. It's like wearing someone else's clothes even though they are the same height and weight. An accurate and reliable personality assessment will reveal this mismatch.

Personality Tests in Relationships

Can I intentionally change my personality, as measured by a personality test, over time?

You can change your behavior but you can't change your core personality. They are not the same thing.

If you are naturally a logical and analytical person, you're not going to be able to change into a highly creative and "organic" personality type through force of will.

Can a personality test be used to tell if two people are compatible or not?

Yes, with some explanation. Compatibility, in the context of an accurate and reliable personality test, is more accurately described as "how close are your personality types." In a relationship, the two of you can reach the same emotional destination, but the less similar your personality types are, the farther you have to travel and the more effort it will take for you to reach that common ground.

Can learning the personality profile of myself and my partner improve our rocky relationship?

Understanding where each of you are coming from and why you see the world the way you do is profoundly useful when addressing differences and discontent within a relationship. The first step is for both of you to take an accurate and reliable personality assessment and review your results together.

I thought my relationship with my partner was solid until a personality test seemed to indicate we aren't compatible. Which is correct?

This is all about effort, and it's similar to "reluctant heroes" mentioned in a previous question about employment. How much effort is required for you to find common ground and maintain good relations with the other person? If it takes a lot of work, the difference in your personality assessment results is likely reflected within your profiles.

I just started dating someone. Is it appropriate to ask them to take a personality test before things get serious?

Asking someone you just started dating to take a personality test is about the same as asking them to submit a credit report: useful but stigmatically awkward. We’d like to get rid of that stigma and make this more acceptable. We think the world would be a happier place because of it.

Are there any dating apps that have an accurate personality test as part of the service?

Some may claim to, but we're unaware of any that are worth taking. Caveat emptor.

NOTES

[1] Seattle Research Partners, 2014 [PDF]

Core Values Index™ and CVI™ are trademarks of Taylor Protocols, Inc.