3. • Began in late C19th with “intelligence” testing
• Francis Galton, UK: Anthropometrics–taking a
mathematical approach to the measure of
individual differences –eugenics
• Charles Spearman, USA 1910 –contributed ‘g’ or
the measurement of general intelligence factor
Brief history of psychometrics

4. And “factor analysis”–the means by which
psychometric tests are found to be valid
• 1917 Stanford‐Binettest: first standardised test of
intelligence
• 1949: First publication of the 16PF by Raymond
Cattell(Spearman’s student)
Brief history of psychometrics
(Cont’d)

5. • 1962: MBTI first published –type‐based
instrument; four preference scales
• 1963 First appearance of the “Big Five "of
personality factors (OCEAN)
• 1970: Cronbach(Cronbach’sAlpha): emphasizes
the importance of validity –being able to predict
accurately what a person will do
Brief history of psychometrics
(Cont’d)

6. • 1984: OPQ32 introduced, published by SHL R&D
by Peter Saville and Roger Holdsworth
• 1986: Hogan’s Personality Inventory first
published
• 2004 Savilleand Holdsworthousted from SHL’s
board
• 2007 Saville’s Personality Questionnaire / Wave
introduced
Brief history of psychometrics
(Cont’d)

7. What is a psychometric test?
• Aim to measure aspects of your mental
ability, aptitude or your personality
• Used as part of the recruitment or selection
process
• Provide employers with a method of selecting
the most suitable job applicants or candidates
for promotion
• Used by 80% of Fortune 500 and 75% of
Times Top 100 companies

8. What do psychometric tests
measure?
• How well you work with other people
• How well you handle stress
• Whether you will be able to cope with the intellectual
demands of the job
• Your personality, preferences and abilities
• Most do not analyze your emotional or psychological
stability
• Best match of individual to occupation and working
environment

9. Psychometric tests in business

10. What types of test are there?Psychometric Selection Tests
Personality
& Interest
Test
Types
Traits
Aptitude &
Ability Tests
Verbal Ability Tests
Numeric Ability Test
Abstract Reasoning Tests
Spatial Reasoning Tests
Mechanical Reasoning Tests
Data Checking Tests

11. What are they used for?

12. A psychometric test should be:
Objective:
The score
must not
affected by
the testers'
beliefs or
values
Standardized
Must be
administered
under
controlled
conditions
Reliable
Must
minimize and
quantify any
intrinsic
errors
Predictive
Must make
an accurate
prediction of
performance
Non Discriminatory
Must not
disadvantage
any group on
the basis of
gender,
culture,
ethnicity, etc.

13. Validity of selection tools

14. Popular psychometric tests

15. Some of the popular
psychometric tests are:
• The Five Factors Model
• 16 PF
• MBTI
• OPQ32
• Hogan
• Saville
• Thomas Personal Profiling System
• Colors Personality
• Strength Finder
• Gordon’s Personal Profile Inventory
• Rorschach Ink‐Blot Test
• FIRO‐B
• Picture Frustration Test
• Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT)

16. The Five Factors Model
Basis of many tests: Uses five personality traits:
• Openness
• Conscientiousness
• Extraversion
• Agreeableness
• Neuroticism

17. Five Factor Model

18. FIRO‐B:
• Devised by American psychologist, Will Schutz, in the 1950's
• Helps people to understand themselves and their
relationships with others
• Based on a 2‐hour, 54‐question questionnaire
• Describes interpersonal behavior in terms of three primary
dimensions:
– 1. Need for Inclusion
– 2. Need for Control
– 3. Need for Affection
FUNDAMENTAL INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP ORIENTATION‐BEHAVIOUR

19. FIRO‐B is used for:
Team building and team development
Leadership development
Training, coaching and mentoring
Executive coaching
Selection and placement
Relationship counseling
Education
Career counseling

20. MBTI:
Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator
• Based on theories of Gustav Jung
• Most widely‐used questionnaire based test
• Uses four bi‐polar dimensions
– Sensing –Intuition (SN)
– Thinking – Feeling (TF)
– Extraversion‐Introversion (E‐I)
– Judging‐Perceiving (J‐P)
• To create 16 ‘Personality Types’

21. MBTI is used for:
Team building and team development
Leadership development
Organizational Change
Training, coaching and mentoring
Executive coaching
Selection and placement
Relationship counseling
Education
Career counseling

22. The DISC Personality Model
• Developed in 1920s to understand ‘why people do what
they do’
• Simple questionnaire based
• Uses four categories of human behavioral styles
– "D" for Dominance‐Drive‐Direct,
– "I" for Influence
– "S" for Steadiness or Stability
– "C" for Compliant, Conscientious, or Cautious
Direct, Influencing, Steady and Compliant behaviors.

23. The DISC Four Quadrant Model

24. DISC is used for:
Team building and team development
Leadership development
Organizational Change
Training, coaching and mentoring
Executive coaching
Selection and placement
Relationship counseling
Education
Career counseling

25. 16 Personality Factor model
(16PF)
• Developed in the 1940s and refined in the 60s
• Attempts to define the basic underlying
personality
• Questionnaire based
• Analysis using 16 personality factors

26. 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
G Rule Consciousness Expedient Conscientious
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
Q1 Openness to Change Conservative Experimenting
Q2 Self-Reliance Group-dependent Self-sufficient
Q3 Perfectionism Self-conflict Self-control
Q4 Tension Relaxed Tense
The 16 factors
with their word
descriptors of
each scale

27. 16 PF is used for:
Team building and team development
Leadership development
Organizational Change
Training, coaching and mentoring
Executive coaching
Selection and placement
Relationship counseling
Education
Career counseling

28. BELBIN TEAM ROLE INVENTORY
• Used to place individuals in their most
effective team roles
• Categorises team roles under three
orientations:
– Action‐oriented roles
– People‐oriented roles
– Cerebral roles

29. The 9 Belbin Team Roles
Co-coordinator
Resource
Investigator
Team Worker
Shaper
Company
Worker/
Implementer
Completer/
finisher
Plant
Monitor/
Evaluator
Specialist

30. Belbin team profiling is used to:
• Create balanced working teams:
– 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

31. Dr. Meredith Belbin:
"Nobody is perfect ‐ but a
team can be"

32. SHL OPQ 32 Questioner
• The authors were Saville et al., including Roger
Holdsworth, Gill Nyfield, Lisa Cramp and Bill Mabey, and
they were launched by Saville and Holdsworth Ltd. in
1984.
• The series included the first commercially available Big
Five instrument.
• The OPQ measures 32 different personality traits that are
relevant to occupational settings.

33. OPQ Profile Report

34. OPQ32 is used for:
Team building and team development
Leadership development
Organizational Change
Training, coaching and mentoring
Executive coaching
Selection and placement
Relationship counseling
Education
Career counseling

35. Wave Professional Styles
• In 2007, Saville and colleagues carried out Wave
questionnaire
• In 2014, Salgado and Tauriz found that Saville Consulting
Wave is in the category of questionnaires whose scoring
design provides the most valid way to predict job
performance.
• The research indicates that rather than either a solely
normative (rating) or ipsative (ranking) approach,
questionnaires which steer a middle course between the
two approaches provide a method with greater validity

36. Wave Professional Styles

37. OPQ32 is used for:
Team building and team development
Leadership development
Organizational Change
Training, coaching and mentoring
Executive coaching
Selection and placement
Relationship counseling
Education
Career counseling

38. Aptitude and Ability Tests
• Designed to assess one’s logical reasoning or thinking
performance
• Usually consist of multiple choice questions,
administered under exam conditions
• Typical test might allow 30 minutes for 30 or so
questions
• At least 5000 aptitude and ability tests on the market
• On‐line testing increasingly popular

39. Types of aptitude and ability
tests
Psychometric Selection Tests
Personality
& Interest
Test
Types
Traits
Aptitude &
Ability Tests
Verbal Ability Tests
Numeric Ability Test
Abstract Reasoning Tests
Spatial Reasoning Tests
Mechanical Reasoning Tests
Data Checking Tests

40. For more information:
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
Websites
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
http://www.opp.co.uk