Psychometric Assessments - a peek inside the person

What do you think & feel about personality and behavioral assessments?  Are they useful to you?  Can you share them with others to help improve your relationships?  Do you have the courage to put your personality on display for your collaborators to inspect?

Well I thought I'd try to open the kimono to see if it helps me...

I've studied Psychometric assessments and some I find useful, some I feel are just a step to the left from astrology charting.  Yet might not be harmful for self reflection.  I've also found that it takes an expert to explain the tools and reports such that a layperson can understand and make positive use of the assessment and it's report.  And while I've been "certified" is some of these tools/technique I do not practice them enough to be competent - and my pitch is akin to a snake-oil salesman.

One issue with these assessments was made clear to me when I heard the Invisibilia NPR show on The Personality Myth.  "We like to think of our own personalities - and those of our spouses, children and friends - as predictable and constant over time. But what if they aren't? In this episode, Alix Spiegel visits a prison to explore whether there is such a thing as a stable personality. And Lulu Miller asks whether scientists can point to a single thing about a person that doesn't change over time. The answer might surprise you."


Here's Carl Jung on the topic: "Psychological type is nothing static — it changes in the course of life." - via Brainpickings.org (1959 BBC video).

All assessments measure a moment in time.  If you believe that humans are capable of any modicum of change over time - then the logical conclusion is that the assessment has little validity, because the person has changed.  Now if this is too far fetched for your current belief system - listen to the Personality Myth, Invisibilia show and then answer the question again after you have the opportunity to learn and change.

To see the effects of situation upon the personality look into Walter Mischel's research and invalidation of the whole Personality Test Industry in 1960s with his book Personality and Assessment.  Look at the real purpose behind the Marshmallow Test.  "People are fundamentally flexible." (Listen at 41:45 Invisibillia The Personality Myth)

Muppet's on Self Control via Steven Colbert.  (Not what the experiment was investigating ... but funny none the less.)

Now a Look into the Mind of the Person

Here is my DiSC Classic profile:

DiSC Classic by Wiley

Here is my Trimetric assessment (DiSC, EQ, Motivation) by Abelson Group

DiSC Wheel

Motivators Wheel

Emotional Quotient Wheel

Here is my Myers Briggs Type Indicator - Level II assessment:

MBTI Level One

MBTI Level II reports

Here is my EQ 2.0 - Emotional Intelligence:

EQ 2.0 by

TalentSmart, Inc.

Here is my Action & Influence report:

Here is my Personalysis assessment:

Personalysis assessment

Here is my Strengths Finder 2.0 by Gallup (Tom Rath) assessment (2012):

• Learner
• Self-Assurance
• Arranger
• Ideation
• Relator

See Also:

This Huge Study Is The Best Evidence Yet That Your Personality Changes Over Time by Chris Weller You're gonna be different when you're old.

 

Authentic Happiness - resources in Positive Physiology - 20 assessments

Martin Seligman TED talk on Positive Physiology

Most Personality Quizzes Are Junk Science. I Found One That Isn’t By Maggie Koerth-Baker

Personalisis assessment Reviewed

MBTI Level II assessment Reviewed

Psychometric testing resources

British Psychological Society’s Psychological Testing Centre (PTC) provides information and services relating to standards in tests and testing for test takers, test users, test developers and members of the public.

National Cultural Studies - assessments at the meta level - the personality and behaviors of nations.

Wish to take a few assessments - PersonalityLab.Org