Small Business Today Magazine MAR 2015 IMPACT STONE DESIGN | Page 21

EDITORIALFEATURE

The Pros and Cons of

Using Psychometric Tests
By Dr John Demartini

P

sychometric tests such as the popular Myers-Briggs test, the Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the
Five-Factor Model (aka Big 5), or the
Personality and Preference Inventory were
inspired in part by Carl Jung’s quadrant of
personality types involving four dichotomies and resulting in 16 types:  Extraversion (E), Sensing (S),Thinking (T), Judgment
(J), Introversion (I), Intuition (N), Feeling (F),
and Perception (P).

Although such general psychometric
testing, typological testing, and typing of
individuals has a correlation with certain
behaviors in specific and isolated contexts
and settings that could apply to working
environments, such generalized typing can
overall be misleading to individuals and organizations.  This form of typing offers the
perception that individuals are dominantly
one dimensional with a fixed, predictable
quadrant or type.

Most individuals can vary under different settings or environments and display
or demonstrate a full range or spectrum
of traits and types.  Although these tests
can be entertaining at times, they are only
partly useful, they can be misleading, and
they can lead to pigeonholing.

Psychometric tests have been designed
to reveal how individuals respond to a series of questions.  It presumes that they
dominantly function under the assumed
settings.  However, such voluntary self-assessments can be misleading because
not all individuals will display honesty and
true self-reflection even though they are
expected to do so.  Many individuals do
not always see themselves the way they
actually are.  Psychometric tests cannot
tell testers how an individual might re-

Psychometric tests will
only offer a general
possible indicator of an
individual’s
personality.  How
congruent the job
description and mission
of the organization is with
the individual’s highest
values or priorities is a
much greater indicator
of their resultant
personality, work ethic,
managerial potential,
productivity, and
cultural fit.
act and respond to various work-related
matters at certain settings.  Their answers
will depend on the hierarchy of the individual’s values, their degree of congruency
between th Z\