What Does Personality Testing Mean?
Personality testing, within the context of employee evaluation and pre-employment screening, is a type of psychological testing used by employers to evaluate prospective and current employees.
Common types of psychological testing used by employers include cognitive ability tests and personality tests.
While cognitive ability tests most often evaluate the test subject’s objective intelligence, personality tests are more subjective and designed to identify a person’s specific characteristics and traits. Personality tests may also be used to detect psychopathy or undesirable character traits. The results of this testing may then be used to assist an employer in evaluating a prospective or existing employee’s personality and temperament.
Personality testing is sometimes referred to as psychological testing, character testing, integrity testing, or personal inventory testing.
Workplace Testing Explains Personality Testing
Personality tests are usually designed by psychologists and require the test subject to self-report, or answer a series of question. The employee’s answers are then evaluated to identify the specific characteristics and traits of that person. Common tests include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the International Personality Item Pool test (IPIP-NEO test), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Kolbe Index.
Personality tests can be designed to identify a large number of characteristics or traits, or focus on just one or two specific traits.
Employers may use personality testing to screen out mentally unstable applicants or simply those who are not a good fit for the job.
Integrity or honesty tests are among the most common type of test administered to employees. In industries such as banking or security, honesty is an essential and highly sought after employee trait.