CHARACTER, PERSONALITY AND PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS

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CHARACTER, PERSONALITY AND PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS
Ed Lester School of Chemical, Environmental and
Mining Engineering University of Nottingham
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Fact

• Psychometric tests are used by more than 70 of
  large businesses
• Myers Briggs Type Indicator
• Strategic Alignment
• ABLE series
• CPI Personality Testing
• Big 5 or Five Factor Modelling

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What do these tests for?

• Tests for individuals like Myers Briggs are
  designed to be wholly without discrimination and
  can measure important aspects of peoples
  intellectual ability, personality and interests

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Are people genuinely different?

• People are different from each other and no
  amount of external internal pressure is going to
  change them nor is there any need

Fact?
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How do we differ?

• Want different things
• Different motives, purposes aims, values, needs,
  drives, impulses, urges
• Think, perceive understand differently
• Learn develop differently
• Relate to others differently

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Do we appreciate others differences?

• Are other people not quite right (should they be
  like us??)
• Pygmalion project is turning everyone else into
  ourselves

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The origins of character analysis

• Empedocles
• 5 century BC
• Humans are a microcosmic form of the macrocosmic
  theory of the four elements (earth, water, air,
  fire) and the four qualities (dry, wet, cold,
  hot).

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First real developments

• Hippocrates
• 4th century BC
• Father of Western Medicine
• Clever guy

Everyone is born fundamentally different
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Humours in the body (400BC)

• Phlegm, blood, yellow bile, black bile
• Choleric angry
• Phlegmatic apathetic, dull
• Melancholic gloomy, cynical
• Sanguine confident, hopeful, warm
• An imbalance meant you were
• ill humoured

These ideas held for 25 centuries! (sort of)
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Carl Jung

• Archaetypes
• People are different with different goals
• A universal range of instincts which are drawn on
  in different measures (function)

Overshadowed by Freud and Watsons theories
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Jung - 1920s
Extraversion vs Introversion 4 basic
psychological types
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• 1960s
• SPs Artisans (38)
• SJs Guardians (45)
• NFs Idealists (10)
• NTs Rationals (7)

• 4BC
• Choleric
• Phlegmatic
• Melancholic
• Sanguine

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It amounts to

• our flow of energy
• how we take in information
• how we prefer to make decisions
• the basic day-to-day lifestyle that we prefer

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• Our Flow of Energy -stimulation.
• Do we receive it from within ourselves
  (Introverted) or from external sources
  (Extraverted)? Is our dominant function focused
  externally or internally?
• How we take in Information - our preferred method
  of taking in and absorbing information.
• Do we trust our five senses (Sensing) to take in
  information, or do we rely on our instincts
  (iNtuitive)?

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• How we make Decisions do we decide things based
  on logic and objective consideration (Thinking),
  or based on our personal, subjective value
  systems (Feeling).
• How we deal with the external world on a
  Day-to-day Basis - are we organized and
  purposeful, and more comfortable with scheduled,
  structured environments (Judging), or are we
  flexible and diverse, and more comfortable with
  open, casual environments (Perceiving)?

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SPs (Sensing, Perception )

• SPs are freedom loving and are born with a
  predisposition for the release of impulses
  through action.
• They are masters of focusing on the immediate
  situation and seekers of excitement, gravitating
  toward sports and similar activities.
• They consequently tend to surround themselves
  with fun-loving and spontaneous individuals who
  share their need for risk taking and adventure

more
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NTs (iNtuitive Thinkers)

• The NT is born with a predisposition for
  acquiring knowledge and competence.
• With an eye for gaining mastery and control of
  their surroundings, the NT seeks out solutions to
  the most complex problems.
• Intellectual consideration of theoretical and
  abstract subjects occupies their minds and
  dominates their actions.
• They are typically involved with projects that
  call for innovation, vision, and creativity.

more
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NFs (iNtuitive Feeling)

• The NF is born with a predisposition for pursuing
  self-actualisation and a tendency to focus on the
  personal, humane, and subjective sides of life.
• Relationships and interactions with the self and
  others are a valued and meaningful focus for NFs.
  They continually seek to fulfil human potential
  and growth through their enthusiasm and warmth.
• Approaching others with a romantic and
  imaginative outlook, NFs strive for ideal
  relationships and excellent interpersonal
  communication skills.

more
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SJs (Sensing, Judging)

• SJs are born with a predisposition to seek
  belonging through service. This makes them
  responsible, dependable, loyal, and generally
  obedient.
• With a firm grasp of reality, SJs are
  down-to-earth and concerned with the security of
  the future.
• They support time-honoured institutions, such as
  marriage, school, family, church, and civic
  organizations, with care and respect for
  tradition.

more
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Does it work?
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1950s

• Isabel Myers and Kathryn Briggs took Jung's ideas
  and added Judging and Perceiving to form 8
  Functions

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NF
NT
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SJ
SP
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16 classes in all
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Successful because

• Some truth in it
• Myers not a psychologist
• It was simple

Slagged off because

• Only some truth in it
• Myers not a psychologist
• It was simple

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Your scores
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Engineers need to work in teams

• "As a manager in football, I have never been
  interested in simply sending out a collection of
  brilliant individuals. There is no substitute for
  talent but, on the field, talent without unity is
  a hopelessly devalued currency."
• Sir Alex Ferguson
• December 2001

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How should we create groups?

• 26 groups of three were put together based on the
  Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) results
• The candidates were predominantly chemical
  engineering undergraduates
• A specially devised electronic version of MBTI
  test was written
• NT, SJ, SP and NF
• Time spent on each question.

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Engineering Temperament?
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Its good to talk
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Does Temperament affect performance in a group?
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What is good group practice?

• Equality in the total number of events (including
  actions and utterances)
• Satisfaction afterwards
• Rate of Success
• Share of Successes and Failures
• TEAM IDEALITY IS THE SUM OF ALL FOUR PARAMETERS.
  VALUES CLOSEST TO 0 INDICATE THE MOST IDEAL GROUP
  BEHAVIOUR

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What about assessment of performance in groups?
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Only 12 out of the 26 groups could unanimously
agree who contributed the least to the exercise
and only 14 out of the 26 groups could agree on
who contributed the most.
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76 of peer assessments were within 10 of actual
whereas only 69 of self assessments were within
10 of actual.
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Conclusions

• Some form of feedback seems a good idea,
• Creating groups based on character type is
  complex but might become one of the tools used to
  avoid forming disaster groups
• It is apparent that SJs (Guardians) and NTs
  (Rationals) are the most common types in chemical
  engineering. Groups that utilised 2 SJs and 1 NT
  appear to perform well. Groups with 3 SJs or a
  mix of types have much more variable
  performances. .

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Conclusions2

• The most decisive characters within a group
  receive the best peer assessed marks.
• It is clear that good group practice does not
  correlate to rate of success. Some groups succeed
  possibly at the expense of the function of the
  group