Psychometric tests can assist in selection, personal development, team-building, succession planning, skills auditing and more.
Individuals interested in their own development also find it helpful to have objective feedback of their strengths and weaknesses and benefit from increased self-awareness.
There are many types of test, but typically a battery of tests may cover:
general mental ability - measures a person's ability to understand and draw conclusions from verbal, numerical and spatial information. Intelligence tests assess basic reasoning skills which a person can employ in problem solving of many kinds
aptitude - gauges an individual's potential to acquire specific new learning - how easily a person could acquire knowledge and skills not currently possessed e.g. programming, mechanical, clerical
achievement - discovers what a person already knows - his or her current level of knowledge or skill in a specific area
motivation - highlights key values and priorities - the needs and drivers accounting for why a person may respond in a particular way
personality - identifies aspects of temperament, character and behaviour - e.g. the Occupational Personality Questionnaires (OPQ) used to assess typical or preferred behaviour relevant to the world of work; The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) used in individual and team development; Firo Element B seen as a powerful approach to understanding and working with interpersonal relationships; Cattell's 16PF used at all levels of staff selection and development; Hogan's ‘The Bright Side' exploring typical styles of social interaction, and ‘The Dark Side' exploring responses under pressure and stress.
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