Comparing Personality Test Results And Their Validity

Overview of Three Personality Tests: IPIP Test, Hexaco Scale, and BFI 10

1. While comparing the results of the three inventories we can always choose the common fields that are present in all the three inventories. The size of the sample (mini or big) has a role to play in the comparison. Mini size questionnaires churn up honest data because of the more engagement of the respondent. However, they limit the field of the calculations. On a collective level, I can pick up the trait of the Openness and its subheads like creativity, unconventional approach, inquisitiveness and aesthetic senses for the purpose of the comparison. Another area is the area of agreeableness where factors like Forgiveness, gentleness, flexibility, and patience can be put on the same scale for some observations.

On the scale of the openness, my ipip test report shows a scoring range of 54-35. Hexaco scale on the other hand also shows the same range with 54-33. The variable of 2 SD is manageable because Hexaco scale does not include the additional fields that are present in ipip. Even then it shows that the results are almost identical, the comparison of the two models consolidates this fact and the basic principles behind the assessment completely.

Here we should not forget the fact that the respondent is the same and he is responding to the same factors and facets. If the numbers behind the results are identical or almost similar then it adds accuracy in the result. The sample mean of Openness in BFI 10 is 3.5, the mean of the results of IPIP and Hexaco is also 3.5. Although the BFI 10 handles fewer variables even then it indicates that the state of mind of the respondent was steady while answering all the three inventories.

While having a look at the results of the Agreeableness, we find a difference in findings. IPIP test shows the variable on the higher side with the value of 3.9 whereas on the lower side it has the value of 3.04 on the hexaco scale, the scale is small and this difference shows that Hexaco scale is handling more facets and certain traits of the personality may differ in me or I may react differently under the influence of certain conditions that are not covered in ipip observation.

 IPIP Neo Factors and Facets, the T count chart

2. The results of the three profiles are just the same in the case of the Openness. I am passing through a phase where the flexibility of my ideas and opinions is one area where I need to work most. It is the learning phase of my life and I am bound to commit mistakes. All the three inventories give me a score in the range of 3.5 in their final score sheet based on the average solutions. Once again it shows that while answering the questions my state of the mind was stable and identical. Since I went through a test on three different scales, I was subjected to three different conditions and three different set of questions in three different environments. A similar score clearly establishes the validity of the inventories.   It shows a higher value of the medians in the two variables of the IPIP scale; however, this value never touches above 3.4 in Hexaco.  However, when we round off the calculations it touches the level of 3.5. On the scale of the variables, Hexcao handles more variables. It also gives us the idea that the numerical values of the traits that are missing in IPIP are present in the main framework of the questionnaire. We cannot calculate them separately, but they are present in the main sum.  The similarity in the results clearly shows that in my case both the tests are different paths to reach on the same destination.

Comparison of Openness and Agreeableness Traits in Different Tests

3. Time is a big factor, the state of the mind of a person while answering the questions is another factor that can be counted as a variable. In my case, we can take the example of openness. Aesthetic appreciation is one area that can change from time to time and reflect on my moods, negatively and positively. The language of the questions is another criterion; many persons may have different opinions about certain questions during different phases. All the three inventories are very long.  An overtly alert person may juxtapose a fair bit of personality. This framework demands instinctive analysis of the facts. A mentally alert person or the awareness levels of an individual can change the complexion of the results.

Many studies have been done already were based on the empirical results we can say that lengthy questionnaires can force a person to lose the patients and after a time it becomes a job that he just wants to finish. Certain questions might sound repetitive, though they are different in nature. In the similar fashion sometimes a person may oversight the actual intention of the question. My personal experience suggests that survey question seems longer for the attention span of an individual. The initial enthusiasm fizzles out once we cross the first two pages. Apart from it the mindset of the person appearing for the test also plays a big role in the selection of the answers. A slightly angry person may react differently to the questionnaire. A happy person may have a different set of opinion about himself.

The role of the test taker becomes very important in this case. The brief prior to the test can play a crucial role. An overly informed individual can come up with some smart answers. On the other hand, an ignorant subject takes it a little too easy and the purpose of the test may get defeated.

My ability to control my emotions was one area where the result of the psychometric analysis was not matching my actual personality. It is a variable behavior for me. It keeps on changing in accordance with the external factors. A steady report may fail in judging the extraversion profile. The extraversion may vary from point to point. Sometimes you feel elated after winning great marks in an exam and you approach things differently. Sometimes you score badly in a baseball match and the sense of losing an opportunity to show your skills with bat brings you on a low. The activity level of a person is dependent on the fact that how the things are moving around on him. As a player, if you are making good runs and middling the ball well then you tend to play risky shots. It is a kind of extraversion in the field. Good grades in the mid-term exams promote you to spend more time with the books, it is an increase of activity levels in a certain direction. Extraversion is also dependent on the external atmosphere, sometimes your teacher and coaches can motivate you to do better even during a rough patch. Sometimes your peers may distract you and force you to kill time with them and kill the activity levels. It happens to me, it is a variable where the values keep on changing.  My self-knowledge gives me an idea that this particular profile of personality is not stable and this is why the results of the inventories may vary if we give the test during different time intervals.

4. Let’s be honest about it, in front of a clinician or an employer we try to project a personality. We try to come up as the suitable candidate. It is an alert reaction. Let’s think about the facets of neuroticism. The neuroticism trait can be judged under extreme conditions. In general, under the formal settings, we all try to maintain decorum and we are more tolerant. The real personality traits come into the fray when we are in the seat of the command or during the spur of the moment when the things are not going our way. For instance, the level of neurotic behavior may be different when a passenger will complain about the delay in a flight due to bad weather. Now let’s put the same passenger in the role of a flight attendant, things will change drastically. The results of the inventories can be compared with the mileage claims of the passenger cars. Under the test conditions they always give their best, however, the result varies once they are on the road. As a person, when I am facing a clinician or an employer, I am under test conditions; I am bound to fake a few things. Neurotic behavior is one such example. In the case of an employer, I am setting a standard of the personality traits and behavior and I am bound to follow that pattern throughout my job tenure because it is a kind of commitment that I have done to my employer.