Few of us have escaped personality tests. Many have taken tests in the army, when considering a career or when looking for a job. Personality tests are based on psychometrics, a science that uses mathematics and statistics to measure psychological characteristics. 

At work, personality tests are used to support recruitment, improve teamwork and deepen understanding of employees' strengths. They provide insights into what team members are like or how they naturally behave in different situations. In this article, we will briefly review some common personality tests used in the workplace. See also our other articles for a more in-depth look at how personality tests can be used to develop a workplace team  

In the workplace, personality tests are sometimes also called tests that do not strictly measure personality but, for example, behaviours. In this article, I use the word personality test in its broad sense.

What do personality tests measure?

Personality tests are designed to assess an individual's behaviour, thinking and preferences in different situations. There is a huge variety of tests on the market - more than 2,500 different personality tests are available in the US alone. Their use is becoming increasingly common in organisations that want to use information about their employees to develop teams and recruit.

In the following, we briefly present some of the personality tests commonly used in Finland. 

1. Big Five 

The Big Five personality test is one of the best known and is based on the most widely accepted personality theory. The Big Five model has its roots in psychological research. Its strength lies in its empirical basis: it has been developed and validated through extensive research into human behaviour, personality traits and the links between them. The Big Five model is considered universal because studies have shown its validity across cultures and age groups. The Big Five is based on five key personality traits that are considered to be relatively stable over a person's lifetime. These traits are:

• • Neuroticism: a person's sensitivity to negative emotions such as stress, anxiety and depression.
  • Extraversion: the person's energy, sociability and outgoingness.
  • Openness to Experience: the tendency to be creative, curious and open to new ideas and experiences.
  • Agreeableness: a person's ability to be compassionate, cooperative and understanding of the feelings of others.
  • Conscientiousness: a person's orderliness, attentiveness and responsibility. 

The Big Five test is valued for its scientific basis and its broad cross-cultural validity. The test provides a comprehensive picture of an individual's personality, but its results can be complex to interpret without expert guidance. A version of the test based on the Big Five theory has been developed specifically for the workplace, the WorkPlace Big Five.

2. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) 

MBTI is based on Carl Jung's theory of psychological types. MBTI aims to describe how individuals experience the world and make decisions. The MBTI divides people into 16 different personality types, based on four dichotomous dimensions:

• • The extrovert (E) vs introvert (I) dimension describes the attitude towards the environment. Extroverts are oriented towards the outside world and draw energy from social interaction, while introverts draw energy from their own inner world and often prefer solitude or small groups.
  • The perceptual (S, sensing) vs. intuitive (N, iNtuition) dimension describes how an individual acquires knowledge. Sensing individuals focus on concrete facts and practical issues, while intuitive individuals rely more on abstract thinking, ideas and possibilities.
  • The thinking (T) vs. feeling (F) dimension describes what an individual's decisions are based on. The thinking type uses logical and objective analysis, while the feeling type makes decisions based more on emotions and values.
  • The spontaneous (P, perceiving) vs. judging (J, judging) dimension describes the life style: how an individual approaches life and plans. While reflective people like order, planning and making decisions in advance, spontaneous people are more flexible and prefer to adapt spontaneously to situations. 

By combining these four dimensions, 16 different personality types emerge. The MBTI is one of the best-known and most widely used tests in the world, but its scientific validity has been criticised. The test is said to be based on an outdated concept of personality. For example, personality traits do not necessarily fall clearly into the two extremes described by the MBTI (such as extrovert vs. introvert), but most people fall on a continuum between them. Test scores can be inconsistent over time. The test also ignores negative personality traits; all personality types are described positively. Nevertheless, the MBTI is widely used in areas such as teamwork development and leadership assessment.

3. DISC

The DISC test has its roots in behaviourism and focuses more on external behaviour than on deep personality traits than other tests. The DISC seeks to understand human behaviour through four main dimensions: 

• • Dominance (D) describes how determined and competitive a person is to achieve goals and how dominant a role he or she takes in the group.
  • Influence (I) describes a person's ability to influence other people and create social connections. 
  • Stability (steadiness; S) describes the response to change. 
  • Conscientiousness and accuracy (conscientiouness, C) describes a person's accuracy, methodicalness and tendency to follow rules.

DISC is more applied and practical in nature than many other personality theories. Although DISC is not as scientifically researched or widely accepted as, for example, the Big Five model, it is widely used in the workplace because of its practical approach.

4. The Belbin Team Role Test helps to analyse the roles of people in a team and the effectiveness of cooperation. It is based on research conducted by Meredith Belbin in the 1970s, in which she observed different teams and their performance. According to Belbin, people in each team naturally take on different roles, and the effectiveness of the team depends on how well these roles complement each other. Belbin divided team roles into three main categories, each with three different team roles: 

• • Roles: implementer, achiever and finisher
  • Thinking roles: ideator, evaluator and expert 
  • Interpersonal roles: coordinator, team player and resource researcher 

The test, based on Belbin's team role theory, is not a traditional personality test, but rather focuses on the behaviour of team members in teamwork. 

5. 16PF personality test 

Also known as the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, the personality test was developed by psychologist Raymond Cattell in the 1940s and 1950s. He used factor analysis to summarise the manifestations of human behaviour and personality into 16 key traits, each of which is described by a scale of the extent to which the individual represents that trait:

• • Warmth: friendly and compassionate vs. reserved and independent.
  • Reasoning: the ability to deal with complex issues and abstract thinking.
  • Emotional Stability: calmness and adaptability vs. emotional fluctuations and stress.
  • Dominance: assertive and dominant vs. cooperative and submissive.
  • Liveliness: energetic and spontaneous vs. deliberate and cautious.
  • Rule-Consciousness: following traditions and rules vs. independent and informal.
  • Social Boldness: outgoing and bold vs. shy and cautious in social situations.
  • Sensitivity: emotionally sensitive and intuitive vs. rational and practical.
  • Vigilance: sceptical and cautious vs. confident and open.
  • Abstractedness: abstract and focused on ideas vs. concrete and practical.
  • Privacy (Privateness): reserved and private vs. open and outspoken.
  • Fearlessness (Apprehension): self-critical and sceptical vs. confident and trusting.
  • Openness to Change: flexible and adaptable vs. conservative and routine-oriented.
  • Self-Reliance: independent and acting alone vs. cooperative.
  • Perfectionism: systematic and meticulous vs. flexible and informal.
  • Tension: highly tense and busy vs. relaxed and calm.

The 16PF test is described as being comprehensive and providing a broad view of a person's personality. On the other hand, it has been criticised for being rather complex to interpret.

6. Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) 

EQ-i is a test that assesses emotional intelligence, i.e. the ability to recognise, understand and manage your own emotions and interact effectively with others. One of the EQ-i tests used in Finland is based on the original Baro EQ-i model and focuses on five main areas: 

• • Self-Perception: the ability of a person to recognise their own feelings and strengths.
  • Interpersonal: establishing and maintaining social relationships, empathy.
  • Decision Making: the influence of emotional reactions on decisions.
  • Stress Management: the ability to cope with stress and adapt to pressure.
  • Emotional Expression: the ability to express emotions constructively. 

Emotional and social intelligence describes the ability to recognise the feelings, needs and experiences of others and to create and maintain cooperative, constructive and mutually satisfying relationships. The EQ-i is often used in the workplace to identify how individuals can develop their social skills and improve cooperation. It is used in leadership training and organisational development processes, for example. The test has also been criticised because it is not as well established as traditional personality tests in measuring emotional intelligence.

While the EQ-i can provide useful information about workplace functioning, caution should be exercised when interpreting its results, as concepts such as emotional intelligence are difficult to define and vary from individual to individual.

In addition to those described above, at least the following tests are also used in Finland, which are only briefly described here:

7. Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI). The test does not directly measure personality traits, but predicts their expression in social situations.

8. CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder): CliftonStrengths is a solution provided by Gallup to help identify an individual's strengths. The test focuses on developing and leveraging strengths in teamwork and leadership, making it popular for workplace coaching. 

9. Mirror: the mirror behaviour profile describes the different ways people behave. The mirror contains not only self-assessment but also feedback from other people on external behaviours. The Behavioural Profile has been criticised because its results can give a simplified picture of behaviour and interaction styles. Criticism has been levelled at the fact that the profile simplifies a person's behaviour and may fail to take into account the diversity of situations or how a person's behaviour changes in different environments.

10. The Enneagrams: the Enneagram test divides personalities into nine types and uses them to increase understanding of motives, behaviours and interaction patterns. The Enneagram is particularly useful to support self-awareness, but is also used in teams. The Enneagram is not based on scientific research and cannot be considered as a personality test. We included it in the presentation because it is used to some extent in the workplace.

What should you consider when choosing a test?

The personality traits most commonly used in business vary between being scientifically based and practical. Scientifically strong tests such as the Big Five and 16PF provide more in-depth insights into personality, while more practical tests such as the MBTI and DISC are popular because of their ease of use. It is important to choose a test that is reliable and scientifically validated. 

Before you decide to buy a psychological test, you should ask the representative of the test how the test has been validated, i.e. how its reliability has been tested. It is also worth noting the norm group of the test, which refers to the reference group to which each result is related. The norm group should be large enough and representative of the group for which you want to commission the test. A good norm group will match the population to be tested in terms of language, education and occupational group. For example, American CEOs may not be a valid reference point if you want to assess Finnish executives. 

The results of personality tests can vary from culture to culture, which affects their reliability. For example, openness and extroversion may manifest themselves differently depending on local values. It is important to use tests that have been validated in the target culture to ensure that the results are accurate and comparable.

Why should you use the tests?

Although there have been many valid criticisms of personality tests, they can produce positive results if chosen and used correctly. They can provide material for introspection. Exploring other personality types can help to illustrate the differences between personalities and thus help us to understand each other better and to work together more easily.

If you want to learn more about how different personality tests are used in organisations, read more here.