Psychometric Assessment Myth Buster

“Standard tests tell you everything you need to know” – BUSTED!

I guess the actual answer to this is, it depends what you want to find out. If you want an individuals perception of any given situation the yes standard testing will work, but only within the context of the individual. For example, if you asked a participant, ‘Are you tall or short?’ the answer you receive will be based on his or her own beliefs. Amongst their friends they maybe the tallest, but ask yourself this, how tall does tall have to be if all your friends are 5’4”?

The same applies to the question, ‘Are you good or bad at sport?’ The answer you receive will be the individuals own perception. If all their friends are terrible, they might perceive themselves in comparison to be quite good, however if they are friends with Steven Gerrard, Mo Farah or David Beckham they may think quite differently.

Standard testing will only give you results which show where the individual thinks they are. What their perception of themselves is. If you are truly trying to get to know what someone is like on a comparative scale then psychometric assessment is the way forward.

Psychometric assessment measures more than just self-perception. This form of assessment also takes in to consideration behavior by focusing on the how more that the what. For example, by undergoing this form or testing, often in a job interview scenario, your prospective employer can assess your strengths and weaknesses in relation to others who are going for the same job. By using psychometric assessment you’ll be able to tell if an individual will make a good sales person. Are they motivated by competition? Are they confident? Can they work to a deadline? By assessing these elements an employer will not only be able to see if they have the right qualities for the job but also where their areas of weakness are.

As you can see, standard testing definitely doesn’t tell you everything you need to know. Therefore this myth is busted!

*If you would like to incorporate psychometric assessment into your business or would just like to find out more about it, contact Hogrefe today. Trusted by brands such as Sainsbury’s and HSBC, they will help you obtain the best employees possible.