About Psychological Tests
A psychological test measures one or several of a person’s characteristics. A good test is based on scientific research, is structured in such a way that it truly measures what it is supposed to measure and the results do not change between test times.
Relationship between behaviour and characteristic
A psychological test is based on statistical relationships between a certain behaviour, such as the tendency to answer yes to a certain type of question, and an inherent characteristic within the person. Finding these relationships and measuring them in a reliable way is a complex science in itself and many pitfalls exist. In order to ensure that our tests really work Assessio therefore has a test development department of its own. |
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Is it possible to cheat a test?
First of all it is important to point out that the vast majority of people answer truthfully on psychological tests. Research has shown that very few actually try to cheat.
Naturally it is possible to try to give a different picture of oneself, just like at an interview, but it is very difficult to influence the complex picture that a psychological test gives. One might be able to change the results on one or two scales. Besides, most tests are constructed in such a way that they check if you are answering in a consistent manner. It is therefore possible to judge whether or not you are answering the questions truthfully.
But why give an incorrect picture of yourself? Even if it’s a recruitment situation, you don’t know what characteristics the organisation is looking for. The traditional perception of the job might not coincide with the needs of the company at all. Besides, you will never enjoy doing a job you are now suited for.
Measure the correct thing
It is important to use a test that truly gives the support one needs in order to be able to make a decision. If one wants to use test results in recruitment, the test must measure characteristics that influence work performance. If the test is being used as part of leadership development, it is instead important to get as full a picture as possible of the characteristics that are important for how the person acts in her/his leadership role.
Remove your glasses!
The great advantage with using psychological tests in HR is that this, used together with other assessments, gives you an objective, non-prejudiced ground upon which to base decisions. Regardless of how good a judge of people one is, one always sees the own surroundings through individual “glasses”. It has also been shown that our perception of others is largely formed at the first meeting and is based on things such as looks, fragrance and preconceived ideas – we then rationalise our gut feelings to ourselves using different logical constructs.
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