Psychology : Psychometric Report

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PSYCHOMETRIC WORKSHOP - FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK

STEP 1 - SELF ASSESSMENT Look carefully at your Personality and EQ profiles. Using the questions below, indicate whether or not you have fulfilled the criteria. These are the ranges you should have interpreted:

Below 30 = VERY LOW

30-39 = LOW

40-44 = LOW AVERAGE

45-54 = AVERAGE

55-60 = HIGH AVERAGE

61-70 = HIGH

Above 70 = VERY HIGH

GENERAL POINTS

Put a circle around the appropriate response.

• Does the Factor/Domain have a heading that gives the score and the range this falls into? Y/N

• Are these scores accurately categorised? Y/N (see screen)

• Are the scores presented as standardised T scores, not raw scores? Y/N

• Is the consultant comment/client reply clearly differentiated? Y/N

• Has the consultant correctly interpreted the client’s personality according to the range it falls into? Y/N o Average – a blend of attributes, a mixed style, much like most people – situational influences will impact on

responses to the environment

o Low or high average – a blend of attributes, generally a mixed style but a tendency towards one way of thinking and acting compared to most people – situational influences will be seen in the client’s response to the environment but there will be a general preference for one alternative in terms of style

o Outside average range – a distinct preference and style of personality will be seen. Either one bipolar alternative or the other will be likely to pervade behaviour regardless of situational influences. Where the score is well outside the average range (very high or very low) this factor of personality will be a dominant aspect of the personality and this should be reflected in the profile.

PROFILES

• Has the consultant explained what the scores mean in terms of the client’s predicted behaviour, rather than just giving their score and category? Y/N

• Does the profile mention how the client would relate to workplace or job-related issues? Y/N

• Has the consultant used ‘qualifiers’ in the statements to the client (may be, suggests, is likely to…) particularly where the client is in the average range? Y/N

• Has the consultant pointed out the strengths of the client’s score first, as much as possible? Y/N • How many ‘traits’ from the factor of personality are presented in the profile?

o 1 only / between 2 and 4 / 5 and over

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• Has the consultant given a balanced profile, referring the client to challenges as well as strengths (particularly if the profile is outside the average range)?

• Has the consultant explained in simple terms the area of emotional intelligence? Y/N IF:

• If the EQ profile score is low, has the consultant explained that this can be developed? Y/N • If the EQ profile score is average, has the consultant explained that this is good? Y/N

CLIENT REPLY

• Has the client given an example of behaviour that relates to the profile? Y/N • Are the examples provided by the client contemporary (i.e. not from childhood) Y/N • Are the examples provided by the client related to the workplace (as much as possible)? Y?N

• Do the client’s responses to the consultant ‘match’ what the consultant has told them, rather than the client’s comments coming ‘out of thin air’? Y/N

• Does the client appear to know more than the consultant about traits likely to be displayed within the factor? Y/N • Has the client just repeated what the consultant has said (i.e. they have presented no novel information)? Y/N

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STEP 2 - PROFILE ASSESSMENTS Profile 1:

Profile 2:

Profile 3:

Profile 4:

Conscientiousness: Score 64 - High Sabrina‘s score for conscientiousness is high compared with the sample population of students. This implies that Sabrina is more conscientious than other students in the sample population. Thus Sabrina is more likely to be more reliable, punctual and determined than other students in the study. Sabrina is likely to be a neat and tidy person liking her environment and personal life to be ordered and well planned, as a result she may be very hard to please and fussy, this may result in Sabrina at times annoying others. Due to Sabrina’s determination and strong will she is focused and works hard towards her life goals, coupled with this will to succeed it is likely that Sabrina is a high academic and occupational achiever. SCORE:

Sabrina agrees that the analysis of her conscientiousness is highly accurate and summarises this aspect of her personality very well. Sabrina admits she is a very punctual person and in fact is not only punctual yet is always early for any appointment as she does not like the stress of being late or letting anybody down. Sabrina explains that she is very reliable and dependable and always will carry something through once she has committed to it. Sabrina admits she has always been and neat and tidy and admits she will never leave the house without the pots washed and her clothes ironed. Sabrina explains close friends and family have identified this trait in Sabrina and is known as a compulsively tidy person. Sabrina agrees she is very strong willed and determined and has always been an academic achiever, which she attributes to her conscientious and hard working nature more so than natural ability. SCORE:

Extraversion: Score 63 - High According to the IPIP test, my client had score a raw score of 63 on the extraversion section and had therefore according to the interpretation of it had suggested that if you are high in ‘extraversion’ then you are seen to be a warm, generous, assertive person with positive emotions. Whereas if you are an introvert, you are seen to be rather unfriendly, independent and do prefer to be alone although they may not necessarily be suffering from social anxiety. Regarding Sylvie’s score of 63, she is considered to have score quite close to the average score of 50 and is said to quite extravert person. SCORE:

Asking Sylvie her opinions on these results, she had agreed that she does see herself as being quite a friendly, generous person who does live with positive emotions. SCORE:

Agreeableness: Score 57 – High Average For agreeableness, Tammy’s standardised score was 57, when compared to the average score for undergraduates, which is 50; this score is slightly above making it an high average score. This score means that Tammy agrees with others more than most of her peers and is more sympathetic and eager to help others. SCORE:

After hearing the results for agreeableness, the client agreed that she does tend to agree with others and finds they influence her behaviour a fair bit. She also said that she was not surprised to have a slightly higher score on agreeableness than most of her peers. SCORE:

NEUROTICISM = SCORE 52: AVERAGE Linda’s score for neuroticism is average compared with other undergraduates. This indicates that Linda has a similar level of neuroticism and is likely to feel negative feelings such as fear, anger, guilt and embarrassment on some occasions yet be calm, even tempered and relaxed on others. It is likely that as Linda’s emotional stability may vary depending on the situation she may feel less able to control her feelings in one situation yet in another she may find herself calm and able to deal with difficulties. Linda at times may be able to cope with stresses well but again this may vary depending on the situation and circumstances. SCORE:

Linda agrees with the critique regarding her neuroticism. She feels her emotional stability greatly differs with the situation. She is able to control her emotions well and keep very calm in professional circumstances, such as interviews; even in confrontational situations she is good at remaining level headed without letting her emotions surface. However in her personal life Linda admits that she can be very different and can become stressed and upset quickly, particularly with her partner. Linda feels that her emotional control can sit at opposite ends of the spectrum for neuroticism so feels an average score overall is accurate. SCORE:

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Profile 5:

Profile 6:

Profile 7:

Profile 8: EIQ

Openness to Experience: Score 76 - High My client Geena score on ‘openness’ which was of 76 compared to on undergraduate average of 72.55 had suggested that she was quite an imaginative and have an independent judgement on things. SCORE:

My client had not necessarily agreed with these particular results but didn’t really complain.

SCORE:

Conscientiousness: Score 39 - Low Joan’s standardised score for Conscientiousness is 39, which is a low score compared with the rest of the sample of undergraduate psychology students. This means that Joan is likely to put pleasure before duty and is not thoroughly persistent when striving to achieve her goals. She is probably lacking a little in self-discipline and is not too worried about order and details but prefers the big picture and is easy going. SCORE:

When told about her score, my client Joan readily admitted that she is a “last minute person” but found the thought that most of her peer students were more conscientious than her difficult to believe. She told me that she usually achieves her goals and was seen as an organised and meticulous person during her time working in management. Joan suspects the amount of conscientiousness she shows may well depend on the situation and where it really matter she is meticulous and organised. SCORE:

Resilience: Score 42 - Low For this particular domain the client’s T-score of 42, is a below average score in comparison to the standardised mean of the sample population. This below average score indicates that the client may perhaps become overwhelmed when faced with a complication, and could possibly happen to be dissuaded to continue and to achieve their desired outcome. Furthermore, it may also be a sign that the client may need support from peers, this including encouragement and praise, as the client could possibly be deficient in internal motivation. The client may also have a lack of patience when things are slow to prorgess and could perhaps have an internal struggle when deferring immidiate grastification, instead going for the long haul for perhaps a better outcome and to achieve long- term goals. SCORE:

In retort to the above appraisal of the resilience domain, Chantelle had said she agrees to a certain level that she does on occassion become overwhelmed when faced with a complication when concerning a task, the example Chantelle proved is that of her academic education. Chantelle stated that when working a piece of coursework at her university library, if there are no available computers to complete her work on, she will then go home and not commence the work, whereas she should actually find another piece of work that does not need a computer, or to ocmplete the work home using her own personal laptop, which Chantelle has a a great struggle with doing without the encouragement and support of her fellow peers. However, when further disscussed Chantelle stated she has also produce a mental line between home and education, and does not like the two merging together as she says that this overwhelms her too much and then struggles to seperate the two again. Chantelle also agreed that she does on occurrence have the need for praise for her work, and encouragement regardless of the source, because she believes that this increases her resilience to want to do better in her efforts and to attain the best results and outcome. The client also relayed that praise and positive encouragement increases her confidence in her own ability to complete tasks and to be the best she could be in certain situations. SCORE:

Extraversion: Score = 52: Average Mark’s average score of 52 for Extraversion is a flexible score, meaning he can display many positive elements of this factor. Mark’s score means he is a talkative social person who likes the company of others and is comfortable in large groups, while being able to assert himself amongst his peers. Mark’s score indicates that he is a positive person to be around, who likes excitement, with lots of energy and a positive attitude. His positivity is a great asset to have in a work place environment and can be an additional benefit to others in his team. Having an average score in Extraversion is also associated with ambiversion. This means that in addition to Mark being an actively social person, he can also enjoy quiet moments by himself not needing or desiring to be amongst peers. He will moderate how much time he spends with people. He will appear comfortable in all social situations even if internally he does not feel so. Moreover, if he does feel truly comfortable he will appear like an extrovert.

Client reply: Mark thought the idea of being an ambivert very interesting and thought it actually described him accurately. Mark describes himself as a social person with many friends, and people who are very comfortable around him. However, he does not always want or need people to be in his company, often finding solace in his own company. He particularly thinks that when he is not comfortable in his surroundings he can be very quiet, taking time to warm up to the people around him: equally, at times he is very talkative. Generally, he enjoys people and their company, therefore he agrees with these statements. SCORE: SCORE:

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Profile 9: EIQ

Profile 10: EIQ

Profile 11: EIQ

Profile 12: EIQ

Communication The score for communication is 57, compared to the average this is slightly above average. This suggests Stephen may be open to expressing his emotions, but this may be just among close people like friends and family. It suggests he may be able to cope with emotional situations better than his peers. SCORE:

Stephen agreed that he does tend to open up with his emotions but only with his friends and his sister and he also agreed that he is able to cope with emotional situations more than his friends and he is always someone people find it easy to turn to. SCORE:

Foundations: Score 63: High Maya’s standardised score for Foundations is high even compared to psychology undergraduates and indicates that she knows who she is and what she wants in her life. In all probability she has learned to trust her own judgement and does not constantly question her decisions. Her perception of herself is quite accurate; she is able to be emotionally objective. This is demonstrated in the fact that she is acquainted with her own strengths and can separate her own shortcomings from those of others. This high score would suggest she has a strong foundation of emotional knowledge about herself. SCORE:

My client could relate well to what was said above, she feels that has a good understanding of herself, including her shortcomings and recalls her work experience where she worked comfortably with other people and did not take other’s problems on board. Maya agrees that she generally trusts herself to make decisions and this is an aspect of emotional strength. SCORE:

COMMUNICATION: Score = 59: High Average

As far as the dimension of Communication is concerned, the score indicates that John appears to be amongst the most comfortable of his peers in regards to ways of communicating and expressing emotionally himself to others. Furthermore, the client is likely to possess the competence to express his emotions in appropriate ways that will allow him to acquire positive outcomes, being able to identify the type of response and the exact approach demanded in each particular situation. In addition, the score is also likely to indicate that my client feels confident with managing intense emotions in others, presenting the belief that his abilities allow him to handle irrational and demanding situations effectively without showing that he is annoyed.

SCORE:

Client reply

John generally agreed with the above description. He stressed that he is feeling comfortable with expressing himself to the others, while he conveyed the belief that this is the only way towards the attainment of a climate of mutual understanding and trust with other persons in the workplace. John noted that he enjoys offering help to other people, feeling comfortable that he can help them to rationalise intense emotions and negative thoughts. The client further noted that an indicative example could be the ‘role’ that he possesses among his friends, since he is the first person to be approached when a friend is experiencing an emotional situation. The client also noted that he perceives himself as a person capable of adjusting his emotions appropriately in each situation in order to obtain positive outcomes, highlighting that this is possible as long as the nature of this outcome is not violating his moral values.

SCORE:

Self-Insight = 65: High

Mina’s score indicates that she understands hers’ and others’ emotions more than most undergraduates. She has the ability to recognise and be aware of her own moods and drives and be familiar with the reasons behind her behaviour. Generally, the perception of her emotional state might help her articulate her own emotions to herself and others. Apart from her own self, she can also appreciate others’ feelings well, and this understanding can help her interact better with other people, which could be very beneficial in a working environment. She most likely has knowledge with regards to negative feelings and it is highly possible that she has developed internal mechanisms to cope with them, having identified the emotional triggers in her life. SCORE:

Client Reply My client was not surprised with the score at all, stating that she has always found herself being aware of her own and others’ feelings. She acknowledges that this ability has been very helpful in her working career, and in many occasions, she would be able to interact with others better, being able to recognise other’s emotions. She also admitted that she thinks she has developed internal mechanisms to cope with the emotional state she might be in, depending on different occasions.

SCORE:

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TO CONSIDER:

What strengths or weaknesses do you think were evidenced in these profiles?

Which were the best overall – i.e. fulfilled the requirements of the task? Which were immediate fails and why?

Can you identify elements of good practice from these profiles?

STEP 3 - APPLIED FOCUS

These are real examples of student work from previous years. None are perfect, but some are really good. Others have serious problems.

Can you identify examples of:

n Unsupported / supported statements n Clear and concise guidance / waffle n Negativity / positivity n Appropriate examples / inappropriate examples n Poor grammar which spoils the flow and content

THIS IS AN EXERCISE THAT YOU CAN DO IN YOUR OWN TIME AS WELL! PROOF READING IS ESSENTIAL! SAMPLE 1

n As Coleen is aiming to be research psychologist, competence is a vital skill to have. She needs to be able to successfully apply her knowledge and willingness to continue learning. As Colleen’s score indicate, she has a high drive in addition to average score for openness that allows her to be proactive in gaining opportunities to learn. Her high levels of conscientiousness allows her to be organised and prepared for tasks; whilst her high score on self-insight allows her judge her capability for each set task to ensure successful completion.

SAMPLE 2

n The primary use of five factor personality testing is that it can be used as a predictor for behaviour within a workplace environment. Previous supporting research, Hussain et al. (2011), suggests that Jean’s aptitudes in a job role are her interpersonal skills. A high score for conscientiousness would make Jean a good candidate for a managerial role, this factor, coupled with high extraversion and openness could indicate an ability to excel within a role that requires an ability to communicate well with others and assert authority when necessary. To further strengthen her potential Jean should look to challenging her neurotic tendencies so as to improve her tolerance of stress in any job she takes in future.

SAMPLE 3

n Tony aim is to become a child psychologist. The psychology profession requires high levels of organizational skills and willingness for further development. Tony score of drive fell into the normal range of psychology students, meaning that he has a good sense of self-motivation and resilience. When motivated he is also very resourceful and eager to learn new things. His very low score on conscientiousness however, may indicate that in order to succeed it is a good idea to further develop his time management skills and his organizational skills. When facing a major challenging or a demanding project, it will be critical for him to maintain high levels of energy and motivation. Taking step to maintain good accountability and support will help to keep him focused and energized through the tasks.

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SAMPLE 4

n Reema would like to pursue a career in psychological research with goal of achieving a doctorate. Reema’s high score on Conscientiousness would be a key strength for such a career since it is likely to require self-discipline and fastidiousness. This combined with her high average score on Foundations, suggests that she has the emotional objectivity and self-confidence to maintain focus on a long-term research project. Her emotional stability, combined with her tendency to work well with others and form effective relationships, is also likely to be beneficial when working in a research team (Mount & Barrick, 1998).

SAMPLE 5

n My client would like to obtain a doctorate in clinical psychology with the ultimate aim of combining the roles of teaching, doing research and working with. In many ways, her personality profile is well suited to her chosen profession and in other ways she will be challenged. She does not need to view the challenging aspects of her personality as threats to success as there is no “perfect” personality for any career. Moreover, she can mindfully develop aspects of her EIQ to bolster and ameliorate the personality traits that may be holding her back from reaching her fullest potential (Goleman, 2014). Among the many needed skills Sherene will need are: excellent communication skills, the ability to be calm in stressful environments, the ability to work well on a team, the ability to interact with a diverse range of colleagues and patients, empathy, intellectual curiosity, interpersonal warmth and ability to be critical, analytical and methodical (Jadad et al., 2002; National Career Service, 2016; Prospectus, 2016). Aspects of her profile that are well suited to the aforementioned skills are; Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Communication and Judgement.

SAMPLE 6

n My client’s scores on the five personality dimensions indicate that she is best suited for social non-profit making professions. Social non-profit making professions entail a large portion of empathy, propensity to trust others and interact with others, being able to familiarise with others, and to offer unconditional help (Hussain, Abbas, Shahzad, & Bukhari, 2011). Therefore people scoring high on agreeableness (as my client) and extraversion tend to excel in such jobs (Mount, Barrick, & Stewart, 1998; Hussain et al., 2011). As highly agreeable people tend to help others to the extent that they sacrifice their own needs and interests at the sake of others (Hussain et al., 2011). Crystal’s overall score for emotional intelligence was relatively low. She has been found to be deficient in the majority of domains constituting emotional intelligence and was competent only on the aspect of judgement. A competency that is likely to serve her interpersonal skills at the workplace, contribute to an effective teamwork, and productivity at the chosen helping profession (Abraham, 2006; Cavazotte et al., 2012; Cherniss, 2010; Stough, et al., 2009; Zeidnar et al., 2004).

SAMPLE 7

n Frank’s aspiration is to follow a career in Counselling Psychology and potential implications that derived from his scores in the Big Five and Emotional Intelligence dimensions are discussed. First and foremost, it is important to provide a description of the specific occupation, discussing the requirements that potential candidates are expected to meet. Counselling Psychologists aim to help patients with the efficient confrontation of diverse mental health issues and emotional problems, utilizing a variety of psychological concepts and psychotherapeutic techniques. Counselling psychology is considered as a demanding job, which requires from the potential candidates to possess a great variety of competencies. More specifically, the specific occupation requires excellent communication skills, a sensitive and open-minded approach towards the clients and the ability to explore emotional issues with clients.

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n A counselling psychologist is expected to be an independent and self-motivated individual, who will possess high levels of self-awareness and self-knowledge. Taking into account that the confrontation of emotional difficulties is at the centre of this occupation, the candidate is expected to be able to work under pressure, developing strategies that will constantly help him to maintain a sense of self-belief - ensuring at the same time the production of the maximum possible performance. The literature has provided considerable research evidence in regards to the associations that exist between the Big Five personality traits and work-related issues. Starting with the factor of Emotionality (or Neuroticism), this has been identified as a component that is negatively associated with career success. For instance, research has indicated that characteristics such as emotional instability and anxiety have been found to generate a negative impact on job performance, interfering at the same time with efficient career management (e.g. Seibert & Kraimer, 2001). Given that the profession of the counselling psychologist constitutes a profession vulnerable to emotional exhaustion, prospective candidates are expected to be able to maintain a satisfactory level of emotional stability. A factor that has been consistently presented to be positively associated with one of the basic characteristics of burnout (i.e. emotional exhaustion) is that of Emotionality (Zellars, Perrewe & Hochwarter, 2000). The average scores that the client presented in the dimension of Emotionality demonstrate that he is likely to experience the same level of stress as the one experienced by the majority of other psychology undergraduate students. However, the high scores presented in total Emotional Intelligence and mainly in the dimension of Self-insight are likely to moderate the level of stress experienced in the workplace, showing that client’s ability to understand the sources of stress can potentially help him to cope efficiently with stressful situations.

REMEMBER: The focus for this part of the assessment is on what the CLIENT WANTS TO DO, not on finding an appropriate career based on personality. Samples 2 and 6 have not done this, but have looked at what the client would be ‘suited to’. This is not what you are asked to do. Every personality profile will demonstrate advantages and challenges in terms of career potential. Every Emotional Competence score (EC) will present advantages or challenges in terms of handling of the self and others. According to the theoretical construct underlying this profile, the client’s personality is established, largely inflexible and dispositional. However the client’s EC is not, as EC is neither conceptualised as inflexible nor inherent, but developmental and improvable. This must be made clear to the client. EC does not CHANGE personality but it can change BEHAVIOUR and outcomes, as it will enable the client to deal with challenges in a productive way. Over time this may even bring about shifts in personality (like reduction in Neuroticism, increase in Agreeableness noted in some studies). For the Applied Focus you need first to identify advantages and challenges may be apparent from the profile regarding the job ambition (using academic papers and your guidelines on the 5 factors). Secondly, identify how aspects of EC may mediate, moderate, improve or facilitate the client in terms of matching their profile to the job – so for example how Self-Insight can help a highly emotional client to deal with stressful workplace issues. If the EC score is low in an important area, challenge the client to develop this.