Compare and contrast your experience completing and analyzing your results of the Big 5 Personality Test with that of your peer. What insights did you gain from reviewing your peer’s experience with this personality assessment? Did these insights change your mind about your own results? Compare your assessment of the benefits of knowing one’s personality type on personal and professional life to that of your peer
Response: The Big Five Personality Test can be useful to create a general perspective into an individual’s personality makeup (Migilore, 2011). The test rates individuals using a scale for five specific characteristics: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. According to McCrae and Costa, the Big Five are biological in their origin and therefore are consistent across cultures, changing environments, and adult lifespans (as cited in Specht, Bleidorn, Denissen, Hennecke, Hutteman, Kandler, & Zimmermann, 2014). This makes the test usable in many different settings. However, it is only fair to say that both Bandura (1999) and Harré (2006) question whether trait theory is still relevant and as useful as was once thought
I have taken the Big Five Personality Test for other classes, and because it is a personal interest. My experience with this online test is that it was a bit redundant. Some of the questions seemed almost identical to previous questions and some were similar in their intent but with just slightly different wording. After taking the short form, I realized that some of the online questions were pulled directly from the short form or visa versus. Due to the fact I had taken the test before, it did not shed any new light on my previous experience, but I do find the test to be fairly accurate in its assessment.
Personally, I think the more questions a test has, the more accurate it has the potential of being. If the questions can be varied enough about different types of situations and reactions then it will give a better overall assessment of the individual. People may tend to act one way in one situation and differently in another (Bandura, 1999). By covering a multiple of environments in the questions there is a greater possibility of getting a more accurate view of the person.
Contemporary applications of the Big Five Test can be useful to measure an individual’s potential job performance. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management recognizes its usefulness in assessing whether an applicant could be a good fit for a specific job and predicting their performance (United States Office of Personnel Management, n.d.).
Knowing one’s personality type can help someone to seek a job that will bring them personal satisfaction and fulfillment (Barrick, Mount, & Li, 2013). Personally and professionally it can be combined with another test called the “Strong Interest Inventory Test” (CPP, 2016), and it can help to narrow down career options that would best fit the person.
References
Bandura, A. (1999). A social cognitive theory of personality. In L. Pervin & O. John (Ed.). Handbook of personality (2nd ed., pp. 154-196). New York, NY: Guilford Publications. (Reprinted in D. Cervone & Y. Shoda [Eds.], The coherence of personality. New York, NY: Guilford Press). Retrieved from http://www.uky.edu/eushe2/Bandura/Bandura1999HP.pdf
Barrick, M. R., Mount, M. K., & Li, N. (2013). The theory of purposeful work behavior: The role of personality, higher-order goals, and job characteristics. Academy Of Management Review, 38(1), 132-153. doi:10.5465/amr.2010.0479
CPP. (2016). Strong Interest Inventory. Retrieved from https://www.cpp.com/products/strong/index.aspx
Harré, R. (2006). Key thinkers in psychology. London: Sage. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database
Migliore, L. A. (2011). Relation between big five personality traits and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions: Samples from the USA and India. Cross Cultural Management, 18(1), 38-54. doi:10.1108/13527601111104287
Specht, J., Bleidorn, W., Denissen, J. A., Hennecke, M., Hutteman, R., Kandler, C., & … Zimmermann, J. (2014). What drives adult personality development? A comparison of theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence. European Journal of Personality, 28(3), 216-230. doi:10.1002/per.1966
United States Office of Personnel Management. (n.d.). Assessment & selection: Other assessment methods. Retrieved from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/other-assessment
