Can you trick a personality test?

orlandosentinel.com - Acing a personality test: Can you cheat? Is it even worth it?

How do you tell your boyfriend you miss him?

I am longing to be with you. I really miss you, but probably not as much as you miss me. ... I can't wait to see your face again. Hello, I miss you...

Last updated Apr 3, 2022

How do you tell if a man is emotionally detached?

Here are 10 signs of an emotionally unavailable man. When it comes to real-life conversations, they run. ... Their relationship history speaks...

Last updated Mar 2, 2021

Promotion

Let's say you're a moody cynic with a touch of an anti-social streak.

Should you confess it to a potential employer?

Whether you're applying to become an accountant or seeking a promotion to sales manager, chances are you may have to submit to a personality test. Increasing numbers of employers are using written mental-measurement tests to weed through applicants and to predict new hires' success.

But what if you are, ahem, deficient in certain positive attributes? Or asked point-blank whether you've ever lied, stolen or shirked your duties? Would it be foolish to be perfectly candid?

Job seekers aren't the only ones thinking about embellishing their personas. Personality-test faking -- answering in a way to make yourself look good -- is a topic of much debate among researchers and test publishers. They all agree that faking happens, but they disagree about the extent and the consequences. Some argue that fakers can make better employees because they have to be astute enough to figure out the desired answers. But there are studies that come to the opposite conclusion: that applicants who score high on the "lie scale" make poor hires who continue their deceptive ways. Whichever is true, test developers and employers don't want cheating. They use a variety of tactics to outwit and thwart fakers. They embed lie-detecting questions in the tests, apply standard deviations to eliminate extreme scorers and instructions include warnings against faking. "Some people can't fake it, and some people do a great job of faking," says Lynn McFarland, who teaches psychology at Clemson University in South Carolina and is the author of several published papers on the validity of personality tests. "People say your personality isn't good or bad. But from an employer's perspective, it certainly is. They want reliable, nonemotional, agreeable people."

POWERFUL TOOLS

Personality tests are becoming popular because they have proved to be at least as powerful as job interviews or simulation exercises in predicting employee performance. Research during the past two decades has established definitive links between specific personality traits and various job performances. For instance, calm, steady types make ideal supervisors and security officers. People who are persistent and have a strong sense of self turn out to be well-suited for commissioned sales jobs. One of the most widely accepted personality models is known as the Big Five, which sorts personality traits into five broad dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness to new experiences. But employers use dozens of types of tests that are based on different personality theories.

How do I keep a convo interesting?

6 Ways to Keep a Conversation Going 1 Listen. 2 Show interest. 3 “Tell me more about . . .” 4 Find common ground. 5 Ask open-ended questions. 6...

Last updated Apr 4, 2018

How can I satisfy my girlfriend clingy?

5 Nice Ways to Deal with a Clingy Girlfriend Understand your part. First, it's important to understand why your love interest is acting clingy,...

Last updated Jan 4, 2021

Promotion

The tests commonly ask applicants true-or-false questions or ask them to rank statements on a scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Questions to gauge a person's openness to new ideas might include whether she avoids philosophical discussions (negative score) or tends to vote for liberal candidates (positive score). Emotional stability might be measured by asking if she dislikes drawing attention to herself (negative score) or is skilled at handling social situations (positive score).

AGREEABLE? WHY, SURE!

Although personality tests supposedly have no right or wrong answers, some experts contend that results are surprisingly easy to manipulate to get "right." Experiments have shown that people consistently score higher in positive attributes on personality tests when they think they're applying for a job than when they're simply instructed to answer truthfully. McFarland says the two personality scales easiest to fake are neuroticism (whether you are anxious, moody or insecure) and conscientiousness (methodical, dependable and organized). McFarland says verifiable questions, such as "Are you often late to work?" or "Do you get into arguments with others?" tend to elicit more honest answers than general questions, such as "Are you agreeable?" Bob Lewis, vice president of research for Personnel Decisions International in Minneapolis, distinguishes between those who simply lie on personality tests and those who try to inflate their scores to match what they think the employer wants. "Figuring out what people want and giving them that is an adaptive behavior," says Lewis, whose company publishes several selection tests aimed at executives, managers and sales workers. "If you hire them, they tend to do pretty well on the job."

BLUFFING CAN BACKFIRE

At what age do men want to settle?

According to his research, if your man graduated from high school, he'll think marriage is a possibility aged 23 to 24. Ninety percent of men who...

Last updated Jan 20, 2021

Which hormone is responsible for love in male?

Testosterone, a male sex hormone, tends to make men more competitive. Oxytocin has various social and physiological functions in the brain and the...

Last updated Jun 20, 2018

Promotion

Lewis contends that bluffing on personality tests is tricky because the "right" responses depend on the nature of the job. Conscientiousness is generally regarded as the most important personality trait across all occupations. But retail clerks and production workers may require the "rule following" type of conscientiousness, whereas managers and executives might need the "do what you say you'll do" type, Lewis said. Charlie Wonderlic, president of Wonderlic Inc., an employment recruiting and assessment company in Libertyville, Ill., says a person applying to become a butterfly catcher might not realize that persistence is one of the key requirements for the job. Without that knowledge, Wonderlic says, the applicant likely will have difficulty falsely passing himself off as persistent, especially because questions might be asked seven or eight different ways. If you're gaming the test, "You'd better know what you're doing because you have to do it consistently," Wonderlic says.

McFarland, of Clemson University, warns would-be fakers about outsmarting themselves.

Some people deny any and all improper behavior, from exceeding the speed limit to fibbing about their age. That's a quick way to trigger the lie scale. Others worry about appearing too good. "Some people overthink it," McFarland says "Maybe I should say I've stolen or something like that." (Hint: As a rule, less lying and stealing is better than more.) McFarland advises test takers to consider whether lying is even worth it. "You may get the job, but you may hate it," she says.

orlandosentinel.com - Acing a personality test: Can you cheat? Is it even worth it?

How long does romantic love last?

How long does the romantic phase last? Studies have estimated the euphoric stage can last anywhere from six months to two years. Although a small...

Last updated Apr 23, 2021

Is a week enough for no contact rule?

At the very least, the no contact rule requires that you keep radio silence for 30 days after the breakup. Depending on your situation, that void...

Last updated Dec 10, 2021

Promotion

What she needs from a man?

Traits of Relational Sensitivity Women need men to show kindness, patience, understanding, empathy, and compassion. Regardless of the type of...

Last updated Mar 13, 2022

Promotion

What are feminine eyes?

The term “doe-eyed” says it all; female eyes often appear larger and wider than those of their male counterparts. That's because a woman's orbital...

Last updated Mar 10, 2020