Aim

it aims to provide comprehensive information about an individual’s whole personality,

revealing potential, confirming capacity to sustain performance in a larger role and helping
identify development needs

Introduction

People have long struggled to understand personality and numerous theories have been
developed to explain how personality develops and how it influences behavior. One such
theory was proposed by a psychologist named Raymond Cattell. He created a taxonomy of 16
different personality traits that could be used to describe and explain individual differences
between people's personalities.

According to several personality theories, the human personality consists of a

number of broad characteristics or dispositions. The founders of such theories
attempted to describe each possible characteristic. Psychologist Gordon Allport is an
example of this. He identified over 4,500 words, from the English dictionary, that
could be used to describe personality traits. Later, Raymond Cattell analysed this list
and reduced it to 171 characteristics, mainly by removing terms that were redundant,
double or unusual from his list. He used factor analysis; developed by Charles
Spearman, to identify characteristics that were related to each other and to see
which elements were most influential or important. By means of this technique, he
was able to create a list of the 16 most important personality factors.

The 16 pf test, Cattell’s 16 Personality Factors or Cattell 16 personality traits

theory is an assessment tool used to establish a person’s personality, usually in the
form of a test consisting of a questionnaire. By means of filling in the questions,
various personality characteristics are identified and subsequently, the combination
of characteristics is provided overarching name.

Applications
Because of its strong scientific background, the 16PF Questionnaire is used in a diverse range of
contexts, including industrial and organisational, research, educational, and medical settings. In
addition, psychologists and counsellors can use it to:

 measure normal-range traits (not psychopathology). The test can provide information
on issues relevant to the counseling process, such as the individual's capacity for
insight, self-esteem, cognitive style, internalization of standards, openness to change,
capacity for empathy, level of interpersonal trust, quality of attachments, interpersonal
needs, attitude toward authority, power dynamics, frustration tolerance, and coping
style.
 It also has been used extensively in counseling and clinical settings because of its
ability to give an in-depth, integrated picture of the whole person, including strengths
and weaknesses. In addition, it can facilitate dialogue between the clinician and client
by promoting understanding, empathy, and rapport from the very first session.
Furthermore, because 16PF scale meanings represent common areas of everyday
experience, the professional can share test results openly with clients, thus facilitating
discussion, increasing self-awareness, and enabling clients to feel a sense of
partnership in the assessment and planning processes.
 Supplement clinical diagnosis, prognosis and therapy planning, as the 16PF
instrument helps provide clinicians with a normal-range measurement of anxiety,
adjustment, and behavioral problems; in fact, the 16PF Questionnaire gives an in-
depth integrated picture of the whole person.
 Provide information for vocational guidance, helping individuals determine
occupations for which they are best suited, including as part of outplacement
counselling.
 Assist with personnel selection, promotion, coaching, and career development through
measurement of five primary management dimensions (which predict management
potential and style);
 Identify personality factors that may predict marital compatibility and satisfaction and
highlight existing or potential problem areas;
 Help identify students with potential academic, emotional, and social problems.
 Provide vocational guidance to identify occupations for which the individual is best
suited.
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE 16PF QUESTIONNAIRE

The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF(r)) is a comprehensive measure of

normal-range personality that is widely used in settings in which an in-depth,
integrated picture of the whole person is needed.

The history of the development of the 16PF Questionnaire spans almost the entire
history of objective personality measurement. Instead of being developed to
measure preconceived dimensions of interest to a particular author for a particular
purpose, the 16PF Questionnaire originated from the unique perspective of an
empirical quest to try to discover the basic structural elements of personality via
scientific research sampling of the whole domain of human personality. In addition
to leading to the discovery of the 16 personality factors for which the test is named,
the research identified the broad dimensions currently called the Big Five factors
of personality.

[ Because of its scientific origin, the test has a long history of empirical research, is
embedded in a well-established theory of individual differences, and has proven
useful in understanding a wide variety of important behaviors. These features
provide a rich source of interpretation for the test user.

That the 16PF Questionnaire originated from scientific inquiry was no accident; its
author, Raymond B. Cattell, was the product of a strong scientific and analytical
background. His grandfather, father, and brother were inventors and engineers. As
a young man, he witnessed the astounding results of pioneering scientific research-
electricity, radios, telephones, automobiles, and airplanes. These influences
inspired his decision to pursue undergraduate and master's degrees in the physical
sciences at the University of London in the 1920s.

Raymond Cattell’s personality research was based on his strong background in the physical sciences.
Born in 1905, he witnessed the first-hand awe-inspiring results of science, from electricity and
telephones to automobiles, airplanes, and medicine.

Developed over several decades, Raymond Cattell began to work on it in the 1920s when he
shifted from the physical sciences to psychology and was shocked at the lack of empirical
research available to enquire into the psychological nature of human beings.

At that time, the field of scientific psychology was quite limited in scope. Cattell
studied the work of physiological and experimental psychologists (e.g., Pavlov,
Thorndike, and Wundt) who used the scientific method to examine very particular
areas of human functioning such as sensation and learning. He found that
personality theory originated in the postulations of philosophers such as Aristotle,
Locke, and Nietzsche, whereas modern developments were largely generated by
medically trained professionals such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, who studied
the symptoms and problems of troubled patients. These professionals drew their
ideas primarily from clinical experience and relied on intuition for reconstruction
of what was going on inside people, often scorning the rigor and precision of
science. Thus, Cattell discovered that experimental psychologists seemed to have
little to say about the larger issues of human personality and that personality
theorists showed little inclination to use a scientific approach.]

Cattell was influenced by his studies and by the social and political ferment of
post-World War I London, where he regularly was exposed to people like George
Bernard Shaw, Aldous Huxley, H. G. Wells, and Bertram Russell. This experience
led Cattell to believe that the biggest problems in the world were often the result of
human temperament and motivation. He speculated that there must be some way to
apply the powerful tools of science to understanding human personality.

At the University of London, Cattell worked with Charles Spearman, who was
developing the methods of factor analysis to try to identify and organize the basic
elements of human ability. Cattell's involvement in this study sparked his
conviction that factor analysis, a powerful tool for discovering the basic underlying
dimensions behind complex phenomena, could also be applied productively to
personality. He reasoned that human personality must have basic structural
elements in the same way that the physical world has basic building blocks (e.g.,
oxygen and hydrogen). If the basic building blocks of personality were discovered
and the structure of personality was indeed measurable, then human behavior
would-to some extent-become understandable and predictable. For example,
complex behavioral criteria such as leadership, self-esteem, and creativity could be
predicted from these basic structural elements of personality.

Thus, Cattell's goal in creating the 16PF Questionnaire was to provide a thorough,
research-based map of normal personality. However, the development of the 16PF
represented only one part of a much larger research effort. Cattell believed in
examining the broadest possible range of personality phenomena, including roles
and states, thoughts and actions, verbal and nonverbal behavior, normal and
abnormal personality, and ability and interest variables. He believed that for
psychology to advance as a science, psychologists needed scientific measurement
procedures for three distinct domains of human characteristics: personality, ability,
and motivation (with the latter defined as dynamic drives such as a need for power,
achievement, or security). By sampling each of these domains and applying factor-
analytic methods, Cattell sought to discover the number and nature of the variables
that comprised the meaning of each.

In addition, Cattell posited three types of information or data sources that need to
be sampled in exploring each of the three domains. Life record or life observation
(L-data) involves observing and recording information about a person from natural,
real life settings-actual in situ behavior from everyday life. These data range from
historical or biographical facts to behavior counts to observer ratings by those who
know the person well. Questionnaire data (Q-data) are obtained from the person's
self-description in response to multiple-choice or open-ended questions. This type
of conscious self-disclosure provides the mental interior to the external record
provided by the L-data, but it is still just another piece of behavior whose actual
meaning is discerned through further research. Objective tests (T-data), on the
other hand, involve objective measurement of behavior through standardized,
contrived tests or laboratory situations that do not require the individual to conduct
any self-examination. T-data instruments range from paper-and-pencil tests, such
as ability or projective tests, to behavioral measures in experimental situations.
Cattell sought to identify the basic traits of personality from factor-analytic studies
covering information from L-, Q-, and T-data sources, assuming that traits that
emerged in all three media would represent true functional unities.

Cattell and his colleagues embarked on a comprehensive program of research to

identify and map the underlying dimensions of personality. Because a critical
determinant of the outcome of a factor analysis is the range of data that is used,
Cattell stressed the importance of adequately sampling the whole domain of
personality.

After years of factor-analytic work, Cattell and his colleagues around the world
determined a list of the fundamental building blocks of personality that were
termed primary traits. The traits were developed using data from all three research
media (peer ratings, self-report tests, and objective behavioral measures) and in a
wide range of populations (e.g., undergraduates, military personnel, working
adults), which has contributed to the robustness of the 16PF scales and their
predictive utility in many kinds of settings. Some letters are missing from the
alphabetic designations of the 16PF primary scales (D, J, K, or P); these scales
turned up only inconsistently in early factor analyses and therefore were dropped.

THE 16PF STRUCTURE AND THE ORIGINAL BIG FIVE

From the beginning, Cattell conceptualized personality in terms of a hierarchical,

multilevel structure (Cattell, 1946). He found that when the primary traits
themselves were factor analyzed, a smaller number of broad, underlying influences
among the primaries emerged; Cattell called these "second-order" or "global" traits
(see Rapid Reference 1.2). Thus, the global traits were constructed from the
primary traits, which define the global traits, and the two levels of personality
structure are fundamentally interrelated. Although Cattell continued to search for
more than five global factors, only five have remained clearly and consistently
identifiable, and these factors have been scored from the test for the last 30 years.

The five global scales give an overview of an individual's personality makeup at a

broad level of functioning while the more specific primary scales (from which the
globals were constructed) provide an in-depth picture of the individual's unique
personality dynamics.
General Format of the 16PF (Fifth Edition)
 Contains 185 multiple-choice items

 Written at a fifth-grade reading level

 Untimed

 Takes between 35–50 minutes to complete with paper and pencil

 Takes about 30 minutes to complete with computer version

The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire asks about specific, everyday situations in order to
assess your daily behavior, interests, and opinions. 16PF test questions identify and
evaluate your abilities for future employers.

You are asked to rate each statement on a five-point scale from "strongly disagree" to
"strongly agree" or from "very inaccurate" to "very accurate." Some examples:

 My thoughtfulness and charitable nature are my foundation.

 I like to solve complex problems.

 I continue until everything is perfect.

 I am not especially interested in abstract ideas.

Understanding Your 16PF Scores

How Your Answers Are Scored

Each item on the 16PF test has three options, and each answer choice is scored differently.
The approval answer choice (True/Agree) is ranked as a 3, the question mark answer
choice (?/Neither Agree Nor Disagree) is ranked as a 2, and the anti-approval answer choice
(False/Disagree) is ranked as a 1. After you have completed the 16PF, your answers will be
scored and summarized in a report.
A Personalized Profile Based on Your Score Report

The score report outlines your personality-based strengths and weaknesses. The traits
measured include learning methods and problem-solving skills, stress coping, interpersonal
and work styles, and overall professional effectiveness. The information contained in the
report states what you believe and value most about your life, as well as what you want it to
include in the future.

A Personal Career Profile

Your results also depict the general career areas that will most likely appeal to you based on
your personality. There are seven career areas included in the report: Influencing,
Organizing, Helping, Creating, Analyzing, Producing, and Adventuring. These areas are
listed in a chart comparing your personality to the profession that is best suited for it. In
addition, you are provided with a description of each career orientation area.

Scoring & Interpretation :

The scoring of the 16PF can b
e done in 3 ways:
1)
Its hand scoring for response marks made on the test booklet itself.
2)
Hands scoring keys for the responses on the answer sheet.
3)
I.B.M. board machine.
It is quicker and less expensive then machine scoring upon 1,000 forms
for
the most
popular and convenient procedure.
Hands scoring: The answer sheet using 2 cardboard stencil with 2
punched
holes are applied in succession to answer sheets and each given scores
are entered
in the raw score column on the right hand edge of the answer shee
t. In all the cases
the “right” answer scored 2 points the intermediate 1 point and the
“wrong”
answer scores 0 points the raw scores are converted into standard
scores from the
stress table which takes the raw score mean of the predict population of
the
cutting
point between stress 5 and stress 6. Any raw score falling between
these means a point 1 ½ of the standard deviation downwards translates
a stress point of 5 and 1.
Falling within ½ a sigma, upward of this point gets 6. Thus the range of
average is
represented by 5 and 6 only when get to stress of 4 and 7, we think of a
person as
definitely departing from the average. People scoring 1, 2 and 3 are low
and those
scoring 7, 8 and 9 are high on a factor.

Interpretation :
The questionnaire gives the most complete coverage of personality
in brief time.
The subject seems to be reserved nature, sensitive by nature,
affected easily by feelings & is over active.
Subject is intelligent & has capacity to think concretely. Subject
seems to be Serious, Assertive and disregard rules.
Sober, simple & serious kind of nature & have good strength &
confidence to do work by making own rules & regulations.
Subject is Down-to –Earth & Genuine and self assured person.
Subject is also conservative and relaxed nature
As the subject is a kind of introvert personality motivation, personal
attention, self –improvement techniques etc. would make possible to
improve the self esteem level.
Description of the 16 primary personality factors
Critical Review
Although Cattell contributed much to personality research through the use of factor
analysis his theory is greatly criticized. Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Model
has been greatly criticized by many researchers, mainly because of the inability of
replication. More than likely, during Cattell's factor analysis errors in computation
occurred resulting in skewed data, thus the inability to replicate. Since, computer
programs for factor analysis did not exist during Cattell's time and calculations
were done by hand it is not surprising that some errors occurred.

The most apparent criticism of Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Model is the fact
that despite many attempts his theory has never been entirely replicated. In
1971, Howarth and Brown's factor analysis of the 16 Personality Factor Model
found 10 factors that failed to relate to items present in the model. Howarth and
Brown concluded, �that the 16 PF does not measure the factors which it
purports to measure at a primary level .

Cattell and colleagues responded to the critics by maintaining the stance that the
reason the studies were not successful at replicating the primary structure of the 16
Personality Factor model was because the studies were not conducted according to
Cattell's methodology. However, using Cattell's exact methodology, Kline and
Barrett (1983), only were able to verify four of sixteen primary factors

Despite all the criticism of Cattell's hypothesis, his empirical findings lead the way
for investigation and later discovery of the 'Big Five' dimensions of personality.

. However, through investigation into to the validity of Cattell's model researchers

did discover the Big Five Factors, which have been monumental in understanding
personality, as we know it today.