HMO versus Personality and Psychological Assessments - Essay Example

“gut feeling” to evaluate the state of mind or personality characteristics of another, objective personality tests increase the accuracy of a personality test, and decrease the bias of an observer and or tester, from confounding the results of the test. Studies consistently show that individual judgments are sensitive to error based on socio-cultural, biological, personal, environmental and other contextual influences. At an unconscious level, the human observer filters information (i.e., perceives it) though biases created through personal belief systems, values, attitudes, incomplete knowledge, and distractions in the environment (PAN, 2005).

However, this does not imply that personality tests are able to take the place of the professional judgment of the therapist/analyst. The personality test is not usually completed in isolation to other measures to determine aspect of the personality, as well as other sources of information (e.g., personal interview, GP diagnosis, input from family and friends, other psychometric tests). Personality tests can be assured of their validity and reliability when they have been professionally designed, and scored and interpreted by individuals trained to do so.

Though these measures, a professional therapist/analyst is able to draw informed conclusions in a holistic manner, about the whole person, at this point in time. With ensured high accuracy and consistency in scoring and outcomes, a fairer personality test allows an employer to increase the likelihood they will recruit personal who align with their job role, and the employer is better able to determine training needs, to proved the most appropriate form of training, and is able to evaluate the training methods as well as the hired and trained personal (PAN, 2005; Perry, 1992).

This is the result of years, sometimes decades of empirical research testing and retesting the construction, reliability and validity of the test. A study by Vujanovic, Zvolensky, Bernstein,