As the old adage goes, “Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life.”

Though you may be passionate about a particular career or field of study, how do you know it will really make you happy? Nothing could be worse than studying for years to become a financial trader on Wall Street, for example, only to discover the first day on the job that you prefer a quieter, more stable, and more predictable type of working environment.

When considering a career, knowing more about what type of environment you prefer can impact job satisfaction. Do you prefer to work on a team or independently? Do you like positions of leadership? Do you desire recognition for a job well done?  Do you want a supportive employer? These are all aspects about yourself as an employee that you may not even realize. Employees who are a good fit have been shown to be happier, stay longer in a position, and be more productive.

The Work Values Inventory™ (WVI™) is a new test that measures work values (also known as vocational needs) to help users find job satisfaction by identifying a career that fits. It is based on and tied to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET). In just 10 minutes, users learn their top three work values (Achievement, Independence, Support, Relationships, Working Conditions, and Recognition). Using the WVI Occupations Finder, users then match their top work values to careers that are a good fit.

The WVI is self-administered, self-scored, and self-interpreted, and no special training is required. It benefits job seekers by helping them learn more about what they need in a position for job satisfaction. It also benefits career counselors, and it is a useful tool for human resource personnel when evaluating potential job candidates.

The WVI is an important part of the career personality puzzle—but it’s not the only part. The Working Styles Assessment™ (WSA™) evaluates work personality and approaches, such as initiative, cooperation, and innovation. The Self-Directed Search® (SDS®) examines aspirations, activities, competencies, and levels of interest in different occupations. Used together, these three tests help identify a user’s complete work personality to help him or her find a career that a fits.

Are you heading to Denver for the 2016 APA Convention? Make sure to stop by the PAR booth to say hi! We will have samples of new products on hand, so be sure to ask about our latest releases! Also, be sure to pick up a complimentary clipboard while you are at the booth.

Many PAR authors will be participating in sessions at APA, so take this opportunity to learn from the psychologists who created some of your favorite assessments. Here are just a few sessions we think you will enjoy. Check your program guide for locations.

Session 1044: Continuing Education Workshop #107: Advances in Addressing Violence—Assessment, Attachment, and Treatment
Thursday, August 4
8:00 AM to 3:50 PM
Lisa A. Firestone, coauthor of the Firestone Assessment of Self-Destructive Thoughts™ (FAST™) and Firestone Assessment of Suicide Intent™ (FASI™), Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts™ (FAVT™), and the Firestone Assessment of Violent Thoughts™-Adolescent

Session 1305: Beyond the “Replication Crisis”—Diverse Considerations for Psychology's Future
Thursday, August 4
2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 4018: Integrating Science and Practice—Beneficial Theory–Detrimental Theory
Sunday, August 7
8:00 AM to 9:50 AM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 3357: Lee Gurel Lecture: Public Misunderstandings of Psychological Science and Their Implications for Teaching
Saturday, August 6
4:00 PM to 4:50 PM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 2022: Understanding and Reducing Cognitive Biases
Friday, August 5
8:00 AM to 9:50 AM
Scott O. Lilienfeld, author of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory™–Revised (PPI™-R)

Session 1143: The DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorder: Rationale and Research
Thursday, August 4
11:00 AM to 11:50 AM
Leslie C. Morey, author of the Personality Assessment Inventory™ (PAI®) and the Personality Assessment Inventory™–Adolescent (PAI®-A)

Session 1243: Sophisticated Simplicity—The Art of Writing Reader-Friendly Assessment Reports
Thursday, August 4
1:00 PM to 2:50 PM
Cecil R. Reynolds, author of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales™, Second Edition (RIAS™-2), the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™), the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™), and more

Session 1262: Mental Health and Well-Being–II
Thursday, August 4
2:00 PM to 2:50 PM
William M. Reynolds, author of the Reynolds Child Depression Scale™–2nd Edition (RCDS™-2) and Reynolds Child Depression Scale™–2nd Edition: Short Form (RCDS™-2:SF), the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, 2nd Ed. (RADS-2™) and Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, 2nd Ed. Short Form (RADS-2™:SF), and more

College can be difficult even for the most prepared of students. For those struggling with an undiagnosed learning difficulty, it can be overwhelming. They may have poor coping skills, increased levels of stress, executive functioning and working memory deficits, low self-esteem, and even significant academic, interpersonal, and psychological difficulties.

The worst part? They don’t know why.

The new Kane Learning Difficulties Assessment™ (KLDA™) is a tool that screens college students for learning difficulties and ADHD to give them the answers they need.

According to a National Council on Disability report, up to 44% of individuals with an attention deficit disorder were first identified at the postsecondary level. The KLDA screens college students for learning difficulties and ADHD as well as other issues that affect learning, such as anxiety, memory, and functional problems like organization and procrastination. It identifies those who should seek further assessment, so they can get the help they need to succeed in college.

The KLDA measures academic strengths and weaknesses in key areas, including reading, listening, time management, writing, math, concentration and memory, organization and self-control, oral presentation, and anxiety and pressure.

It is useful for all levels of postsecondary education, including vocational schools, technical colleges, community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities, and graduate schools.

The KLDA is a self-report form that can be completed with paper and pencil or online via PARiConnect. Administration takes just 15 minutes, and no special training is required to administer or score.

Scoring and reporting is completed exclusively through PARiConnect. A Student Feedback Report is generated for students that provides them with a comparative sense of their academic skills in relation to their peers. A Score Report is generated for the test administrator.

For students, knowing that are at risk for a learning difficulty, ADHD, or other issue that affects learning—and getting the help they need—can be a first step toward academic success. For more information or to order the KLDA, visit the product page.

 

Whether you’re a long-time user of the BRIEF family of products or you are considering your first purchase of the Behavior Inventory of Executive Function®, 2^nd Ed., now you can take view a free training course to learn more about this assessment!

The BRIEF2 makes the assessment of executive function impairments easier than ever. The most widely used gold-standard rating scale for assessing executive function, the original BRIEF has been cited in more than 800 peer-reviewed studies. The new BRIEF2 provides even more useful information for practitioners. The BRIEF2 assesses executive function behaviors in the school and home environments through questionnaires developed for parents, teachers, and children and adolescents. Designed to assess the abilities of a broad range of individuals, the BRIEF2 is useful when working with children who have learning disabilities and attention disorders; traumatic brain injuries; lead exposure; pervasive developmental disorders; depression; and other developmental, neurological, psychiatric, and medical conditions.

This free, interactive course will give you a quick overview of the product, explain what makes it unique, discuss the updates made in this edition, and provide insight into how it was developed. And, best of all, the Training Portal is always available, so you can learn more on your schedule.

To access the Training Portal, use your parinc.com username and password to log in. Don’t have a free account? Register now.

Training courses are also available on the Vocabulary Assessment Scales™ (VAS™), the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™), the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™), the Academic Achievement Battery™ (AAB™), the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile™ (ChAMP™), the Feifer Assessment of Reading™ (FAR™), and many more!

PAR is proud to announce the release of the NAB® Daily Living (NAB DL) by Robert A. Stern, PhD, and Travis White, PhD.

The NAB DL gathers the daily living tasks from each NAB module and combines them in one form for ease of use.

• The Attention Driving Scenes test taps into an examinee’s visual working memory, attention to detail, and selective attention skills.


• The Bill Payment Daily Living test taps into auditory language, reading comprehension, speech output, and writing ability.


• The Daily Living Memory test involves explicit learning, delayed recall, and recognition recall of information likely encountered in daily living.


• The Map Reading Daily Living test involves orientation, visuospatial skill, and spatial/directional skills.


• The Judgment Daily Living test features medical issues and situations likely to be encountered in daily living.

For more information or to order the NAB DL, visit the product page.

PAR staff and authors are on the way to Chicago for this year’s conference. If you are in Chicago for NCDA, make sure to stop by the booth and say hi! Several PAR authors will be presenting on career-related topics. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from them!

Integrating CIP and RIASEC Theories in Career Interventions and Services

Wednesday, June 29, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Janet Lenz, PhD & Bob Reardon, PhD, authors of Handbook for Using the Self-Directed Search®: Integrating RIASEC and CIP Theories in Practice

 

Exploring the Gender Gap in STEM: The Impact of Women's Ratings of Mathematical and Scientific Self-Concept on Aspirations

Friday, July 1, 10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Melissa Messer, MHS, co-author of the Self-Directed Search® (SDS®) Form R, 5th Edition

 

Examining the Differences in Interest, Skills, and Abilities Across the Workforce

Friday, July 1, 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Melissa Messer, MHS, co-author of the Self-Directed Search® (SDS®) Form R, 5th Edition

 

Using an Interactive Career Counseling Tool to Engage Clients

Friday, July 1, 10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Jennifer Greene, MSPH, co-author of The Veterans and Military Occupations Finder™

 

The Relationship Between RIASEC Personality Types and Negative Thinking: Implications for Career Counseling”

Friday, July 1, 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Jennifer Greene, MSPH, co-author of The Veterans and Military Occupations Finder™

 

Assessing Your Clients’ Work Values: A New Way to Home in on Occupational Matches

Friday, July 1, 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Jennifer Greene, MSPH, co-author of The Veterans and Military Occupations Finder™

 

1. PARiConnect streamlines the assessment process. Assess clients when and where you wish—on-screen in your office, remotely via Internet, or by entering responses from paper-and-pencil administrations.


2. PARiConnect saves time. Instant scoring and reporting means you get immediate feedback, enabling you to spend more time with your clients and less time waiting for results.


3. PARiConnect improves accuracy. Built-in verification tools help you confirm the accuracy of data entry, so simple mistakes won’t cost you valuable interpretation time.


4. PARiConnect protects your data. Designed with HIPAA compliance in mind, you can be sure your data are secure, safe, and protected.


5. PARiConnect offers 3 FREE assessments and reports for the instruments of your choice! Register for PARiConnect today to take advantage of all this innovative online assessment platform has to offer!

Join us on Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 12 to 1 p.m. ET. Register now, space is limited!

Join us for a free Webinar on how to make PARiConnect work for you! Whether you are new to this innovative, online assessment platform and curious as to how it can help your assessment process or if you are a current user who wants to learn more, there is something for everyone!

• New users will learn how to import client information, assess clients when and where you wish, and generate score and interpretive reports.


• Experienced users can deepen their understanding of the platform, learning how to manage inventory, reallocate uses for large multi-user accounts, and organize client groups.


• All attendees will be able to submit questions and comments throughout the Webinar so their particular concerns can be addressed.

In less than an hour, you will learn how PARiConnect streamlines the assessment process, whether you are a single practitioner in private practice or a large institution with varied assessment needs. Join us on Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 12 to 1 p.m. ET. Register now, space is limited!

Narcissism is one of those terms freely used but little understood. It is often used to describe someone who is considered vain or self-centered. With the rise of social media, sometimes it seems there is a narcissist on every corner. However, many people fail to properly identify the deep layers of narcissism or fail properly identify it as a disorder. It has become so common to identify people as narcissists that it’s time to get back to a proper definition of what it really means.

Joseph Burgo, PhD, wrote a book called The Narcissist You Know: Defending Yourself Against Extreme Narcissists in an All-About-Me Age. Burgo sees narcissistic personality disorder as being on a spectrum. This ranges from those who simply have a healthy regard of themselves to those who display traits of pathological narcissism. The American Psychiatric Association identifies 1% of the population as having the traits of narcissistic personality disorder. In his book, Burgo discusses those people who meet the criteria for what he calls “extreme narcissism.” They fall short of traits that would identify them as having the disorder but differ significantly from those who merely have an inflated sense of self. Burgo indicates that extreme narcissists make up 5% of the population.

Narcissistic behaviors often don’t occur in a vacuum; they leave a trail in their wake, affecting the lives of friends, family, and coworkers who endure such behaviors on a daily basis. Burgo’s intent in The Narcissist You Know is to help people recognize and subdue their own narcissistic tendencies. He seeks to help identify narcissistic behaviors of others and deal with them in an effective manner. Burgo identifies these behaviors in categories of narcissism: know-it-all, self-righteous, vindictive, addicted, seductive, bullying, and grandiose.

Because narcissistic traits are often so harmful to others, it can be difficult to feel sympathy for them. But Burgo reminds us that these often indicators of, and are a defense against, invisible pain. At their core, those who display such traits feel that they are frauds or losers, and that at any moment someone will find out their “true” nature. For this reason, they constantly need to appear as “winners,” even at the expense of other’s feelings. Although those with narcissistic behaviors often don’t feel empathy, Burgo invites us to extend empathy, rather than judge, when they exhibit offensive behavior, because they are always in flight from pain. Burgo acknowledges that people with narcissistic tendencies are indeed difficult to deal with, but provides assurance that they’re not impossible to manage.

Share your thoughts on Joseph Burgo’s views about narcissism. PAR wants to hear from you, so leave a comment and join the conversation!

Dreams have long been the subject of intense scrutiny, and the subject of lucid dreams even more so. Lucid dreams can be defined as any experience within the dream in which you become aware you are dreaming. If we are asleep and become aware we are dreaming, what good does it do? Well, psychologists have conducted studies that have shown multiple benefits to lucid dreaming.

Ward Off Nightmares – Thanks to lucid dreaming, nightmares don’t have to be traumatic, dreaded experiences. Those who know they are dreaming can see threats for what they are—nonexistent. In the face of perceived danger, the knowledge that one is dreaming automatically relieves anxiety because the individual knows events aren’t really taking place and no harm can occur.

Enhance Creativity – Because the brain is very active and unconstrained during lucid dreaming cycles, it is more creative than at other times. This creativity carries over into the dreamer’s waking life, allowing for greater problem-solving ability and artistic expression.

Embrace Adventure – Dreams offer a level of adventure that often isn’t possible in real life. Due to the realization that one is in a dream, anything can occur. The traditional limits of time or laws of nature no longer need apply. Whatever can be imagined can be fulfilled, and the experience can be very freeing.

Learn or Practice Skills – Thinking about or visualizing a task enhances the ability to perform that task. Mental imagination uses the same muscles that would be used if the action were actually performed. A study on the effect of imagery revealed that imagined exercise produced significant elevations in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen consumption.

Alleviate Depression – A study by the Department of Human Development at Cornell University revealed that the frequency of lucid dreaming is directly tied to depression. There is a positive link between lucid dreaming and how much control people feel they have over their lives. Because lucid dreaming gives one a sense of control while asleep, that same feeling of control can be felt while awake.

Lucid dreaming, like any skill, can be nurtured and developed. There are many techniques available for those who would like to learn or perfect the art of lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is a natural state when the conscious brain awakens during sleep, turning dreams into an alternate reality where all senses come to life, enabling one to do things limited only by their imagination.

Share your thoughts on lucid dreaming. PAR wants to hear from you, so leave a comment and join the conversation!