Recently, PAR added several new features to the PAI Plus reports on PARiConnect. As a result, we have received a few questions about how to use the Negative Impression Management (NIM) and Positive Impression Management (PIM) predicted profile overlays as well as the NIM- and PIM-specific profiles. We went directly to author Leslie C. Morey, PhD, to get his answers on how you can use these features to enhance your understanding.

PAR: What are the NIM and PIM predicted profile overlays?

 LM: NIM and PIM predicted profile overlays are regression-based predictions of the profile based on information from the validity scales. These profiles represent one strategy for understanding the influence of the response styles represented by the validity scales, NIM and PIM. In this approach, PAI scale scores are predicted solely by either NIM or PIM, using a regression model based on the correlations observed in the standardization samples. Thus, these profiles are not based on data from the profile of the individual being assessed, with the exception of their NIM or PIM scores. The resulting profile constitutes what would be expected given the observed score on NIM or PIM. The contrast between observed (i.e., the respondent’s actual PAI profile) and predicted profiles indicates the extent to which scale scores are expected to have been influenced by response set distortion. If the observed and expected scores are comparable (e.g., within one standard error of measurement), then the scores can be largely attributed to the effects of whatever led to the observed response set, such as potential exaggeration or cognitive distortions. 

PAR: What are NIM- and PIM-specific profiles?

LM: The NIM- and PIM-specific profiles represent another strategy for understanding the influence of any observed response styles on the PAI profile. However, instead of predicting every score on the rest of the profiles, it compares the observed profile to a group of profiles from the standardization samples that displayed a similarly elevated score on PIM or NIM. This strategy then calculates standard scores for the individual’s observed scores based on the means and standard deviations of similarly distorted profiles. Thus, elevations indicate psychopathology above and beyond response sets. Unlike the predicted scores, which tend to yield greater variability in predictions for negative impression management than for positive impression management, the specific score strategy is equally useful in understanding the influences of both types of response sets. 

Two groups are used for comparison purposes on the NIM- and PIM-specific scores, as defined by two ranges on these scales. The first group, the lower range, is based on cutoff scores determined to have maximal efficiency in distinguishing impression management from genuine groups. For NIM, this range is 84T to 91T; for PIM, it is 57T to 67T. The second group, the higher range, is equivalent to scores that equal or exceed two standard deviations above the mean in a clinical population: 92T for NIM and 68T for PIM. No specific scores are generated if NIM is less than  84T and PIM is less than 57T.

 

Read more about how the NIM scale can be used to assess malingering. 

 

The PAI Plus takes the existing PAI items and gives users an updated way to interpret the data. Using the original PAI items, the new report offers: 

• DSM-5® update: Diagnostic possibilities align with the most up-to-date criteria. 

• Alternative Model for Personality Disorders Profile: An optional new profile scores the PAI in accordance with the model. 

• Additional supplemental indices:  15 new supplemental indices plus supplemental clinical indicators provide additional profile information. 

• Context-specific norm groups: Profile overlays for new normative groups can be compared to the examinee’s profile. 

 

Related post: Now on the Training Portal: PAI Plus webinar! 

 

The PAI-SP offers exclusive features 

The PAI Plus Interpretive Explorer, only available on the PAI-SP, enables you to interact with PAI reports to access definitions, review supplemental indexes, and compare client data with normative and clinical samples to offer additional insights into your client.  

Further additions allow users to compare client scores to context-specific norm groups via z scores. 

Order or upgrade today! 

 

We’ve heard the requests. And we listened! The PAI Plus is coming this fall!

The PAI Plus takes the existing PAI items and gives users an updated way to interpret the data. Using the PAI, an objective inventory of adult personality, the new PARiConnect report offers:
• DSM-5® update: Updated diagnostic possibilities align with the DSM criteria.
• Alternative Model Profile: An optional new profile scores in accordance with the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders.
• Additional supplemental indices: Based on years of academic research, 15 new supplemental indices provide additional profile information related to negative and positive distortion and random responding. Supplemental clinical indicators provide profile information related to suicidality, aggression, level of care, presence of ADHD, and more.
• Context-specific norm groups: Including profile overlays for bariatric surgery candidates, child custody evaluations, chronic pain patients, college students, deployed military, egg donors/gestational carriers, motor vehicle accident claimants, police applicants, and potential kidney donors. This profile is overlayed onto the examinee’s profile to allow for comparison.
• Updated report: An updated look and feel create a streamlined and modern-looking report.

A manual supplement details the research, theory, and development behind this update.

To determine the right kit for your needs or to preorder, call Customer Support at 1.800.331.8378.

In order to facilitate research using the NEO Inventories, we are now offering a comprehensive bibliography through Mendeley, a free reference management tool. In addition, a white paper describing this research repository and explaining its creation and use it has been created.

After accessing the Mendeley link, you will be prompted to create an account. Mendeley includes a desktop application and a cloud-based system for ease of use when finding references and citing them within a document. Use of this free resource is encouraged to facilitate research on the topics related to that particular assessment. Individuals who do not wish to create an online account may visit the Resources tab on the product page to view a Word documents of the bibliography.

In addition to the NEO, PAR offers Mendeley bibliographies for many of our products. Links are provided on the white paper.

In order to facilitate research using the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), we are now offering comprehensive bibliographies through Mendeley, a free reference management tool. In addition, a white paper describing this research repository and explaining its creation and use has been created.

After accessing the Mendeley link, you will be prompted to create an account. Mendeley includes a desktop application and a cloud-based system for ease of use when finding references and citing them within a document. Use of this free resource is encouraged to facilitate research on the topics related to the PAI. Individuals who do not wish to create an online account may visit the Resources tab on the PAI product page to view Word documents of these bibliographies.

In addition to the PAI, PAR offers Mendeley bibliographies for the PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI), the Standard SDS, and the Student SDS. More will be added to the website soon!

Exploring career options can be an enlightening experience—it’s an exercise in learning more about yourself and about the opportunities that best fit your personality. The Self-Directed Search (SDS) is a career assessment created by Dr. John Holland that has been used more than 36 million times.

The SDS is based on Holland’s theory, known as RIASEC theory, that both people and working environments can be classified according to six basic types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. One of the main ideas of this theory is that the closer your personality type aligns with your work environment type, the more likely you are to find fulfillment at work.

After completing the 20-minute online assessment, you’ll receive one of three reports based on your demographics and job history: The StandardSDS, the StudentSDS, or the VeteranSDS. Your interactive report includes lists of occupations and programs of study associated with your Summary Code that can be customized–you can save, sort, and filter results; learn more about salary data; link to related career clusters; and even search for jobs in your area!  Our site is now mobile friendly to make your search even easier, and SDS group accounts and partnerships are perfect for schools or organizations.

So if you are looking for a job, want a career change, or are searching for a program of study, knowing more about what types of potential careers fit your personality will greatly improve your search. Get started today!

 

You may know the Personality Assessment Screener (PAS) can help you assess a broad range of clinical problems. Here are five things about the PAS that you may not know:

1. The PAS screens for the major domains covered in the trusted Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Its 22 items are those from the PAI that are the most sensitive to a broad range of contemporary clinical problems.


2. The PAS requires only a 4th-grade reading level. This enables individuals with poor reading skills to provide accurate self-descriptions.


3. The PAS assesses the potential for emotional and behavioral problems. Items are organized into 10 different scores that represent 10 distinct clinical problem domains.


4. The PAS is designed for use as a triage instrument. It’s suitable for use in health care and mental health settings, corporate employee assistance programs, and college health services.


5. The PAS is quick and convenient. Administration takes just 10 minutes and is available in pencil and paper format or 24/7 via PARiConnect, our online assessment platform.

Learn more about the PAS today!

If you are ambitious in the workplace, new research suggests that you will more likely achieve your goals if you have a spouse who is also conscientious.

Several previous studies have examined how personality predicts workplace success. One such project, by Paul Sackett and Philip Walmsley and published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, used the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality traits— neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness—to examine which of these traits companies value most when hiring. Conscientiousness is at the top of most companies’ lists, but Sackett and Walmsley wanted to see whether this was really the best indicator of employees’ future success.

It turns out that it is. After examining the relationship between personality traits and three work performance criteria— whether an employee is able to complete their work to satisfaction, how often an employee goes above and beyond at work, and how often they engage in negative behaviors—conscientiousness topped the list of traits needed to accomplish these goals, with agreeableness being a close second.

Now a study out of Washington University in St. Louis reveals even more about how important conscientiousness may be to workplace success: you have an increased chance of achieving greater goals in your career if your spouse is also conscientious.

Brittany Solomon and Joshua Jackson examined more than 4,500 heterosexual married participants to measure the effect their spouse’s personality has on their own job satisfaction, income, and likelihood of being promoted. The researchers used the FFM personality traits as their guide.

Their work revealed that job satisfaction, pay increases, and promotions were all more likely for those people who had a spouse (male or female) with high scores on one particular personality trait: conscientiousness.

“Our findings indicate that highly conscientious partners help improve their spouses’ occupational success, as measured by job satisfaction, income, and promotion. This benefit does not arise from partners doing their spouses’ work; rather, it is due to partners creating conditions that allow their spouses to work effectively,” Solomon and Jackson reported.

A short video by TouchVision gives an entertaining explanation of their findings.

What personality traits do you think are most important in an employee?

PAR is pleased to announce the PARiConnect release of the NEO™ Five-Factor Inventory-3: Four-Factor Version (NEO™-FFI-3:4FV) and the NEO™ Personality Inventory-3: Four-Factor Version (NEO™-PI-3:4FV). The NEO-FFI-3:4FV and the NEO-PI-3:4FV provide information on four personality domains: Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Both measures are designed for use in employment and counseling settings involving activities such as career counseling, career development, and employee training where these four domains are the main focus. Items, normative data, and scoring are taken from the E, O, A, and C factors of the NEO-PI-3 or NEO-FFI-3.

 

The NEO-PI-3:4FV and NEO-FFI-3:4FV are available for administration and scoring only on PARiConnect. A self-report form (Form S) and a form for rating others (Form R) are available.

 

Learn more about this new addition to the NEO family of products today!

Parents’ choice to find out baby’s sex before birth reveals more than the gender of their offspring. According to a recent study from Ohio State University, a woman’s decision to learn her baby’s sex before birth may be an indicator of her child-rearing beliefs.

According to the researchers, mothers who are more open to new experiences, have higher levels of conscientiousness, and have more egalitarian views about the roles of men and women in society tend to wait until delivery to learn their baby’s sex. Mothers who scored higher on a test of parenting perfectionism, meaning they had unrealistically high expectations, were slightly more likely to learn their baby’s sex in utero. Furthermore, mothers who reported higher levels of curiosity and independence were less likely to learn their baby’s sex before birth.

The research focused on 182 expectant mothers in Columbus, Ohio who participated in a study to track behaviors across the transition to parenthood. The research team administered a variety of tests to pregnant women to measure personality, gender role beliefs, and expectations regarding parenting perfectionism. Approximately two out of three of the expectant mothers in the study knew their baby’s sex before birth.

Mothers who knew the sex of their child before birth tended to have lower levels of education and lower household incomes, and were less likely to be married than mothers who waited for a delivery-room surprise.

Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, one of the members of the research team, believes this study is a starting point to address questions about the implications that this knowledge may have for future parenting.

The study will appear in an upcoming edition of Personality and Individual Differences.