16 PF (Personality Factor) Test

Test Name: 16 PF (personality factors). These are functionally independent psychologically meaningful dimensions. 

Author: Raymond Bernard Cattell in1949.

Definition - The characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations.

Definition - Personality refers to unique and relatively stable qualities that characterize an individual’s behaviour across different situations over a period of time.

Personality is characterised by the following features:

1. It has both physical and psychological components.

2. Its expression in terms of behaviour is fairly unique in a given individual.

3. Its main features do not easily change with time.

4. It is dynamic in the sense that some of its features may change due to internal or external situational demands. Thus, personality is adaptive to situations

Personality Factors by Raymond Cattell

               He said that humans are innately driven by ergs, which means goals were created because of hunger, curiosity, anger, fear, or other basic motivations which are found in both humans and primates. Ergs example Food Seeking, Mating, Gregariousness, Parental Protectiveness, Exploration, Safety, Self-Assertion, Pugnacity, Narcissistic Sex, and Acquisitiveness.

               Socially created goals are called socially shaped ergs (profession, family and home, spouse, religion) and Cattell gave it the term socially shaped ergic manifolds (SEM). SEM helps in explaining the contribution of the environment to human behaviour.

Formula to predict behaviour (Cattel)

R = f (S ,P )

Where,  R refers to the nature of a person’s specific response,

                              f refers to the unspecified function,

                              S refers to the stimulus situation at a given moment in time and

                              P refers to the Personality structure.

This formula signifies that the nature of a person’ specific response (R), meaning what the person does or thinks or verbalises, is some unspecified function (f) of the stimulus situation (S) at a given moment in time and also of the individual’s personality structure (P).

Personality Factors by Raymond Cattell

Personality is the interaction between the genetic and personality systems and the socio cultural milieu within which the organism is functioning 

ü  There is a common structure on which people differ from each other.

ü  This structure could be determined empirically.

ü  He tried to identify the primary traits from a huge array of descriptive adjectives found in language using factor analysis, to discover the common structures.

ü  Found 16 primary or source traits or factors (16 PF).

Ø  Source traits are stable, and are considered as the building blocks of personality. The source traits are described in terms of opposing tendencies.

Ø  Surface traits that result out of the interaction of source traits.

16 Personality Factors (16 PF)

1. Abstractedness: Imaginative versus practical
2. Apprehension: Worried versus confident
3. Dominance: Forceful versus submissive
4. Emotional stability: Calm versus high-strung
5. Liveliness: Spontaneous versus restrained
6. Openness to change: Flexible versus attached to the familiar
7. Perfectionism: Controlled versus undisciplined
8. Privateness: Discreet versus open
9. Reasoning: Abstract versus concrete
10. Rule-consciousness: Conforming versus non-conforming
11. Self-reliance: Self-sufficient versus dependent
12. Sensitivity: Tender-hearted versus tough-minded
13. Social boldness: Uninhibited versus shy
14. Tension: Inpatient versus relaxed
15. Vigilance: Suspicious versus trusting
16. Warmth: Outgoing versus reserved

Salient Features

1.    Age: 16 years and above

2.    Test was culmination of 40 years factor analysis on normal and clinical groups.

3.    Forms: 5 (A, B, C, D and E). Forms A, B, C and D are suitable for individuals whose education level is roughly equivalent of normal high school students. And Form E is designed for individuals with marked educational and/or reading deficiency.

4.    No. of items A = 187, B = 187, C = 99, D = 99, E = 128.

5.    Time required A and 45 to 60 minutes, C and D 25 to 30 minutes.

6.    Three alternative answers, forced choice for Form A, B, C and D and for E it is two alternative choices.

7.    For maximum precision minimum two forms should be used on adults. However, due to time constraints one form also can be used.

8.    Most frequently used form is A.

9.    Reading level of Form A and B is 7-8^th grade, Form C and D is 6-7^th grade and Form E 3-4^th grade.

10.    Reliability for Form A and B

                Short interval (immediate to 2 weeks) test retest reliability - .80

               Long interval (2 months to 8 years) test retest reliability - .78

11.    For other forms check manual.

12.    Paper pencil Self administering test.

13.    Scoring: Use scoring key. Add all points and obtain raw score.

14.    Convert raw score into Sten (Standard Ten Mean of Sten score is 5.5 and SD is 2.0) score.

15.    Sten scores 4 to 7 normal while 1, 2, 3 and 8, 9, 10 are extreme and occur less in normal population.

16.    Indian norms on Form A and B were given by SD Kappor in 1991.   

Uses of 16 PF

Ø  Career counseling,

Ø  Marital counseling, and

Ø  For employee testing and selection in business

Ø  Personality assessment

*********