Well, let me start this essay with an introduction to what really are these test that I have taken and what is/are the essence in knowing and having an evaluation to my emotional, intellectual, etc. aspects of my being.
First, these tests that I have taken are under the study of Psychology which came from the Greek words “psyche” which means soul and “logia” which means study of. But later on, Psychology is defined as the scientific study of human or other animal mental functions and behaviors. This includes perception, cognition, attention, emotion, motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior, interpersonal relationships and even the unconscious mind. And so, Psychologist uses various types test to be able to measure the mental, social, emotional and different aspects of the human.
EQ test is used to assess each and every action we do in a particular situation, which is systematically controlled by emotions. Emotional Quotient (EQ) is increasingly relevant to organizational development and developing people, because EQ principles provide a new way to understand and assess people's behaviors, management styles, attitudes, interpersonal skills, and potential.
So to be successful requires effective awareness, control and management of one's own emotions and those of other people. EQ embraces two aspects of intelligence:
• Understanding yourself, your goals, responses, behavior, create possibilities and intentions.
• Understanding others and their feelings.
So here’s just a little advice to everyone and mostly to those who work in offices. The rules for work are now changing. You are being judged by not just how smart we are but also by how well you handle others and yourselves.
IQ on the other hand, is a number meant to measure people cognitive abilities (intelligence) in relation to their age group. It all started with the Binet scale with one single goal in mind, to serve as a guide to identify children in the school who need special education to minimize their inferior level. Binet also reported that it's not designed to measure 'intelligence'. Later after many modifications on the original method of Binet such as Simon-Binet, or Stanford-Binet, Intelligence tests were getting more popular among the population as well as in government departments. In 1989 the American Academy for the Advancement of Science listed the IQ test among the twenty most significant scientific discoveries of the twentieth century along with nuclear fission, DNA, and flight.
But as soon as this matter was introduced to the public, many debates regarding measuring intelligence have upraised. The problem is that the term intelligence has never been defined adequately and therefore nobody knows what an IQ test is supposed to measure. In the chaos of controversy, the standard IQ exam is flunking. The National Education Association has called for the abolition of standardized intelligence test because they are at best wasteful and at worst destructive”.
However the controversy was soon settled when NEA has completely recognized the need for periodic comprehensive testing for evaluation and diagnosis of student progress.
Knowing now EQ and IQ, scientist again found a new topic to debate. Which is more important, IQ or EQ? According to Goleman "our emotional intelligence determines our potential for learning the practical skills that are based on its five elements: self-awareness, motivation, self-regulation, empathy, and adeptness in relationships. Our emotional competence shows how much of that potential we have translated into on-the-job capabilities".
Research has confirmed time and time again that it is a person's communication skills that gets them to the top - and keeps them there. Yes it is your IQ that puts you to where you are but it is your EQ that will make you stay there or even advance to where you once were.
Personalities are distinctive. Each individual behaves according to certain distinctive patterns throughout a variety of situations. Humans are finely tuned to observe these behavior patterns of acquaintances and to notice behavior differences among people.
You might use words such as talkative, cheerful, cold, disorganized, compulsive, intellectual, shrewd, shortsighted, flirtatious, or ruthless to describe various people you know. Also, you have probably observed that these various behaviors stay with the person consistently over time and throughout a variety of circumstances. These persistent behavior patterns, called personality traits, are stable over time, consistent in a variety of situations, and differ from one individual to the next. Personality can be defined as the psychological qualities that bring continuity to an individual’s behavior in different situations and at different times.
Personality is stable over very long periods of time; personality traits do not change. They form the stable second layer in the architecture for interaction model. Understanding, accepting, and applying your personality traits is an important part of knowing yourself.
Another study focused on descriptive nouns. [Saucier] An analysis of the results extracted eight factors. Their names, along with the five nouns having the highest correlation for each factors.
These factors may relate directly to the primal concerns of people as follows:
Factor 1: Social Unacceptability, relates to inclusion or exclusion from a social group. This is a basic decision humans make as social animals. The poles, or underlying primal decision, can be though of as: Exclude ↔ Include
Factor 2: Intellect, relates to human intelligence and higher levels of cognition. Smart is sexy and it has been said that the brain is the most important sex organ. Many believe that intelligence distinguishes us as humans, and it may be interpreted as an indicator of evolutionary advancement. Intelligence is an important indicator of stature. The poles can be described as: Bright ↔ Dull
Factor 3: Egocentrism, relates to a lack of empathy and respect for others. It may be related to an overzealous display of status, a generous or false self-image, failure to counterbalance the first-person viewpoint, or a counterfeit display of stature. Its poles can be labeled: Arrogant ↔ Humble or Narcissistic ↔ Empathetic.
Factor 4: Ruggedness, relates to dominance, aggression, and power. Its poles can be labeled: Dominant ↔ Submissive
Factor 5: Delinquency, relates to cheating. The theory of reciprocal altruism describes the importance and effectiveness of “cheater detectors” for the social interaction of humans. The poles can be labeled: Cheater ↔ Plays fair
Factor 6: Attractiveness, relates directly to sex and procreation. The poles can be labeled as: Sexy ↔ Repulsive, ugly, disgusting.
Factor 7: Liveliness, relates to attracting attention, perhaps as a strategy for attracting a mate. The terms seem to describe a real party animal. Possible labels for the poles are: Loud ↔ Quiet, reserved
Factor 8: Disorientation, relates to competence and reliability. Poles can be labeled: Incompetent ↔ Competent.
One should be careful when interpreting the results of a personality test . Just because someone tests one way does not necessarily mean that they are that way. People are made up by a combination of several personality traits. There also is the chance of incorrectly labelling a person.
Employers should be aware that there is no hard evidence that personality tests, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® test, are accurate measures of one's personality. Inaccurate test results could prevent someone from getting a job. Using personality tests to match a person with an occupation also is a flawed practice. The validity and consequences of personality tests should be taken into account when they are given to someone.
Most people are a combination of several personality traits. Even though I tested out to be introverted, intuitive, thinking, and judging, I know I can be extroverted , sensing, feeling, and perceiving in certain situations. A person most likely will fall somewhere in between the bipolar personality traits. Just because a person may favor one trait does not mean that they do not possess some characteristics of another trait. An outgoing person can be reserved in some situations. A serious person can be happy-go-lucky at times. A relaxed person can be tense under certain circumstances. Labeling a person as possessing only one trait is a faulty practice.
Incorrectly labeling a person also can lead to adverse circumstances. Again, the textbook said that certain personality tests, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, are not necessarily a valid measure of personality. If a person is incorrectly labelled as having low intelligence then they may never reach their full potential. If a person is incorrectly labelled as group dependent they may always depend on other people instead of themselves. There is the potential for mislabelling people as having a personality trait that they do not actually possess.
The use of personality tests in the hiring of employees is a practice that has no merit. Our textbook did say that there is no evidence that certain personality tests are valid measures of personality. However, this still does not stop over 2 million companies in the U.S. from using these tests, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, in the hiring of new employees. What surprises me is the number of well-known companies that use these tests. This includes companies like GE, AT&T, and Citicorp. One of my friends, who recently took a personality test, is a prime example of what can go wrong when companies rely on these tests. My friend took the test in his quest to get a job at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kentucky. When his test results came back the company concluded that he should not be hired because he was not trustworthy or loyal. I have known this person for some time and do not agree with the results of the test. My friend basically said that the company was afraid that he would embezzle money. I personally have never have found him to be untrustworthy, unloyal, or even capable of embezzling money. He now has a different job at another healthcare organization and to my knowledge has yet to embezzle any money from that company. This example shows that personality tests do not always yield accurate results. Even worse, inaccurate results can harm a person's chances of getting a job. Employers should not use these tests in the hiring of new employees.
Personality tests can be flawed and lead to inaccurate findings. Most people can not be characterized by just one trait. Most people fall somewhere in the middle of the bipolar trait spectrum. By using tests that may not be able to accurately determine someone's personality, employers may not be hiring the best person for the job. Also, by using personality tests to match people with an appropriate occupation, those people may be led into the wrong profession. In short, the results of these personality tests should not be taken so seriously.
Reference: http://www.emotionalcompetency.com/personality%20traits.htm
Reference: http://www.socionics.com/articles/fpt.htm
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