Cattell's 16 factors personality test (16 FP)

Each of us has our own way of being. We observe the world in certain ways, we relate to others in concrete ways, and In general, we express a tendency to do certain things and respond in more or less stable.

In other words, and although it sounds redundant, each person has their own personality. This concept, which defines who and how we are, has been a classic object of study in psychology, having created numerous measurement instruments to evaluate it known as tests of personality.

Among all of them stands out the Personality Factor Questionnaire or Test of the 16 Personality Factors, also known as 16PF, originally created by psychologist Raymond Cattell.

• Related article: "Types of psychological tests: their functions and characteristics"

A brief introduction: what is personality?

As we have mentioned above, personality is a general pattern of behavior, interaction, ways of coping and relationship and perception of the reality that each individual possesses. This general pattern is a stable and consistent element that is generated throughout the life of each person, being forged especially from the childhood to adulthood through a combination of biopsychosocial elements (genetics, environment and the experiences of each person).

Personality may vary in some way in response to specific life situations and evolutions, but is generally maintained throughout the life cycle, being observed constant in most areas and through the different situations that we live. This does not mean that specific aspects are unchangeable, but it requires a high level of effort and work, generally maintaining the set of characteristics that make up the personality.

The study of personality

The study of personality has had as its main objectives to find and explain the main individual differences between subjects regarding their behavior, based on the measurement of different traits. From these measures, an assessment of the characteristics of the individuals can be made from the comparison with the population mean, helping to make predictions about own and other people's behavior and assess their suitability to the environment.

But it must be taken into account that personality is not an easily identifiable objective element, but rather an abstract construct that is difficult to quantify. To develop instruments that measure personality, different types of criteria have had to be used, such as empirical or rational ones.

One of the methods of construction of instruments for measuring personality is from factorial criteria, in which the relationship between different characteristics in order to establish groups of traits, which are known as factors of personality. Taking into account these types of criteria, Raymond Cattell built one of the most famous personality tests in 1957, the 16 PF.

Getting into the matter: 16 FP

The Personality Factor Questionnaire or 16 PF is one of the most well-known and used personality measurement instruments throughout the young History of Psychology. Created as has already been said by Raymond Cattell based on factorial criteria, this evaluation instrument has as its main function study and assess personality traits based on various factors (sixteen main and five secondary or global in the last version).

These factors are bipolar, that is, they go on a continuum that goes from one extreme of the trait to the other, placing the score of the person evaluated at some point in said continuum.

To make it easier to understand: if one of the factors is dominance, one of the poles reflects an authoritarian, competitive and independent person while the other would indicate a person who is submissive, conformist and dependent on others, with most of the population in an intermediate situation.

Internal organization of the personality test

This personality test is organized from a total of 185 closed questions with three answer options, one of the options being indicative of not knowing what to answer, with the exception of some questions posed as problem solving to assess the intelligence. As it is based on questions and does not require very advanced technologies to produce a result, It has been widely used in companies and all kinds of organizations at the time of select staff who can become part of the team or receive a promotion.

The score obtained from the 16 PF is calculated from templates, which take into account the value of each of the items in the prediction of the factor that corresponds to them, having around between ten and fourteen per factor, and passing this score directly to decatypes scaled.

The 16 PF consists of different types of scales. In its fifth version there are three scales used in order to detect response styles, being able to assess the sincerity and verifiability of the data obtained, four global or secondary scales and finally sixteen personality factors that are valued in this test of personality.

Population in which to apply it

The type of population for which the 16 PF is intended is situated in those subjects aged sixteen and over. age, needing a level of understanding similar to that of a second year ESO student to be able to do it correctly. This is necessary, among other things, to ensure that everyone has sufficient competencies to understand the basic operation of the test and how to apply it.

Despite this, there are different variants of this personality test, some versions being more aimed at people with reading difficulties or sociocultural problems.

Objectives and application

The 16PF is designed to do an analysis of response traits and styles of the person to be evaluated, being able to obtain with their interpretation a basic profile of the subject's personality.

This personality test is very useful, being frequently applied in areas such as research, organizational psychology and human resources, and clinical psychology. However, the idea of ​​this questionnaire is to assess typical personality, not being focused on the analysis of psychopathology (if Well, through his observation, traits that tend to be abnormal could be appreciated, it is not his objective and he is not prepared to the diagnosis of disorders).

Interpreting the 16 FP

When analyzing the results, the general steps are to first observe the response styles to see if the test results are reliable, and later assess the global dimensions and extreme categories, which serve as a general idea of ​​the patient's situation and profile when extracted from the scores of the rest of the scales and finally analyze and interpret the score of each of the 16 primary scales, with the help of the test itself and of guides external.

The scales and factors of the 16 PF

These are the different scales that make up the 16 PF:

1. Response style scales

The main function of the response style scales is to ensure the validity and reliability of the data collected on the patient, observing if he answers correctly and sincerely or if trends appear that distort the data and therefore the analysis of the personality.

2. Image manipulation

This scale is responsible for assessing whether the answers given to the questions are sincere or are moved by social desirability, either to give a good image or to appear to be worse than one is, with objectives secondary.

3. Acquiescence

This scale evaluates the tendency to always answer questions positively, with something that could indicate a lack of sincerity that makes it difficult to correctly analyze the situation.

4. Infrequency index

It is used to detect infrequent responses. It may be because the person evaluated answers at random, although each answer and its correspondence with the whole personality test would have to be analyzed.

The 16 main factors

The main or first-order factors reflect in a broad and specific way the different personality traits. They are as follows.

A: Affectivity: Schizotymia (low affectivity) vs Cyclothymia (high affectivity)

This factor values ​​emotional expressiveness. Scoring high on this scale implies being affectionate and expressing your own emotions, being pleasant to bond with others and having a certain facility for it. On the contrary, scoring low would bring the personality closer to the schizothymic pole, being little affective, with poor expressiveness and a high level of rigidity and a tendency to isolation.

B: Reasoning: High Intelligence vs Low Intelligence

Although this factor is more linked to intelligence than personality, It cannot be ignored that having more or less intellectual capacity affects the way we see the world and act in it.

A high score would make you think of someone with ease to learn, understand and understand the abstract and adapt to circumstances. Scoring low implies a lower ability to cope with the environment, having greater rigidity and fewer response options and making it difficult to understand the world.

C: Stability: Strength of Self vs Weakness of Self

This factor mainly refers to the stability of the person. A person who scores high is considered to have a tendency to be able to maintain composure and have a stable emotionality. A low score would reflect neuroticism, lability, and poor emotional control.

D: Dominance: Dominance vs Submission

The dominance factor refers to the ability to be independent. Scoring high means that the behavior pattern is competitive, independent and even authoritarian, while low scores indicate submission and conformity.

E: Impulsivity: Surgence (impulsivity) vs Desurgence (inhibition)

Indicates motivational ability and desire to do things, as well as the capacity for self-control. A person who scores high will be outgoing, motivated, impetuous, and impulsive, while people who score low will tend to be worried, cautious, and anxious.

F: Group Conformity: Strong Superego vs Weak Superego

It refers to the capacity for self-control, decision and assessment of others. A person who scores high will be determined, stable, committed and will value others but without being carried away by them. Scoring low can indicate frivolity, negligence and immaturity,

G: Daring: Parmia (daring) vs Trectia (shyness)

It is about the ability to transform thoughts and wills into acts. Scores high implies daring and spontaneity, while low scores indicate inhibition and shyness that prevents doing things.

H: Sensitivity: Premsia (sensitivity) vs Harria (hardness)

This factor indicates the presence of sensitivity in the person. Scoring high suggests an emotional person, kind and shy, labile. Low scores indicate emotional toughness, pragmatism and little capacity for illusion.

I: Suspicion: Alexia (trust) vs Protection (distrust)

The level of trust or mistrust of others. People who score high are suspicious of the intentions of others, while low scores reflect interest and trust towards others, as well as the ability to bond.

J: Imagination: Praxemia (pragmatism) vs Autia (imagination)

The ability to abstract. Having a high score refers to the ability to be eccentric and unconventional, imaginative. Scoring low in this regard reflects a reality-centered personality, with little artistic and conventional interest.

K: Cunning: Subtlety vs Naivety

Ability to comprehensively analyze reality and observe different options and perspectives. People who score high have the ability to detect and analyze both reality and themselves, while those with low scores are more naive, gullible and somewhat more clumsy in their relations.

L: Guilt: Consciousness vs Unperturbed

It refers to the ability to take responsibility for things. High scores indicate apprehension and an easy blame. Low scores reflect security and serenity.

Q1: Rebellion: Radicalism vs Conservatism

This 16 PF scale indicates the capacity for open-mindedness or respect for traditional ways of doing. A high score indicates an interest in intellectual and open-mindedness. Low scores indicate conservatism, traditionalism and respect.

Q2: Self-sufficiency: Self-sufficiency vs Dependence

Reflects the ability to make one's own decisionsThese people scoring high on the scale, or the preference for making consensual decisions by the group and depending on other people, in this case being the lowest score.

Q3: Self-control: Self-esteem vs Indifference

It involves measuring emotional and behavioral control. A high score suggests the presence of controlled personality, while a low score reflects unconcern

Q4: Tension: Tension vs Tranquility

Refers to the person's level of anxiety. Nervous and irritable individuals would score high while calm people would score lower.

Second-order or global scales

The second order scales are obtained from the analysis of the sixteen main factors, serving as a general summary of the patient's situation, although providing more general and less precise information than the detailed analysis of each scale.

QS1: Introversion and Extraversion

People with ease to relate have a high score in this secondary factor, being extroverts. By cons, introverts or people who tend to social inhibition usually have a low score.

QS2: Anxiety-Tranquility

Serenity and security are common characteristics of people who score low on this scale. In contrast, anxious and insecure people tend to score high on this scale.

QS3: Susceptibility-Tenacity

People who are easily worried, frustrated, or discouraged tend to score low, regardless of their level of kindness. They are also usually analytical. On the other hand, a high score indicates decision-making capacity and stability, although also a lower level of risk assessment.

QS4: Dependence-Independence

It reflects in its high scores independence, assertiveness, disinhibition and radicalism while a low score indicates insecurity, humility, shyness and moralism.

Bibliographic references:

• Cattell, R.B.; Cattell, A, K., Cattell, H.E.P. (nineteen ninety five). 16 PF-5. Personality Factor Questionnaire. TEA editions.

• Cohen, R.J. & Swerdlik, M.E. (2002). Psychological testing and evaluation. McGraw Hill. Madrid

• Karson, M., Karson, S., & O'Dell, J. (2002). 16PF-5. A guide for its interpretation in clinical practice. Madrid: TEA editions

• Schuerger, J. M. (2009). The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire: 16PF. In C. AND. Watkins, Jr., and V. L. Campbell (Eds.), "Testing and Assessment in Counseling Practice" (pp. 67–99). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.