16PF Questionnaire - Outline of Test

Outline of Test

The most recent edition of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), released in 1993, is the fifth edition of the original test. The test was first published in 1949; the second and third editions were published in 1956 and 1962, respectively; and the five alternative forms of the fourth edition were released between 1967 and 1969. The goal of the fifth edition revision was to update, improve, and simplify the language used in the test items; simplify the answer format; develop new validity scales; improve the psychometric properties of the test, including new reliability and validity data; and to develop a new standardization sample (of 10,000 people) to reflect the current U.S. Census population.

The 16PF Fifth Edition contains 185 multiple-choice items which are written at a fifth-grade reading level. Of these items, 76% were from the four previous 16PF editions, although many of them were re-written to simplify or update the language. The item content typically sounds non-threatening and asks simple questions about daily behavior, interests, and opinions. One particular characteristic of the 16PF Questionnaire is that its items tend to sample a broad range of actual behavior by asking questions about daily, concrete situations, rather than asking the test-taker to simply make a self-assessment of their own personality traits as some tests do (e.g. current popular tests include "I am a warm and friendly person; I am not a worrier; I am an even tempered person."). That type of simple, self-rating type question tends to be substantially related to the person's own self-image, and dependent on the individual's view of themselves, their level of self-awareness, and their defensiveness about their actual traits. Instead, most 16PF questions tend to ask about actual behavioral situations:

• When I find myself in a boring situation, I usually "tune out" and daydream about other things. True/False.
• When a bit of tact and convincing is needed to get people moving, I'm usually the one who does it. True/False.

The test provides scores on 16 primary personality scales and 5 global personality scales, all of which are bi-polar (both ends of each scale have a distinct, meaningful definition). The test also includes three validity scales: a bi-polar Impression Management (IM) scale, an Acquiescence (ACQ) scale, and an Infrequency (INF) scale. The reasoning ability (Factor B) items appear at the end of the test booklet with separate instructions, because they are the only items that have right and wrong answers

Administration of the test takes about 35–50 minutes for the paper-and-pencil version and about 30 minutes by computer. The test instructions are simple and straightforward, and the test is un-timed, and thus it is generally self-administrable and can be used in either an individual or a group setting. The 16PF test was designed for adults at least age 16 and older, but there are also parallel tests for various younger age ranges (e.g., the 16PF Adolescent Personality Questionnaire).

The 16PF Questionnaire has been translated into more than 20 languages and dialects. Thus the test can be administered in different languages, scored based on either local, national, or international normative samples, and computerized interpretive reports provided in about 15 different languages. The test has generally been culturally adapted (rather than just translated) in these countries, with local standardization samples plus reliability and validity information collected locally and presented in individual manuals.

The test can be hand-scored using a set of scoring keys, or computer-scored by mailing-in or faxing-in the answer sheet to the Publisher IPAT". There is also a software system that can be used to administer, score, and provide reports on the test results directly in the professional's office; and an Internet-based system which can also provide administration, scoring, and reports at any Internet-enabled computer in a range of different languages. There are about a dozen computer-generated interpretive reports which can be used to help interpret the test for different purposes, for example, the Personal Career Development Profile, the Karson Clinical Report, The Couples Counseling Report, the Human Resource Development Report, the Teamwork Development Report, and the Leadership Coaching Report. There are also many books that help with test interpretation, for example, 16PF Interpretation in Clinical Practice (Karson, Karson, & O'Dell, 1997), The 16PF: Personality in Depth (Cattell, H.B., 1989), or Essentials of the 16PF (Cattell, H.E. & Schuerger, J.M, 2003)

A shorter version of the test, the 16PF Select (Cattell, Cattell, Cattell & Kelly, 1999), was developed for use in time-sensitive, employee selection settings, and includes fewer items per scale than the regular test. The 16PF Express (Gorsuch, 2007) is a very short, 15-minute, version of the test which has about four items per factor and a wider answer format (items have a four-point or five-point answer format), which is used mainly for research. The 16PF traits are also included in the PsychEval Personality Questionnaire (PEPQ), which combines measures of both normal and abnormal personality traits into one test (Cattell, Cattell, Cattell, Russell, & Bedwell, 2003)

Below is a table outlining the personality traits measured by the 16PF Questionnaire.