Psychology
While mean scores from Likert-type scales can be compared across individuals, scores from an ipsative measure cannot. To explain, if an individual was equally Extroverted and Conscientious and was assessed on a Likert-type scale, each trait would be evaluated singularly, i.e. a respondent would see the item "I enjoy parties." and agree or disagree with it to whatever degree reflected his/her preferences.
If the same traits were evaluated on an ipsative measure, respondents would be forced to choose between the two, i.e. a respondent would see the item "Which of these do you agree with more strongly? a) I like parties. b) I keep my workspace neat and tidy." Ipsative measures may be more useful for evaluating traits within an individual, whereas Likert-type scales are more useful for evaluating traits across individuals. Additionally, ipsative measures may be useful in identifying faking.
Read more about this topic: Ipsative
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