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Web site Editor's Note:

This was contributed by Maria Clara Zoccoli in January, 2007, then an Honors student at the University of New Hampshire.

Partial Glossary of Important Personality Tests

CPI (California Personality Inventory)

  • Original Author: Harrison Gough
  • Purpose and Brief Description: Self-report inventory (T-F) used to evaluate interpersonal behavior and social interaction with “normal” individuals.
  • Major Scales: 20 Folk Scales, 7 Special Purpose Scales, and 3 Vector Scales
  • What it Predicts: By predicting a personality profile on each of the different scales it constructs a life picture of the individual. It can also predict how successful a person would be in different public service occupations.
  • Links: Wikipedia

Harvard Group Scale (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility)

  • Original Author: Ronald Shor and Emily Carota Orne
  • Purpose and Brief Description: Measures how easily a person can be hypnotized by asking subjects to complete motor and cognitive tasks.
  • Major Scales:
  • What it Predicts: Predicts individual’s hypnotic susceptibility.
  • Links: Wikipedia

MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multyphasic Personality Inventory)

  • Original Author: Hathaway & McKinley
  • Purpose and Brief Description: Psychological assessment used to screen for personality & psychological disorders. It is a T-F self report questionnaire (adults & adolescents).
  • Major Scales: Hypercondriasis, Depression, Hysteria, Psychopathic, Masculinity & Femininity, Paranoia, Psychothemia, Schizophrenia, Hypomania & Social introversion
  • What it Predicts: Predicts a personality profile on each of the different scales.
  • Links: Wikipedia

NEO-PI-R (Neuroticism Extroversion Openness Personality Inventory -- Revised)

  • Original Author: Costa & McCrae
  • Purpose and Brief Description: Measures the 5 major personality domains among “normal” adults through self report questionnaire.
  • Major Scales: Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness
  • What it Predicts: Based on the “Five Factor Model”, this scale predicts the type of personality the individual posesses.
  • Links: Psychpage

TAT (Thematic Apperception Test )

  • Original Author: Henry A. Murray and Christiana D. Morgan
  • Purpose and Brief Description: Projective psychological test which uses the picture interpretation technique to study the subject’s unconscious.
  • Major Scales: Not applicable
  • What it Predicts: It is able to predict different underlying aspects of personality such as needs for power or achievement, problem solving abilities, etc.
  • Links: Minddisorders, Wikipedia

WAIS-IV (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale)

  • Original Author: David Wechsler
  • Purpose and Brief Description: Measures intelligence by asking people to solve problems.
  • Major Scales: Verbal IQ (Comprehension, Arithmetic, Vocabulary, etc.) Performance IQ (Picture Completion, Block Design, Matrix Reasoning, etc.)
  • What it Predicts: The individual’s intelligence.

WPPSI-III (Wechsler Preschool and primary Scale for Intelligence)

  • Original Author: David Wechsler
  • Purpose and Brief Description: Measures intelligence in children by asking them to questions that can be answer orally or by pointing.
  • Major Scales: Verbal IQ, Performance IQ
  • What it Predicts: Predicts learning disabilities, mental retardation and if the child’s intelligence is advanced for his or her age.
  • Links: Wikipedia