NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) Linda Laiton Dominguez Salem College Psych 220, Spring 2017 Dr. Mary Jacobsen April 18, 2017 Psychological tests or psychological assessments are an important asset in the field of psychology. These tests are designed to measure people’s characteristics which pertain to behavior. There are a variety of different types of tests that can be used to assess different types of behaviors. According to the specific behavior or behaviors being assessed, tests are categorized …show more content…
It provides a structured assessment of emotional, interpersonal, experiential, attitudinal, and motivational styles, through the measurement of the five domains and thirty facets (Costa & McCrae, 1992). The NEO PI-R’s detailed design allows for a complete assessment of personality. It is intended to measure individual differences in ways of thinking, feeling, and interacting with others, in normal individuals (Costa & McCrae, 1992). The instrument can predict psychological well-being, vocational preferences, health and illness behavior, characteristic coping styles and occupation performance. It can be helpful in occupational settings by considering the individual’s traits against the qualities needed for success in certain positions (Costa & McCrae, 1992). In addition, it can be used in counseling and clinical settings, as well as, on research dealing with personality. In counseling and clinical settings, NEO PI-R test results could aid with planning treatments, and assessing outcomes by spotlighting problems individuals may be facing. The instrument is not intended to diagnose problems of mental health, or be used on its own for obtaining a complete psychological assessment (Costa & McCrae, …show more content…
The NEO PI-R scales measure traits that resemble normal bell-shaped distributions. When interpreting the meaning of the scale scores it is important to remember the normal distribution of scores. Scales are best explained by describing characteristics of extremely high or extremely low scorers. When interpreting scores, thinking in terms of categories should be avoided as the NEO PI-R scales represent a continuous dimension. Results on the profile forms and interpretive reports are summarized in terms of five levels, from very low to very high. This allows for more defined distinctions than those given by simple dichotomies. When it comes to forming a concept of the personality traits measured by the NEO PI-R, it should be noted that there is no single cutoff point to separate those who “have” a trait from those who do not. Additionally, being low or average on a scale can be as informative as being high. The given norms are intended to be used as the standard reference group (Costa & McCrae, 1992). The first step to interpretation of the NEO PI-R profile, is to review the five domain scales to understand personality at the broadest level. This should be done by