How Our Assessments Work
Validated Psychological Frameworks
Our surveys draw from established models in personality psychology:
- Big Five (OCEAN) — The most widely validated personality framework in academic psychology. Measures Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
- Dark Triad (SD3) — Developed by Jones & Paulhus (2014), measuring Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy through everyday scenarios.
- Dirty Dozen — A validated brief measure by Jonason & Webster (2010) for rapid Dark Triad assessment.
- Behavioral Decision Theory — Our Risk Persona and financial assessments draw from research on how personality predicts real-world risk-taking and decision-making.
Why Scenario-Based Questions
Traditional personality tests ask you to rate yourself on abstract traits (“How creative are you?”). This approach has known limitations:
- People struggle to rate themselves accurately
- Abstract self-ratings do not predict actual behavior well
- Social desirability bias inflates positive traits
Our scenario-based approach presents concrete situations and asks how you would react. Research shows scenario-based assessment predicts real behavior more accurately than abstract self-ratings.
How Results Are Calculated
Your scores are derived from your pattern of answers across multiple scenarios targeting the same trait. Each dimension is scored independently, and your profile is compared to population norms to generate percentile rankings.
Behavioral predictions are based on established correlations between personality traits and real-world behaviors documented in peer-reviewed research.
Limitations & Disclaimer
These assessments are designed for self-reflection and educational purposes. They are not clinical diagnostic tools. Personality is complex and multidimensional — any single assessment provides a useful lens, not a complete picture.