Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised

JACKSON PERSONALITY INVENTORY-REVISED

Research on the Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised (JPI-R)

Alex Singleton
The George Washington University

December 13, 2007

PSYC 131-10
Dr. Carla Messenger

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Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised

Abstract
The Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised (JPI-R) is a test designed to assess
personality constituencies relating to leadership. The instrument discriminates ideal leadership
candidates and promising employees from the application pool. The instrument is effective if
employed in conjunction with additional forms of performance evaluation.

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The Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised (JPI-R) is a test designed to assess

personality constituencies relating to leadership. Developed by world-renowned psychologist,
Dr. Douglas N. Jackson, and published by Sigma Assessment Systems, the JPI-R is widely
regarded and endorsed by sectors and industries the world over, including the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the United States Special Operations Command and the
Intel Corporation (Hoekstra, 3). Effectively, the instrument discriminates ideal leadership
candidates and promising employees from the application pool. As one of the most
psychometrically sound measures of personality assessment available, the JPI-R provides
administrators with measures concerning a variety of interpersonal, cognitive and value
orientations responsible for individual functioning (Jackson, 2007). Recently revised, the
inventory derived elements from the Big Five Factor Models of Personality, appraising
candidates by the following constructs: Analytical, Extroverted, Emotional, Opportunistic and
Dependable (Jackson 2007). Ultimately, candidates answer questions representing the variables
aforementioned, then scored on respecting continuums, which collectively reveal the individuals
ability to operate in settings involving work, educational, or interpersonal situations (Smither,
2005). Upon acknowledging corporate recruitment strategies, understanding the fundamental
mechanics and underlying purpose of the JPI-R, observing the psychometric properties of the
assessment, and evaluating its utility and application within the context of attending criticisms, it
is sufficient to pronounce the JPI-R as an effective assessment tool, if employed in conjunction
with supplementary performance metrics when considering prospective candidates qualifying for
a position of opportunity.

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The American Corporation is becoming less of an enterprise, evolving into a more

progressive institution. The Human Resource Department (HR) of many corporations is
designing more dynamic recruiting methods to augment and enrich the applicant pool.
Accordingly, the folks in HR are charged to cultivate the qualified and cull the ill-qualified. The
arriving rank and file of a given company, such as Proctor and Gamble or Microsoft, are no
longer subject to the mere conventional interview. Investment banking firms, such as Goldman
Sachs and Morgan Stanley, request a resume complete with Scholastic Aptitude Scores (SAT)s
scores and undergraduate grade point average, in addition to conducting a routine interview, and
hosting battery of brain teasers, for example, calculate the number of degrees between the
hour hand and the minute hand of a clock (non-digital) that reads 3:15(Kane, 1995) (Weber,
2004). Although the practices referenced are atypical and narrowly endorsed, many corporations
are adopting other supplementary measures of job performance in the workplace, namely
assessments of personality. Recent studies suggest that a healthy personality and satisfaction
might actually improve performance (Bagozzi, 1978, 518). Concordantly, the personality of
an applicant may be worthy of consideration, regardless of the position. The Jackson Personality
Inventory-Revised provides HR administrators with a unique insight into the personality of a
prospective job candidate. Once JPI-R scores are obtained, the measure is quite constructive as a
supplement to other data defining the candidate, such as past performance and academic
achievement. Upon understanding the history in development of the JPI-R, and examination of
its mechanics, the test appears to be relevant and practical in the modern work force.
Over the years, human personality assessment has garnered attention, as the recent
development of the Big Five concept has done much to renew enthusiasm and confidence in

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personality measurement and research (Pittenger, 2004, 2). Coined by personality psychologist
Lewis Goldberg, the Big Five, or Five-Factor Model of Personality, is one of the most
widely researched topics in personality psychology (Ashton et al, 1998, 244). Advanced by the
Lexical Hypothesis, the words invented for a given language describe, individual differences
in personality are reflections of real human behaviors, and the number of words we have
invented is in direct proportion to the importance of the behavior described (Paunonen &
Jackson, 2000, 822). The model maintains that lower level personality traits, or all personality
traits, can be combined into five, orthogonal, all-inclusive, universal factors[which] have
generally been labeled as Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and
Openness to Experience. (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996, 42). It is appropriate to briefly define the
aforementioned traits: Extraversion indicates the propensity to socialize; Agreeableness
represents flexibility and ability to compromise; Conscientiousness refers to personal
responsibility; Neuroticism, or tendencies to experience distress in demanding situations;
Openness to Experience, or reception of new ideas, (Messenger, 2007).

Essentially, the

abovementioned constructs are best recognized as individual continuums; for example, on a 10point scale, 0 representing extreme introversion, and 10 representing extreme extroversion, an
individual may report traits qualified as 5.5, or somewhat extroverted, but not entirely. As an
avid proponent of psychological testing, Dr. Douglas N. Jackson, was a champion of rational
construction strategy- a psychometric tenet maintaining, that using human judgment to select
items is compatible with psychometric validity (Pittenger 2004, 2). Jackson recognized the
intrinsic value of personality testing in the institutional setting and advocated the administration
of such tests to recruiting organizations.

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Establishing Sigma Assessment Systems (SAS), Dr. Douglas N. Jackson, regarded as the
authority in psychological human assessment, sought to design and market test administration to
organizations associated with personnel selection, team-building exercises, managerial
counseling and psychological research, such as NASA, USSOCOM, AT&T, the Intel
Corporation, Daimler Chrysler, (Hoekstra, 3,7). According to SAS, personality can determine
important characteristics like dependability, self-discipline, leadership, and the ability to make
good impressions on others; concordantly, the Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised provides
a measurethat reflects social, cognitive, and value orientations which affect an individuals
functioning- essential psychological skill-sets for the workplace (Hoekstra, 5). Jackson
developed the first Jackson Personality Inventory in 1976 (Harrison et al, 2005, 1390). Since
inception, the test has undergone one revision, and is the second edition available, known as the
Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised (Pittenger, 2004, 1). The JPI-R is widely regarded and
distributed, demonstrating excellent psychometric properties and favorably reviewed by the
Mental Measurements Yearbook (Ashton et al, 1998, 244) (Hoekstra, 5). The test is intended to
measure normal personality functioning for use in schools, colleges, and universities[while]
its clinical application is geared toward traditional counseling psychology settings, particularly
career counseling and personnel selection in industry (Pittenger, 2004, 3). The JPI-R is
conveniently organized, constructed in a manner involving a sequential program of item
selection and test validation (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996, 43). Achieved by careful analysis,
SAS boasts the elaborate construction of the test, aiming to maximize item content saturation in
relation to desirability variance; maximize scale reliabilities; minimize inter-scale
redundancies (Hoekstra, 8).

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An objective, growth-oriented assessment, the battery consists of 300 true-false

statements, requiring approximately 45 minutes to administer (Smither, 2005). The test is
offered in English and French languages, and appropriate for ages 16 and older (Hoekstra, 6).
The reading grade level of the test is about grade 7.7- more difficult in comparison to other
personality assessments, such as the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI) and the Personality
Research Form-E (PRF-E) (Reddon & Jackson, 1989, 182). A division of SAS,
sigmatesting.com, provides a sample of questions similar to statements found on the JPI-R
featured on a Personal Style Questionnaire Test Drive, which require a true or false answer to
the following statements: I am usually quite confident when learning a new game or sport; I
avoid spending my time just setting around and resting; I would avoid borrowing money for a
risky business deal (2007-2). Each statement represents 15 scales that are:
intended to provide a set of measures of personality reflecting a variety of interpersonal,
cognitive and value orientations that are likely to have implications for a persons
functioning in a wide range of settings, such as those involving work, educational or
interpersonal situations (Smither, 2005).
Modeled after the Goldbergs Big Five, Jacksons Personality Inventory-Revised represents 15
separate personality traits, identifying:
five major categories and their constituent components: (a) Analytical, which
includes Complexity, Breadth of Interest, Innovation and Tolerance; (b) Emotional, which
includes Empathy, Anxiety, and Cooperativeness; (c) Extroverted, which includes
Socialability, Social Confidence, and energy level; (d) Opportunistic, which includes
Social Astuteness and Risk Taking; and (e) Dependable, which includes Organization,
Traditional Values, and Responsibility. (Pittenger, 2004, 2)
The subdivision of 15 scales is designed to define the functions of 5 trait categories. The
inventory is cross-culturally replicable of the 5 factors (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996, 42). Each of
the 15 variables is attached to a series of 20 statements that a person may use to describe him or

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herselfand directed to decide whether they feel true or false about them(Harrison et al, 2005,
1390).

Respectively, the Risk Taking scale of the Opportunistic component is intended to

reveal an individuals particular aversion to risk, ultimately leading to success or failure

(Harrison et al, 2005, 1390). Appropriately, aversion to financial risk is the main focus of the
JPI-R, although components of ethical, physical and social risk are also measured (Harrison et
al, 2005, 1390). The JPI-R scales are derived from origins in the classical research literature in
personality and social psychology.as the Risk Taking scale was based on extensive,
multifaceted, theoretical and empirical research on risk taking on a personality
dimension (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996, 43). Specialists of personality and social psychology
also influenced the JPI-R Self Esteem scale, as it is inspired by the voluminous literature on
self-esteem and self conceptparticularly influenced by the theoretical work of George Kelly
and Kurt Lewin (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996, 43). Acknowledging the recent revisions of the
JPI-R will reveal the components of interest to organizations.
Already noted, the first JPI was created in 1976 and recently revised in a second edition,
the JPI-R. The new version features a number of revisions and updates to the previous version.
Questionnaire adjustments include the elimination of the infrequency scaleand renaming of
the 15 content scales (Ashton et al, 1998, 244). The Infrequency Scale is a validity scale
that detects less or random responding and generally has quite restricted variance in its
scores (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996, 44). Additionally, SAS removed the coverage of extended
distributional characteristics (Hoekstra, 9). The JPI-R includes a reorganized scale,
organizing 5 conceptually integrated clusters, providing more clarification of what the
variables represent (Pittenger, 2004, 4). Another important revision includes the removal of a

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20-item infrequency scale, a metric detecting malingerers (Hoekstra, 9). The elimination of 20
items ultimately reduced the original test of 320 statements to 300, to facilitate use for
employment screening (Pittenger, 2004, 4) (Hoekstra, 9). The additional coverage of extended
distributional characteristics, which includes the new normsfor blue-collar workers and
white collar executives, enables benchmarking (Pittenger, 2004, 4). Ostensibly, the revisions
afford a much more comprehensive analysis of the assessment. Further analysis of the
psychometric properties of the JPI-R will demonstrate the precision and accuracy of the
instrument.
The JPI-R is considered to be a psychometrically sound assessment (Jackson, 2007).
Psychometric properties include substantial levels of reliability, freedom from desirability and
acquiescence bias, and convergent and contrasted groups validity (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996,
43). Moreover, studies prove JPI-R scales as valid predictors of migraine suffering, wrestling
ability, intention to immigrate... (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996, 43). Further examination of the
standard psychometric properties, reliability, validity, norms, readability, and scoring techniques,
render the JPI-R as a practical and accurate assessment instrument.
SAS reports reliability factors in two studies exhibiting median internal consistency
reliabilities of 0.90 and 0.93 (Bentlers Theta) (Hoekstra, 12). Concerning the 5 JPI-R variables,
clearly the factors emerged consistently across several data [and] are both manifestly
interpretable and highly replicable (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996, 57). Measured in Cronbachs
Alpha, a scale of a low 0 and an high of 1, internal consistency is the number of similar
items found in a given test, accounting for a given question asked in a number of varying forms
(2004). Median-scale reliabilities include ranges from 0.78 to 0.82 (Smither, 2005). Coefficient

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reliabilities of 0.84-0.95 have been reported for the overall scale, while other reports observe
values of 0.81-0.84 on the Risk Taking subscale (Harrison et al, 2005, 1390). Critics maintain
that although internal consistency measures such as Bentlers Theta and Cronbachs coefficient
alphas are reported, the measures do not speak to the broader and extremely important issue of
test-retest reliability (Pittenger, 2004, 2). Critics of the JPI-R are disappointed with the
conversion of alpha coefficients into standard errors of measurement, as it becomes misleading
because it does not represent random variation due to the passage of time (Pittenger, 2004, 2).
Several JPI-R studies evidence stable test validity for a number of positions and settings
(Jackson, 2007). Validity measures include analysis of two multi-trait- multi-method matrices
employing adjective checklist, self- rating, and peer ratings, correlating the 15 sub-scales, or 5
cluster scales, to criterion including occupational preferences to relationships with dimensions
of executive performance(Jackson, 2007). Critics argue that construct validity is noticeably
absent, failing to provide a rationale for the 15 chosen personality traits (Pittenger, 2004, 2).
However, SAS asserts the correlations of JPI-R and other personality measures provide
convergent and discriminant validity (Jackson, 2007).
Norms are formulated by the responses of 1,107 participants, including 367 males and
740 males, representing a number of educational institutions in North America (Jackson,
2007). Another set of norms is derived from a total of 893 blue-collar workers, consisting of 629
males and 264 males (Jackson, 2007). A third set of norms is based on the scores of 555 senior
executives (Jackson, 2007). Although the revised edition of the JPI-R is far superior with respect
to norms, as it includes additional norms of blue-collar workers and executive populations, some

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critics would prefer the collection of norms for high school students (Paunonen & Jackson, 1996,
43).
On the surface, administrators consider the JPI-R easy to score (Pittenger, 2004, 2). The
300 statements offer a carbonless scoring template facilitating rapid scoring and quicker
turnarounds of reports (Pittenger, 2004, 2). Scoring of the JPI-R inventory entails collating
responses according to the 15 personality traits and 5 cluster traits, and each trait or variable, is
scored, tabulated and converted to a standard T-Score, as the higher the T-score for each
personality variable, the greater the probability that the participant will show that particular
behavior (Harrison et al, 2005, 1390). SAS offers instructions for hand-scoring and mail-in
scoring reports, featuring a profile of the 15 JPI-R scale scores, descriptions of high and low
scorers for each side, a profile of the 5 JPI-R cluster scores, administrative indices and a table of
raw responses (Jackson, 2007). The JPI-R requires a Level B qualifications. According to
Pearson Assessments, a test designer in compliance with standards established by the American
Psychological Association (APA) and the National Council on Measurement in Education
(NMEA), a Level B qualification demands a Level 2 clearance, requiring a User has
completed a bachelors degree program that included (a) coursework in the principles of
measurement and in the administration and interpretations of tests and (b) formal training in the
content area of the test (e.g. achievement, speech and language etc (2007).
Evidently, the JPI-R is well measured and equipped with the firm psychometric standards
of reliability, validity, normed populations, readability, accommodating an elegant and efficient
scoring process, which deliver an accurate assessment instrument. Recognizing the JPI-R

Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised

applications in the field and attending criticisms might suggest improvements to an already
psychometrically sound personality assessment.
The JPI-R manual clearly states that the assessment was designed for career and
vocational counseling where one wishes to match a persons personality with a specific job,
not for the assessment of persons with severe mental health disorders (Pittenger, 2004, 2).
Essentially, the instrument is designed to reveal qualified candidates exhibiting the most
magnetic or constructive personality traits. Though the test is intended to measure normal
personality functioning for use in schools, colleges, and universities, its clinical application is
geared toward career counseling and personnel selection in industry, (Pittenger, 2004, 3).
The JPI-R primarily functions as a supplementary metric to an individuals accomplishments,
providing a unique insight to the candidates decision style in what-if? situations. For
example, a candidate pool comprised of Special Forces operators serving in the United States
military, applied for admission into an elite unit, presumably 1st Special Forces Operational
Detachment-Delta, which requires the completion of a personality assessment (Smither, 2005).
In addition to records indicating academic accomplishments, physical health and combat
abilities, the administration of the JPI-R provided additional data to consider in recommending
promising candidates to the selection board (Smither, 2005). The provided scenario of the elite
unit selection in the United States Military, demonstrates the appropriate use of the JPI-R as a
supplementary metric for consideration; it should never be utilized as the principal measure.
Similarly, other government institutions and multi-national corporations use the JPI-R in the
same fashion. Nevertheless, test critics will inevitably emerge.

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Evaluation of JPI-R relies on opinions voiced by test administrators, and application of

the instrument and its results in the field. One frequently voiced complaint from
psychometricians is the failure to report test-retest reliabilities, which renders Jacksons
observation of means and standard deviations have remained stable for 20 years as an
inadequate substitute (Pittenger, 2004, 4). Other critics opine that the information regarding
validity would be more relevant if it could discriminate between groups and make predictions
about specific behaviors (Pittenger, 2004, 4). Moreover, administrators would like access or
reference to psychometric properties of the conceptually integrated 5-cluster catalogue
(Pittenger, 2004, 4). If acknowledged and considered by SAS, the JPI-R would prove to be a
much more valuable asset in personality assessment. Presumably, if SAS created a more
comprehensive report structure, offering improved accuracy in test-re-retest reliability and a
validity scale that could effectively discern between group of people and corresponding behavior,
the test would prove to be even more psychometrically sound.
In conclusion, the Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised, developed by Sigma
Assessment Systems, appears to be well-constructed. After acknowledging the status quo of
corporate recruitment, understanding the fundamental mechanics and underlying purpose of the
JPI-R, observing the psychometric properties of the assessment, and evaluating its utility and
application within the context of attending criticisms, it is sufficient to pronounce the JPI-R as an
effective assessment tool, if employed in conjunction with supplementary performance metrics
when considering prospective candidates qualifying for a position of opportunity. Historically,
society is somewhat slow to respond and implement measures testing performance. As
submission of SAT scores is now a requisite for application to undergraduate institution, it was

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not always the case. Before the establishment of the College Entrance Examination board in
1899, scholastic aptitude testing was not considered for admission (Gregory, 2007).
Concordantly, is it fair to posit that psychological tests administered in the institutional settings
of commerce and government, like the JPI-R, will gradually become commonplace, following
the SAT in the institutes of higher-education.

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Bagozzi, R.P. (1978). Sales Performance and Satisfaction as a Function of Individual Difference,
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