ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses three kinds of personality tests: personality questionnaires and inventories; projective tests; and objective tests. The personality tests are classified as nomothetic and idiographic. Nomothetic tests are concerned with variables common to individuals. Of the three kinds of personality tests, only personality inventories are sufficiently developed to be used in applied psychology with any confidence. Idiographic tests attempt to assess the aspects of personality that are peculiar to each individual - the things unique to a person. Factor and item analysis are sound methods of test construction which can yield valid and reliable tests and are widely used in the construction of personality tests. Personality inventories are widely used in occupational psychology, especially in job selection.
