What methodology is the E3 Assessment based on? #
The E3 Assessment is based on The Adjective Check List (ACL), a psychological assessment utilizing 300 adjectives to identify common psychological traits.
The ACL was developed by Harrison G. Gough and Alfred B. Helibrun, Jr and was initially proposed at the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research (IPAR) in Berkeley in 1949 as a method for recording the reactions of staff members to individuals studied in assessment programs.
Since 1952, it has been used by many psychologists worldwide and is one of the 100 most frequently used and cited tests in psychology.
How can the ACL be used? #
Although the ACL was initially developed for use by observers in describing others, it can also be used for self-assessment, which has become the primary use-case. In addition, the ACL can be used to characterize an ideal self, a future or past self, an idea, product or belief system, making it a powerful tool for assessing and defining company culture. The complete bibliography of the ACL cites many studies in which the ACL has been used in novel and effective ways.
How does BE use the ACL? #
Through years of field testing and market adaptation, Behavioral Essentials uses an adapted version of the ACL in our E3 Assessment to:
- Hiring: Evaluate job applicants & determine suitability for particular roles and the company culture utilizing Role and Culture Benchmarks.
- Employee Development: To identify growth areas for employee development in order to create and facilitate ongoing development plans.
- Leadership/Executive Development: To create more advanced development plans using peer assessments in our Level Up 360 Process.
- Culture Strategy: To assess, align and define the behavioral characteristics of a company’s culture through the creation of a Culture Benchmark.
Why Adjectives? #
Adjectives are used because they represent an individual’s preferences more accurately than statements or questions. A particular advantage of the adjective-checklist approach is that it presents everyday words and ideas in a systematic and standardized format. Because of language differences, literacy levels, cultural and regional nuances, and other contextual factors, many assessments that have statistically validated results still fail to capture an individual’s behavioral preferences because people don’t understand the statements or questions presented or can be more easily gamed. The checking of adjectives is nontechnical and requires no special knowledge or competence. However, it still permits attention to nuances as well as to major factors that disctinguish between one person and another.
Additionally, the adjective-checklist approach is idiographic, in that descriptions of an individual reflect personal saliency rather than competitive rank, and normative, in that the checking of one adjective has no mandatory influence on the checking of another. In formulating a description, including a description of oneself, the respondent simply checks those terms that appear to be required to give a comprehensice, analytic and differentiated portrait.
What does the ACL measure? #
Although the E3 Assessment measures 21 scales on The Line Chart, the full ACL measures 37 scales within 5 categories: modus operandi (4 scales), need (15 scales), topical (9 scales), transactional analysis (5 scales), and origence-intellectence (4 scales).
Behavioral Essentials has adapted the 37 ACL scales to include 21 scales that focus more specifically on an individual’s behaviors. Additionally, in order to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavioral Essentials removed scales that aren’t relevant or representative of today’s work environment.
In the E3 assessment, Behavioral Essentials utilizes the following categories from the ACL:
Modus Operandi Scales #
The Modus Operandi Scales assess ways in which the individual approached the task of describing themselves, or someone else.
- Ex: Number of Adjectives Checked
Need Scales #
The Need Scales assess an individual’s psychological needs or wants. These were identified as important in Henry A. Murray’s Need-Press Theory of Personality.
BE Scales:
- Proactivity (Pro)
- Dominance (Dom)
- Endurance (End)
- Order (Ord)
- Support (Sup)
- Networking (NW)
- Exhibition (Exh)
- Autonomy (Aut)
- Aggression (Agg)
- Change (Cha)
- Emotional Support (ES)
- Self-Critical (S-Cr)
- Submissiveness (Sub)
Topical Scales #
The Topical Scales assess a diverse set of attributes, potentialities, and role characteristics.
BE Scales:
- Self-Control (S-Cn)
- Self-Confidence (S-Cfd)
- Personal-Adjustment (P-Adj)
- Creativity (Cre)
- Military Leadership (ML)
Transactional Analysis Scales #
The Transactional Analysis Scales – an Egogram – assess components of ego functioning. These were identified as important by Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis theory of personality.
BE Scales:
- Criticality (CY)
- Mentoring (Men)
- Free Spirit (FS)