How much do you know about Psychological Assessments?

Myth 1. Psychological assessments are for the ‘neurotics and psychotics’
Truth. While the word ‘Psychology’ still seems to face criticism for seemingly favoring the social outcasts and the irrational part of our brains, psychometrics and experiments in the field have endlessly been proving the contrary. First, psychological assessments quantify human behavior to deduce objective conclusions rather than simplistic and biased observations. The extent of its credibility relies on the validity and reliability tests. Second, the PEN model provided by Eysenck demonstrates that neuroticism and psychoticism are dimensions rather than unitary constructs. Which means, there is a certain level of neuroticism and psychoticism present in each one of us. What differentiates us is the extent to which it is present. Busted!
Myth 2. Assessments must be used by companies to filter out ‘weirdos’
Truth. Assessments range from aptitude, to attitude and behavior. If your company is focusing on just your technical abilities, irrespective of your level of work, they probably need to read this. Technical competence is a must to enter a work field. However, completely relying on it would most likely lead to conflicts within and between departments, attrition and possibly even hinder performance. Incorporating assessments that include personality, communication and behavior pattern to name a few would provide a holistic understanding of the candidate and align them to the needs of the organization.
P.S: What is normal for one, is deviant for the other. Weirdos are therefore non-existent or present in all of us. Busted!
Myth 3. One must ace the psychological assessment to be a part of that company
Truth. There is no right or wrong in assessments that measure behaviour. What it brings out is your unique personality, your strengths and your potential areas for development. Aligning these with your job requirement is necessary. Lest, your company suffers from hiring the wrong candidate, and you suffer from getting into the most unsuitable job. Personality-job-organisation fit is the new mantra. Busted!
Myth 4. Assessments need to be used for fixing blind spots
Truth. While assessments help in understanding the strengths and areas of development of an individual, the focus must not be on improving the challenges. Leveraging on the strengths is less stressful for the individual and in turn improves performance exponentially. Thus, the objective is on optimization. Busted!