The science behind our assessments

Created in 1958 by Dr. Thomas Hendrickson, our behavioural assessment is based on William Moulton Marston’s ’DISC’ theory. Validated over more than 40 years in the workplace, the assessment provides greater certainty in recruitment, development and management by revealing a person’s behavioural style and preferences. 

The Thomas Behaviour assessment, also known as the Personal Profile Analysis (PPA), is a 24-item, self-report, multi-scale instrument, designed for the assessment of work-related behavioural preferences.  The instrument is based on the most widely accepted model of human behaviour, developed by Marston (Marston, 1928, 1931), who theorised that human behaviour is determined by whether we perceive our environment to be antagonistic or favourable, and whether we choose to adopt an active or passive response to it.  These two fundamental dimensions provide a matrix of four characteristics that describe an individual’s typical pattern of interaction. These are: 1. Dominance; 2. Influence; 3. Steadiness; 4. Compliance.

Created in partnership by renowned work psychologist Ian MacRae and Prof. Adrian Furnham, fellow of the British Psychological Society fellow and adjunct professor at BI Norwegian Business School. Thomas’ personality assessment measures 6 core traits that correlate with success at work, identifies where strengths may become derailers and highlights focus areas for personal development plans.

The Personality assessment, or High Potential Trait Indicator (HPTI), is based on a trait model of personality, in which an individual’s personality is described as a location on a continuum of stable factors. Different locations on a particular trait continuum describe the absence or presence of thoughts and behaviours that make up each trait. Certain trait levels can be indicative of a high potential to succeed, while others have the potential to derail an otherwise successful person. Informed by contemporary personality psychology such as the ‘Big Five’ model, extensive research was conducted to identify specific traits that were most predictive of performance in the workplace. The personality traits measured by  the HPTI are: Conscientiousness, Adjustment, Curiosity, Risk Approach, Ambiguity Acceptance and Competitiveness.