Personal Profile Analysis (PPA)

Gain an accurate insight into how your people behave at work, with Thomas’ behavioural assessment (PPA).

Explore behavioural-fit
Improve communication
Identify areas for development
Manage performance
Motivate and engage staff
Recruit the right person

How Thomas' personality profile assessment works

In just 8 minutes, Thomas' Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) provides an accurate insight into how people behave at work.

8 Minute Assessment

In just 8 minutes, Thomas' behavioural assessment provides an accurate insight into how people behave at work, allowing you to gain greater certainty when recruiting and understand how to boost staff morale.

Detailed Profile

You are provided with an initial profile detailing a person's strengths and limitations, their communication style, their value to the business, what motivates them, their basic fears and how they behave under pressure.

Diverse Reports

The Thomas PPA comes with over 18 reports, that you can use to match people to jobs, sift CVs, manage, coach and develop your people.

Assessment Information

Assessment type: Behavioural profile

Format: 24 questions

Availability: 56 languages

Time to complete: 8 minutes

Training required: PPA International Accreditation

Validation: Registered with the British Psychological Society and audited against technical criteria established by the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations

Download sample report

Background & Theory

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Dr. Thomas Hendrickson developed William Moulton Marston’s DISC theory to produce the Thomas Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) for the work place.

Marston’s original theory viewed people behaving along two axes, with their attention being either passive or active, depending on the individual’s perception of their environment as either favourable or antagonistic. It was theorised that the way in which the individual interacts takes four basic directions: tendencies to dominate, influence, submit and comply.

The Thomas PPA describes 4 adapted behavioural factors. Each factor is seen as a scale of preference of style as perceived by an individual of his or her own behaviour in the workplace. The factors arise from different human needs, which result in habitual patterns of creating a characteristic “style”. These 4 factors are: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance.

Format of the Thomas PPA test

When doing the Thomas PPA, individuals are asked to choose 2 trait adjectives from a list of 4, one ‘most like’ and one ‘least like’ them. This process is repeated 24 times, giving 48 choices from a total of 96 words. An individual’s response patterns are then compared to themselves rather than the scores of a comparison group.

Thomas International have also developed the PPA+ format which is suitable for people with a reading age of 11+ and for candidates who are fluent in English but for whom English is not their first language.

Reliability & Validity

The Thomas PPA has been subject to rigorous scientific testing to determine its reliability and validity as a psychological assessment. The PPA is registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS) after it was audited against the technical criteria established by the European Standing Committee on Tests and Testing, part of the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations.

Thomas International conducts on-going psychometric research with the PPA. We have previously collaborated with the Psychometrics Centre at Cambridge University www.psychometrics.cam.ac.uk. Please get in touch with [email protected] if you are interested in supporting our continuous development programmes.

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