In just 8 minutes the PPA gives you an accurate insight into how your people behave at work
Personal Profile Analysis (PPA)
The Thomas Personal Profile Analysis (PPA)
The Thomas Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) provides information on an assessment taker's fears, motivators, values and behavioural style using four main profile factors: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance.
Assessment Information
Assessment type: Behavioural profile
Format: 24 questions
Time to complete: 8 minutes
Training required: None
Validation:
Registered with the British Psychological Society and audited against technical criteria established by the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations
Click below to download a sample candidate profile from the Thomas Perform platform
Using the PPA has saved the business thousands by helping them to choose candidates who fit the roles better, stay longer, and are more productive.
Stacy Cheuvront, Vice President of Human Resources
Using the PPA has saved the business thousands by helping them to choose candidates who fit the roles better, stay longer, and are more productive.
Stacy Cheuvront, Vice President of Human Resources
Using the PPA has saved the business thousands by helping them to choose candidates who fit the roles better, stay longer, and are more productive.
Stacy Cheuvront, Vice President of Human Resources
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.
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.
Find out how you can get deep insight into your people’s behavioural styles and motivators with the Thomas Behaviour assessment factsheet
Format of the Thomas PPA test
When doing PPA testing, 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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Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the Thomas International PPA?
Thomas’ Personality Profile Analysis (PPA) is a personality test which enables employers to evaluate a candidates’ character traits in a more in-depth way to determine whether they will be a suitable fit for a role as well as how they prefer to communicate with others.
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How does the Thomas PPA work?
The Thomas PPA is a forced-choice questionnaire where candidates are shown short statements and are asked to choose two trait adjectives from a list of four, one ‘most like’ and one ‘least like’ them. An individual’s choice of adjectives reflects their behavioural tendencies and personality in a workplace setting.
From this, a personal profile is created around four traits: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. These traits are ranked in order to form one’s unique character. The Thomas PPA only takes 8 minutes to complete.
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The PPA and DISC theory
The PPA is based on Marston’s DISC theory which classifies an individual’s behavioural preferences and splits them into four factors: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S), and Compliance (C).
While most people will show all four of these behaviour patterns at times, an individual will display one or more of them consistently in the workplace. This is because each person develops a behavioural style which places more emphasis on one preference and less emphasis on others.
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What are the benefits of the PPA to an organisation?
The PPA provides a comprehensive assessment of an individual including their fears, motivators, values and behavioural style. It gives you insights into how someone is likely to perform under pressure, how they modify their behaviour in their current job and any frustrations or problems they may be facing.
The PPA can also be used as a tool to back up your recruitment decisions and identify behaviours that were not shown at the interview stage. Since the PPA makes employers aware of their employee’s work styles, it also improves people management through a greater understanding of why people behave the way they do.
