SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & SOCIAL SCIENCES (SESS)

BACHELOR IN COUNSELING AND GUIDANCE

SEPTEMBER 2023

ECG 20703

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING IN COUNSELLING

NAME MATRICS ID

SITI SARAH SHAMINA BINTI ARIFFIN 012022091070

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 10TH OCTOBER 2023

LECTURER NAME: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR. OOI BOON KEAT

 TABLE OF CONTENT

- INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………3

- BACKGROUND OF CLIFTON STRENGTH OF

PERSONALITY TEST………………………………………………………………4

- THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTS………………………………………..5

- STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF CLIFTONSTRENGTH

OF PERSONALITY TEST………………………………………………………….6

- SUGGESTION AND RECOMMENDATION………………………………………7

- CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………….8

- REFERENCE……………………………………………………………………...…9
INTRODUCTION

Psychological testing serves as a foundation for mental health treatment. These

instruments are frequently used to assess and observe a person's behaviours,
emotions, and thoughts. A psychologist will administer the tests and review the results
to identify the reason, severity, and duration of their symptoms. This will help them
develop a treatment plan that is tailored to the individual's needs. (Stiles, 2021)

Formal, or "norm-referenced," psychological examinations can be used to

assess a person's capacity to comprehend various concepts. Checklists and
questionnaires are examples of these. This psychological test can be objective or
projective. Objective testing entails answering questions with predetermined
responses such as yes/no or true/false, (Stiles, 2021) whereas projective testing
assesses responses to ambiguous stimuli in the goal of revealing underlying emotions
and internal conflicts.

There are many types of psychological test. Among them are personality test,
aptitude test, intelligence test, emotional intelligence test, achievement test, attitude
test, neuropsychological test, project test, observation (direct) test and more. (Stiles,
2021) Under this type of psychological test, there are more specific test that are
developed by a certain founder of test. As for this assignment of psychological testing,
I choose to Clifton Strength of personality test.
BACKGROUND OF CLIFTON STRENGTH OF PERSONALITY TEST

Donald Clifton was an educational psychologist that developed the Clifton

Strengths assessment or a test of personality, formerly known as the Clifton
StrengthsFinder. He aimed to find the characteristics that distinguished high
performers. The Gallup Organisation developed the Clifton Strengths examination in
the 1990s, led by Clifton. (Hodges & Harter, 2005) The assessment's purpose is to
assist individuals in identifying and building on their greatest abilities. It also assists
individuals in identifying their top five strengths and can assist organisations in
improving business culture and performance. This personality test identifies people's
distinctive qualities and recommends them to focus on enhancing those rather than
eliminating their flaws.

This Clifton Strength test is open to everyone. People, for example, can take
the test for their own personal elves. Individuals can utilize the evaluation to uncover
their top abilities and learn more about what distinguishes them. Everything else is for
the students. The assessment is also available for young people in middle school, high
school, and college who wish to learn what they specialise at. Following that are teams
and an organization's leader. The test can help teams function more effectively
together and increase employee engagement. It can also help leaders demonstrate
their duties and better understand how to lead their teams. The final one is for the
organisation. Based on research, there are 500 companies use this assessment or
test to improve the environment and quality in their work place. (Hodges & Harter,
2005)

It takes about 30 minutes to complete the Clifton Strengths assessment. It will

be shown 177 statements. The test will then categorise the responses into one of 34
different Clifton Strengths themes. These topics are classified as strategic thinking,
relationship building, influencing, and executing. Respondents will receive an in-depth
report outlining their top five strengths after completing the quiz. The analysis
illustrates why these qualities are distinct, how they might assist respondents in
achieving success, and how to maximise potential. This is the true goal of the Clifton
Strengths assessment: to go beyond simply learning about strengths and take action
to maximise response potential. (Hodges & Harter, 2005)
THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTS

There is one theory that can be related to the Clifton strength test, which is the
theory of strength development. The early work of Donald Clifton, coauthor of the
Clifton Strengths assessment (Clifton and Anderson 2002), may be traced back more
than fifty years to the beginnings of strengths-development theory. Clifton's early
studies were carried out while he was a professor of educational psychology at the
University of Nebraska. His early research interests included the study of positive and
negative attitudes (Clifton, Hollingsworth, and Hall 1952) as well as the study of
teacher-student relations and student-teacher characteristics (Dodge and Clifton
1956).

The Clifton Strengths internal consistency, as determined by the coefficient

alpha level, fulfils established standards (coefficient alpha =.70; AERA/APA/NCME
1999). In a recent Gallup 2000 research of 706 professional employees, twenty-three
of the thirty-four Clifton StrengthsFinder themes had coefficient alpha levels greater
than 70, with only three themes having coefficient alpha levels less than 65. The Clifton
StrengthsFinder additionally demonstrates test-retest reliability, or how consistent
scores are over time. When the reliability of StrengthsFinder themes was assessed,
almost all of them demonstrated test-retest reliability of between r =.60 and r =.80 after
a six-month interval, very respectable by current psychometric standards and the
average correlation of an individual's theme ranking across multiple time periods was
r =.74 (Gallup 2000). (Hodges & Harter, 2005)

Ongoing research will look at how long the talent themes measured by the
StrengthsFinder will last. There is mounting evidence (for example, Judge et al. 1999)
that certain features of a person's personality are predictive over many decades of life.
As a result, researchers anticipate that the themes' stability will be assessed in years
rather than months. Gallup's research team is currently conducting studies to assess
the construct validity, test-retest reliability, and other psychometric aspects of the
Clifton Strengths of Personality Test. (Hodges & Harter, 2005)
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF CLIFTONSTRENGTH OF PERSONALITY
TEST

Clifton strength Of Personality Test has its own set of pros and cons. One of
the several advantages of this test is that it measures achievement. Hard work can be
encouraged, as can a high level of stamina and a persistent desire for success.
(Johnson, 2021) The second advantage is that being driven to organise while being
flexible for optimal productivity, as well as making an individual disciplined in dealing
with routine, order, and structure, are essential for their appreciation of the
environment. (Johnson, 2021)

Other strength and advantages in this test are makes a person better at
communication by encouraging them to put their thoughts into words and to present
and converse. Aside from that, it helps individuals with boosting self-assurance, which
means that feeling more competent in managing their life, taking chances, and making
wise decisions. This test can also assist individuals in developing their relationships
with other humans, allowing them to become more empathetic and able to connect
with others by imagining themselves in others’ lives or situations. This person can also
spread happiness, with making people excited about what they are planned.

It is also having a cons and weaknesses of the test. As I know, there are 5
criticisms, Chamorro-Premuzic (2016) discusses some of the negative consequences
of using strengths-based assessments and coaching. The first criticism, is “High
performing leaders tend to get better by developing new strengths, not just enhancing
old ones” (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2016). (Johnson, 2021) The other criticism faced in
this test is some may believe that an individual's top strengths are superior to their
other strengths but do not distinguish them from the rest of the population. An
additional criticism is that the strengths-based approach reflects an equal focus on
growing the strengths of less effective employees rather to focusing resources on high-
potential employees, and they also critique that having too much of a strength can be
harmful, even toxic. Finally, the criticism of this exam is that it focuses on the positives
while neglecting the significance and damage caused by people's faults, which is
wishful thinking.
SUGGESTION AND RECOMMENDATION

The recommendation I have to further enhance this test is in terms of the test
rules and regulations. According to the comments I gained from the respondents who
write the feedback of the test in website about this test, the majority of them thought
they did not have time to answer the questions. (Johnson, 2021) As a result, they had
to respond fast because the time provided for one question was only about 20
seconds. As a result, responders were forced to assume that he had an immediate
reaction to this test.

The next recommendation that I can suggest is that through the feedback
obtained from the test website, this test has some limitations from certain aspects. An
example of the limitation found in this test is that someone who wants to find a job that
matches their talents is not encouraged to take this test because this test is more to a
personality test than a career test. This test only suitable for someone who wants to
know about their strength and talent. (Johnson, 2021)

Finally, in my opinion, considering that this test can be done by a variety of

people, including employees and students, the price set should be based on the ability
of the students in specific. This is due to the relatively expensive cost of obtaining a
full report and full results from this test. As a result, respondents prefer to take cheaper
or free tests on other websites. (Johnson, 2021)
CONCLUSION

In summary, I believe that this test is appropriate for all persons, whether they
are employees, students, or therapists. A test such as this can be used to determine
a person's skills and talents. Aside from knowing their strengths, individuals can also
develop them and improve and sharpen the skills they already have. This test
additionally boosts an individual's self-esteem to perform well in academics, work, and
other areas. It also enables an individual to develop a strong empathic attitude and so
become a successful person.

As I realized, as a student, I think can take this test as the test have a many
beneficial to me especially as a student. I can increase my Self-Awareness. It assists
me in better understanding my particular abilities and talents, which can boost my self-
awareness and confidence. Next, by recognising my strengths, this test can assist me
in my academic success as a student, allowing me to modify my study methods to line
with my natural skills, potentially enhancing my academic achievement. Furthermore,
I may begin to design my future career plan, which knowing my abilities can assist
influence my job choices, allowing me to choose a sector or profession that matches
my talents and interests.
REFERENCE

Hodges, & Harter. (2005). A Review of the Theory and Research Underlying
the Strengths Quest Program for Students. Educational Horizons, v83, 190–
201. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ685058.pdf

Johnson, J. (2021, July 21). What Is the CliftonStrengths Assessment, and How
Does It Work? https://www.uschamber.com/co/.
https://www.uschamber.com/co/grow/thrive/cliftonstrengths-assessment

Sutton, J. (2023, September 19). Understanding the CliftonStrengthsTM

Assessment: A Guide. PositivePsychology.com.
https://positivepsychology.com/clifton-strengths-assessment

Stiles, K. (2021, September 15). Types of Psychological Testing. Psych

Central. https://psychcentral.com/lib/types-of-psychological-testing