There are many kinds of Psychometric Testing available, PMSL utilizes the Five Factor Model, on which most other tests are based, because it was developed specifically for use in business organizations. It is used in the USA by companies as diverse as AT&T and Disneyland and in Trinidad & Tobago by companies such as The National Petroleum Marketing Company, Guardian Holdings Limited, Citibank and several Government Agencies and Ministries.

The Five Factor Model developed by the Center for Applied Cognitive Studies in 2000 went back to the basic research done in 1947 and all the developments subsequent to that time. It then tracked practitioners’ experience over the years in application of the tests for efficacy and predictability.

The model is useful in building and developing coherent teams. This saves time and money in selecting the right people and in working in a team-based environment. This test is also used for career development where the information provided about an individual’s personality is used to identify careers which are compatible with their personality, leading to personal satisfaction with job and life.

According to the Model, five key factors account for personality differences:

• Need for Stability, the degree to which we respond to stress.
• Extraversion, the degree to which we tolerate sensory stimulation from people/situations.
• Originality, the degree to which we are open to new experiences.
• Accommodation, the degree to which we defer to others.
• Consolidation, the degree to which we push toward goals.

DISC is a behavior assessment test based on the theories of American Psychologist William Moulton Marston developed in 1928 which categorized people along two behavioral axes, their attention being passive or active, which, according to his theory, depended on whether they saw their environment, including, significantly, their work environment, as being favourable or antagonistic.

The four quadrants used in this methodology are:

1. Dominance, which produces activity in an antagonistic environment
2. Inducement, which produces activity in a favourable environment
3. Submission, which produces passivity in a favourable environment
4. Compliance, which produces passivity in an antagonistic environment

This test is particularly useful in team and supervisory training and is frequently used as a non-threatening analysis of team members’ personalities for people  put into new team situations.