How do you come up with your formulas?
It's a difficult question to answer without
getting too technical, but basically it works like this.
First, we gather all the data we can about a topic -
dieting for example. We start by doing qualitative
research - focus groups, one on ones, talking to
psychologists,... learning everything we can just by
talking to every day people. Next, we construct a large
questionnaire designed to put numbers on everything we
learned. In that survey we also include the personality
questions. When we get the data back, we perform a type of
mathematical modeling called 'regression' which examines
how different combinations of our test questions, weighted
in different ways, can be combined to make a predictive
formula. Then we check to see how well it worked. Do
people who get higher values on that formula do better on
what we were trying to predict? If so, we build the
formula into the website so you can benefit from the
research.
How can you do all this with only ONE test? Don't
you need to ask different questions to predict different
topics?
Short Answer: In the ideal world we would like
to be able to ask 20 additional questions for every topic
area. We might get stronger predictions. LONG ANSWER: But,
as it turns out, psychologists have been studying
personality for almost 100 years now, and there are several
fairly commonly accepted models of the dimensions that
define us. We started with the same assumptions made by
one of the most popular of these models, the Meyers-Briggs
Type Inventory. We examined many different tests designed
to uncover Extravertedness vs. Introvertedness,
Intuitiveness vs. Sensing Styles, Thinking vs. Feeling
Styles, and Perceiving vs. Judging Styles. Again, using
our resources as researchers, psychologists, and
statisticians, we were able to reconstruct these questions
in ways which resulted in better predictions, and isolated
the smallest number we could (using a technique called
factor analysis) that yield very good data on all four of
these dimensions. Because our test measures OVERALL
personality, we find that our formulas can predict a wide
range of topics.
Are we there yet? Can I have a drink of water?
Yes. We're there. And yes, of course you can.
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