Pi Behavioral Assessment Questions
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment requires choosing words that describe you out of two identical checklists containing 86 adjectives.
- In the first list, you are instructed to choose adjectives that you believe describe the way you are expected to behave by others.
- In the second list, you are asked to choose adjectives that you believe describe you.
Here is an example of words you may see on the test:
| Serious | Rational | Sympathetic | Careful |
| Observant | Organized | Outgoing | Polite |
| Assertive | Conventional | Alert | Serene |
| Determined | Realistic | Social | Stable |
| Bold | Logical | Pleasant | Consistent |
Think about which adjectives you would intuitively choose from this list- as you learn about the underlying aspects of the PI Behavioral assessment, your answer is likely to change.
Each of the 86 adjectives in the PI behavioral test relates to one of four factors. Together these factors describe the expected behaviors and traits in relation to the desired position:
- Dominance: represents the drive to exert influence on people or events.
- Extraversion: represents the drive for social interactions with others.
- Patience: represents the drive for consistency and stability.
- Formality: represents the drive to conform to rules and structure.
See if you can recognize which adjectives indicate high patience:
a. Serious
b. Social
c. Rational
d. Careful
Answer:
The correct answer is the c- Being careful is a personality trait associated with high patience.Serious is associated with high dominance, social represents the extraversion factor, and rationality indicates high formality.
Based on your chosen list of adjectives you will be allocated one of 17 personality types.
The PI Behavioral Assessment Score and Your Position
The PI behavioral assessment results are compared to an ideal profile for the position in question to determine your compatibility and expected job performance. As such, a good score on the test means your characteristics align with the position's requirements.
Let's review a few positions and what would be the most appropriate adjectives to choose based on the 4 factors:
Team Leader/ Manager
Successful team leaders must be highly dominant, guiding and leading a team toward meeting company objectives. Excellent interpersonal skills are essential for building trust and effectively communicating with senior management and team members. The ability to foster a collaborative and efficient work environment is also essential.
What adjectives fit most for team leaders?
a. Assertive, determined, bold.
b. Conventional, realistic, logical.
c. Alert, sympathetic, pleasant.
d. Serene, stable, consistent.
Answer:
The correct answer is A.
When concerning team leaders, the most prominent factor should be Dominance. Dominant team leaders can decisively guide projects, minimizing confusion and indecision. Their assertive approach can foster a clear hierarchical structure, which may streamline communication and task delegation.
Public Relations Specialist
In public relations, staying attuned to evolving public sentiment and media landscapes is key. The role is highly relational, requiring connecting with various stakeholders like media and influencers. A congenial attitude is often crucial, especially when delicately handling crises. It blends awareness, social savvy, and approachability to shape an organization's public image.
What adjectives fit most for public relations positions?
a. Assertive, determined, bold.
b. Conventional, realistic, logical.
c. Alert, sympathetic, pleasant.
d. Serene, stable, consistent.
Answer:
The correct answer is C.
Extraversion in public relations helps build and maintain essential relationships with media, influencers, and stakeholders. An outgoing demeanor can also enhance a brand's image, making it more relatable and approachable to the public.
Human Resources Positions
In a human resources role, adhering to established policies and procedures is often vital for ensuring a fair and organized work environment. The position demands a grounded perspective on what can be feasibly achieved regarding employee benefits and organizational goals. Decision-making often requires a systematic approach, prioritizing clear reasoning and information over emotion or speculation.
What adjectives fit most for human resources roles?
a. Assertive, determined, bold.
b. Conventional, realistic, logical.
c. Alert, sympathetic, pleasant.
d. Serene, stable, consistent.
Answer:
The correct answer is B.
Formality in public relations establishes credibility and trust, reinforcing the brand's reputation as reliable and professional. A formal approach also ensures clear and consistent communication, minimizing misunderstandings that could jeopardize the organization's public image.
Customer Support Representative
In a customer support role, maintaining a calm demeanor is crucial, especially when navigating complex or stressful situations with customers. The job requires a reliable presence, as clients often seek prompt and uniform solutions to their problems. Offering dependable assistance, no matter the issue or the frequency of such issues, is fundamental to the position.
What adjectives fit most for customer support positions?
a. Assertive, determined, bold.
b. Conventional, realistic, logical.
c. Alert, sympathetic, pleasant.
d. Serene, stable, consistent.
Answer:
The correct answer is D.
Patience in customer support fosters a positive experience, allowing clients to feel heard and understood. A patient approach also aids in problem-solving, leading to more effective and lasting solutions for customer issues.
Sales Representatives
In the role of a sales representative, staying keenly aware of market trends and customer needs is essential for identifying and capitalizing on business opportunities. The job naturally leans on one's ability to connect with people, as networking and relationship-building are vital for cultivating a loyal client base. A proactive approach is often required, especially when negotiating deals or trying to close a sale.
What adjectives fit most for sales-oriented positions?
a. Assertive, determined, bold.
b. Conventional, realistic, logical.
c. Alert, sympathetic, pleasant.
d. Serene, stable, consistent.
Answer:
The correct answer is C.
Extraversion in a sales representative helps quickly establish rapport and engage clients, thereby increasing the likelihood of a successful sale. Dominance ensures the ability to guide negotiations and close deals effectively, giving the sales representative greater control over the sales process.
Analyst Positions
In an analyst role, adhering to established methodologies and best practices often provides the most accurate and reliable insights. The job demands a tenacious approach to problem-solving, as digging deep into data sets and trends is essential for meaningful analysis. Reasoning skills are central to the position, as conclusions must be drawn based on empirical evidence rather than intuition or speculation.
What adjectives fit most for data analysts?
a. Assertive, determined, bold.
b. Conventional, realistic, logical.
c. Alert, sympathetic, pleasant.
d. Serene, stable, consistent.
Answer:
The correct answer is B.
Formality in a data analyst ensures that the presentation and interpretation of findings adhere to professional standards, enhancing the credibility of the analysis. Dominance allows the analyst to assert the importance of data-driven decision-making within the organization, ensuring that empirical evidence precedes intuition or conjecture.
How to Answer PI Behavioral Assessment Questions?
The analysis of different positions reveals that each position highlights different factors that should be described by adjectives that relate to that factor. In addition, it is evident that most positions require demonstrating more than one factor - with varying importance levels for each factor.
If we look back at the adjectives list at the beginning of the page, we can divide it as such:
| Dominance | Formality | Extraversion | Patience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious | Rational | Sympathetic | Careful |
| Observant | Organized | Outgoing | Polite |
| Assertive | Conventional | Alert | Serene |
| Determined | Realistic | Social | Stable |
| Bold | Logical | Pleasant | Consistent |
On our complete PI behavioral assessment PrepPack, you can gain access to comprehensive guides with a full list of all 86 adjectives, divided into the four PI Behavioral factors. It is designed to help you learn how to correctly classify adjectives, and how to recognize the most to least important factors for your position, with customized PI behavioral assessment practice tests.
How Many Adjectives Should You Select to Show Important Traits?
Each position profile is assembled of a combination of several factors, some more important and some less. As we have seen above, a sales representative is expected to be an extrovert, but would also be expected to show high dominance. A data analyst should be formal but should also express dominance in his work. The rest of the positions do have a leading factor but should express the other factors to a certain degree as well.
To show more and less dominant factors in your personality, you need to choose several adjectives according to their level of importance for your position. The more adjectives you choose for one factor, the higher/lower that factor will appear in the results.
Try evaluating how important is each factor for a research scientist position:
a. Dominance > Formality > Extraversion > Patience
b. Extraversion > Dominance > Formality > Patience
c. Patience > Dominance > Extraversion > Formality
d. Formality > Patience > Dominance > Extraversion
Answer:
The correct answer is D.
Since accurate scientific research requires strict adherence to rules and regulations as well as a high degree of consistency and methodical work, the formality and patience factors should be higher in the hierarchy. Extraversion and dominance on the other hand are not attributes that are essential to the work of most scientists.
Understanding this type of hierarchy for your position will enable you to choose enough adjectives that represent the important qualities of your position and their corresponding factors. To understand which qualities are important for your position and prioritize them from the most to the least important, take a close look at your job description and try to identify keywords that relate to the four factors. Examples and guidance on analyzing your job description are available in our PI Behavioral Assessment Preparation Pack.
How Many Adjectives Should You Choose Overall?
Other than the specific adjectives you choose to describe yourself, the number of words you choose also influences your predictive index behavioral test results. We recommend choosing between 20-50 words on each list, and not more than 80 words on both lists. Choosing less or more than this range may indicate indecisiveness and difficulty analyzing and recognizing your strengths and weaknesses.
Should You Select the Same Adjectives on the Second List?
The first list asks you to select adjectives based on how you think people expect you to behave, which creates your “self-concept”, who you wish to be, while the second list asks about who you are now.
- Since a gap between the lists is natural and indicates room for self-development, choosing more words on the first list (“self-concept”) is recommended than on the second list.
- It is still essential to maintain the same ratio of adjectives you choose from each factor so that in both lists, the most essential qualities for the position are the most dominant ones.
- When choosing adjectives for the second time, try to select slightly different adjectives for each factor. This shows that you take the time to think about what you are being asked about.
To Summarize, Your PI Score and Results Are Determined Based On:
- What factor does each adjective relate to, and the number of adjectives you choose from each one?
- Whether your results align with the qualities a potential candidate must possess.
- The overall number of words you select.
- The ratio between the number of words you select on each list.
- The number of words you select to represent each factor.
Learn How to Get the PI Behavioral Assessment Result That Shows
You Are the Right Person for the Position
Our team of psychologists has created a detailed preparation course designed to help you learn how to identify which adjectives are viewed positively for your position, which adjectives are more and less important, and how to ensure your answer shows that.
It includes:
- Guidance and PI behavioral assessment practice tests for correctly classifying adjectives into each of the 4 assessed personality factors.
- Guidance and practice in analyzing job descriptions and identifying which are the more and less important qualities for your position.
- Tips on how many adjectives to choose from each factor on the different lists and how to re-select adjectives on the second list.
If you are about to take both the PI behavioral and Cognitive assessments get full coverage with our PI Assessments Bundle Pack.
