---
title: "Scale Definitions: The Highs and the Lows"
description: Full descriptions and definitions of the new scales in The CPQ Nova
---

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# Scale Definitions: The Highs and the Lows

## Learn more about Clevry's personality scales, including their definitions and exactly what they measure to help you choose those best suited to your selection and/or development needs.

#### Understanding Scale Descriptions

The scale definitions at the high and low end of each scale are presented below. These definitions are drawn from the language of the items attached to each scale and appear in profile charts and candidate reports. It is important to stress that the **behaviours associated with the low end of the scale are not negative in nature.**

Information for each CPQ scale in the library is presented in this format:

| **Scale Name (Low)** | **Scale Name (High)** |
| --- | --- |
| Scale definition at the low end. Behavioural descriptions drawn from item content. | Scale definition at the high end. Behavioural descriptions drawn from item content. |

We have also provided some additional notes on the meaning of each scale which describes the scale in greater detail. These notes do not appear in profiles and reports but do guide the narrative that is used in our reports. This additional information is based on our understanding of the scales from their original development in combination with many years of discussing their meaning with clients and candidates. You can draw on these notes to increase the depth of your understanding of each scale and as a basis for feedback discussions. These notes also offer insights into the relationships between scales that may emerge from interpretation, feedback, and discussion with candidates.

We encourage you to complete the CPQ scales that you include in your bespoke personality questionnaires to really understand how the scale relates to your own personality.

### People Soft-Skills Scales

| **Consistent** | **Adaptable** |
| --- | --- |
| Personality does not vary when interacting with different people. Consistent style and approach across different situations. | Adapts their personality when interacting with different people. Changes their style and approach to adopt a role that is different from their personality. |

**Additional notes:** The Adaptable scale provides insights relating to the degree of flexibility that the individual demonstrates when interacting with others. It does not provide information about the effectiveness of the individual’s interpersonal behaviours. The Adaptable scale specifically focuses on the degree to which the individual’s behaviours around other people change across different situations.

 

| **Reserved** | **Approachable** |
| --- | --- |
| Takes time to warm up to new people. Can be reserved in social situations. May not enjoy making small talk. | Puts others at ease. Warm and approachable when meeting new people. Helps others to relax socially. |

**Additional notes:** The Approachable scale is probably the closest to the surface in personality terms. The scale measures the interpersonal warmth of the individual, and these behaviours are usually fairly obvious as soon as you interact with the person.

 

| **Gentle** | **Assertive** |
| --- | --- |
| Prefers to occupy a supporting role in a group. Avoids imposing presence on others. Communicates temperately rather than assertively. | Speaks with an air of authority and can occupy a dominant role in a group. May communicate forcefully. |

**Additional notes:** Assertive is a good example of a scale name that is open to misinterpretation by someone who lacks familiarity or training in psychometrics and the CPQ specifically. The Assertive scale tells us something about the amount of impact or presence that the individual demonstrates in groups and other interpersonal situations. High scores on this scale are not necessarily associated with aggressive behaviours; the scale helps us understand the degree to which an individual tends to assert their existence in social situations.

 

| **Attentive** | **Expressive** |
| --- | --- |
| Prepared to take time to listen to people. Avoids interrupting others when they are speaking. Regards themselves as a good listener. | Tends to be the one who does the talking. May sometimes talk over other people. Attention wanders when they are supposed to be listening. Expressive communicator. |

**Additional Notes:** The Expressive scale does not assess the effectiveness of the individual’s listening abilities; the scale differentiates between people who like to talk and those who prefer to listen. Items attached to this scale explore behaviours such as interrupting, forgetting what the other person has said, and enjoying hearing the opinions of others.

 

| **Tactful** | **Forthright** |
| --- | --- |
| Diplomatic and tactful. Mindful of the impact of what they say. Thinks before talking and prefers to minimise possible conflicts. | Straight-talking. Speaks out without worrying too much about upsetting people. Direct and frank when expressing opinions. |

**Additional notes:** The Forthright scale provides a picture of how blunt or plain-spoken the individual tends to be. Examples of behaviours associated with the high end of this scale are expressing views with little or no regard for their impact on the feelings of the audience. The low end of the scale is characterised by a more diplomatic approach, with views being couched in language carefully chosen to avoid upset or perhaps not being communicated at all. Linking results from the Forthright scale with those from the Persuading scale can help paint an interesting picture of the individual’s likely approach to differences of opinion with others.

 

| **Severance** | **Friendship** |
| --- | --- |
| Maintains a professional distance. Avoids close friendships at work. Prefers a social life away from the workplace. Chooses to keep a severance between their lives at work and home. | Enjoys a strong social life in the workplace. Motivated by developing close, personal relationships with colleagues. Works best when colleagues are also friends. |

**Additional notes:** The Friendship scale measures the extent to which the individual values work as a source of friendship and social life. Scores at the high end of this scale indicate that a social life at work, with close, personal relationships, is an important source of motivation for the individual.

 

| **Solitary** | **Gregarious** |
| --- | --- |
| Enjoys periods working alone. Minimises time spent with others. Can happily work solo without getting bored. | Enjoys working closely with others. Actively pursues opportunities to meet new people. Finds extended periods of solitude difficult. |

**Additional notes:** The Gregarious scale measures how affiliative the individual is at work. The scale was developed to provide insights about the degree to which the individual prefers working alone or with others. High scores on this scale are likely to overlap with other extroverted behaviours such as being outgoing and friendly.

 

| **Compromising** | **Persuading** |
| --- | --- |
| Happy to accept other people's views. Prefers to 'agree to disagree'. Avoids challenging other people’s thinking. Happy to accept differences of opinion. | Finds differences of opinion difficult to tolerate. Persists with efforts to influence others to accept a different position or view. Works hard to persuade others and change their mind. |

**Additional notes:** The Persuading scale is not a measure of ability; it does not tell us how successful the influence or persuasion skills of individuals tend to be. The scale assesses the degree to which the individual invests energy in trying to win other people around to their way of thinking. Individuals at the high end of this scale will tend to be very persistent in trying to change the views of others that are different from their own.

 

| **Reticent** | **Poised** |
| --- | --- |
| Likely to appear reserved in some social situations. Uncomfortable making small talk with new people. Comfortable taking more of a backseat socially. | Appears socially confident. Feels relaxed and comfortable on social occasions. Confident and poised when talking with anyone. |

**Additional notes:** ThePoised scale measures social confidence. Items attached to this scale explore behaviours such as feelings in new social encounters, degree of comfort with new people, and expressed confidence. Individuals with high scores on this scale tend to appear polished and composed in even demanding social encounters. The scale measures a different form of confidence from the Self-efficacy scale (in the Emotion Soft-Skills element of personality). The Poised scale is a component of a broader extraversion personality trait (see construct validity data for more information).

 

| **Conforming** | **Rebellious** |
| --- | --- |
| Avoids standing out from others. Would rather fit in than be different. Prefers to blend in with the crowd. Prioritises going with the flow over being different. | Independent and non-conforming. Likes to be different from others. Does things their own way. Prefers to stand out as an individual rather than blend in with the group. |

**Additional notes:** The Rebellious scale describes the individual’s degree of group orientation. Individuals at the low end of the scale will prefer to be seen as a typical group member who demonstrates behaviours congruent with the norms for the group. The high end of the scale represents a more maverick style. Scores at the high end are associated with behaviours around ‘going your own way’ and doing things the way you want rather than complying with the group.

 

### Cognitive Soft-Skills Scales

| **Applied-thinking** | **Conceptual-thinking** |
| --- | --- |
| Prefers to focus on the here and now. Favours concrete thinking over strategy. Choices guided by practical, immediate priorities. | Focuses thinking on the big picture. Prefers exploring strategy. Uninterested in practical, concrete, or short-term priorities. |

**Additional notes:** The Conceptual-thinking scale offers insight into the level at which individuals prefer to approach responsibilities and tasks. The low end of the scale is associated with a concrete, pragmatic style. Individuals with a low score on this scale will focus their attention and energies on the immediate, practical issues rather than spend time on the more theoretical aspects. High end scores are associated with a preference for theory, strategy and complexity.

 

| **Decisive** | **Considered** |
| --- | --- |
| Quick to take decisions. Prefers to reach decisions straightaway rather than overthink different options. Dislikes leaving issues open for further reflection. | Takes time to consider all options before deciding what to do. Dislikes making snap decisions. Prefers to allow space for reflection before deciding on a course of action. |

**Additional notes:** The Considered scale provides insights around the individual’s decision-making style. The scale has an intuitive relationship with the Jungian Judging Type; individuals at the low end of the scale prefer to settle things, achieve closure and decide quickly rather than prolong the decision-making process. Individuals at the high end will prefer to delay reaching a decision until all the options have been considered. Their decision-making style may be more reflective and cautious. The scale does not assess the effectiveness of the individual’s decision-making outcomes; the scale measures the style and pace of how decisions are reached.

 

| **Holistic** | **Detail-focused** |
| --- | --- |
| More interested in the major points than minor details and prefers to take an overview than deal with the particulars. Is not bothered about the small details. | Feels highly skilled at spotting small errors. Strong preference for focusing on details. Enjoys tasks that require precision and accuracy. |

**Additional notes:** The Detail-focused scale does not measure error checking skills or ability to attend to detail. The scale assesses the task style of the individual in relation to where they prefer to focus their attention. The scale has a relationship with the Jungian Sensing Type; individuals at the high end of the scale prefer to focus on the concrete and the detail. Their attention to detail is driven through a feeling of enjoyment and comfort with focusing on the finer points. The low end of the scale is associated with a style that prefers to focus attention on broader, more top-level aspects of tasks. Individuals at the low end of the scale may be capable of attending to detail and spotting errors, but it will require effort and maximum performance. People at the high end of the scale prefer to focus energy and attention on detail.

 

| **Pace** | **Steady** |
| --- | --- |
| Works at a fast pace. Strives to be efficient. Tries to finish work quickly. | Avoids rushing their work. Prefers working steadily when completing tasks. Comfortable working at a slower pace. |

 

| **Improvising** | **Planful** |
| --- | --- |
| Finds working to a strict plan frustrating. Does not need a detailed plan in order to perform effectively. Prefers to deliver work by improvising. | Plans carefully before starting something new. Keeps detailed to-do lists. Prefers a clear plan and structure. Finds it difficult working without clarity or structure. |

**Additional notes:** The Planful scale explores the individual’s preferences around planning and organisation. The tendencies being measured by the scale chime with those that differentiate people between theMyers-Briggs Judging-Perceiving dichotomy. Individuals at the high end of the scale will prefer to have a plan in place while those at the low end prefer a more open-ended, spontaneous approach to tasks and projects. While the scale is in the CPQ element of Cognitive Soft-Skills, it will have implications for Culture-Fit Values should the individual find themselves working in an environment that does not share their preference; for example, a highly-structured person working within a chaotic team. The CPQ scale, Regulation, in the Culture-Fit Values element provides information on the aspect of structure pertaining to values.

 

| **Flexible** | **Proactive** |
| --- | --- |
| Makes peace with situations they don't like. Finds a way to work around things at work rather than change them. Adapts to the way things are done. | Takes the initiative to change a situation rather than live with it. Proactively resolves things that are causing problems. |

 

| **Intuitive** | **Rational** |
| --- | --- |
| Thinking is guided primarily by experience and intuition. Judgement and decisions are guided by feeling more than thinking. Prefers to rely on intuition rather than analysis. | Favours relying on rational analysis when making decisions. Prefers critical thinking to gut-feel or instincts. Judgement is guided by thinking more than feeling. Prefers data to feelings. |

**Additional notes:** The Rational scale helps us to understand the type of information the individual prefers to focus their attention towards when making decisions and solving problems. The scale has a relationship with the Jungian Thinking Type; individuals at the high end of the scale will base their approach to tasks on data, logic and concrete information, while people at the low end will instead rely on gut-feelings and prior experience. While individuals at any point on the scale may make an identical decision, their rationale for the decision will reflect their preferred approach.

| **Cautious** | **Risky** |
| --- | --- |
| Cautious. More inclined to play it safe than make casual decisions. Avoids significant risks. | Is willing to take risks. Likes to sometimes throw concerns overboard. |

**Additional notes:** The Risky scale measures style relating to the type of approaches and solutions that the individual prefers to adopt in response to problems and challenges. People at the high end of the scale favour adopting a risky solution or approach to tasks and problems. The low end of the scale is associated with a more risk-averse style, where the individual will favour approaches that are more cautious.

| **Novelty** | **Routine** |
| --- | --- |
| Dislikes doing the same task over and over again. Looks for ways to avoid boring jobs. Prefers to constantly work on something new. | Maintains focus when doing repetitive tasks. Happy to perform the same task all day. Enjoys jobs that other people find boring. |

**Additional notes:** A significant theme of the Routine scale is tolerance of routine or monotony. Scores at the high end of the scale describe an individual who will knuckle-down and complete a task no matter how boring.

 

| **Technology-caution** | **Technology-confidence** |
| --- | --- |
| Does not feel an intuitive understanding with technology. Cautious when using new devices or software. Is not confident solving computer problems. | Feels confident and comfortable with new technology. Quick to learn new systems and helps others with technology. Is usually the one who fixes technological issues. |

 

### Emotion Soft-Skills Scales

| **Worrying** | **Calm** |
| --- | --- |
| Finds it difficult to switch off from the day's problems. May worry about things too much or find it hard to relax. | Rarely worries or feels troubled by events at work. Feels cool and calm even in difficult situations. |

**Additional notes:** The Calm scale measures very similar aspects of emotional style to measures of anxiety, emotional stability, and neuroticism. The low end of the scale is associated with an emotional style characterised by frequent worry and difficulty in letting go of thoughts and feelings outside of the workplace. The high end of the scale describes an emotional style that is more relaxed, settled, with infrequent worry. While Calm is an Emotion Soft-Skills scale, its effects will be seen in behavioural terms. The CPQ Nova Technical Manual (please contact your Clevry representative for access to this) will provide further insights into how the Calm scale relates to other, classic measures of emotional style.

 

| **Solemn** | **Cheerful** |
| --- | --- |
| Seems sober and earnest. May feel more downbeat when things go wrong. Sometimes appears gloomy. | Upbeat and cheerful, even in difficult situations. Tries to help people to feel happy or make others laugh. |

 

| **Emotional-acceptance** | **Emotional-analysis** |
| --- | --- |
| Accepts their emotions without needing to understand them. Little need to analyse the reasons for how they feel. Does not spend much time trying to explain their emotions. | Likes to understand the causes for the emotions they experience. Needs to make sense of their feelings. Reflects on the reasons behind their emotions. |

**Additional notes:** The Emotional-analysis scale provides us with insights into how much time and energy the individual likes to devote to reflecting on their feelings and the emotional events they encounter. It is a very ‘internal’ scale in the sense that it explores internal processes rather than expressed emotions or behaviours. Unlike some models of emotional intelligence, the scale does not seek to assess the accuracy of the individual’s insights or their ability to understand their emotions.

 

| **Distance** | **Empathy** |
| --- | --- |
| Unlikely to allow the feelings of others to influence their own. Emotions tend to remain the same even when someone shares a strong emotion with them. Remains distanced from the emotions of others. | Sensitive to the emotions of others. Quick to relate to people's feelings. Tries to understand the emotions of others. Receptive to, and influenced by, the emotions of those around them. |

 

| **Pessimistic** | **Optimistic** |
| --- | --- |
| Feels apprehensive about the future and how things will turn out. Anticipates outcomes not going as well as expected. Works on the basis that the worst is likely to happen. | Expects things to go well. Anticipates success and has an optimistic outlook on life. Looks on the bright side. |

**Additional notes:** The Optimistic scale does pretty much what it says on the tin. It explores the extent to which the individual’s emotional landscape is coloured by a more optimistic or pessimistic view of the future and past events. Middle scores on this scale suggest a more flexible emotional style with regard to feelings about the likely success of outcomes.

 

| **Resilience** | **Contemplative** |
| --- | --- |
| Quick to bounce back when things go wrong. Resilient temperament. Recovers easily from demanding events at work. | Finds it hard to move on after something goes wrong. Spends time thinking about setbacks and mistakes. Takes a while to reflect and move on from negative experiences. |

**Additional notes:** The Contemplative scale explores the extent to which the individual takes time to reflect after things go wrong at work, rather than moving on quickly. The scale differs from the CPQ Sensitive scale which looks at response to criticism. It is also different from the CPQ Calm scale, which measures how much the individual worries in general, rather than response after a specific setback.

 

| **Self-critical** | **Self-efficacy** |
| --- | --- |
| Realistic about personal capabilities. Tendency to have a critical self-perception. May experience lowered self-esteem. Open to self-criticism. | Feels confident about capabilities and has a strong sense of self-esteem. Very positive self-perceptions and rarely experiences self-doubt. |

**Additional notes:** The Self-efficacy scale helps us develop an understanding of the individual’s internal confidence. The items attached to this scale explore thoughts and feelings that the individual experiences in relation to their capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. The low end of the scale is characterised by frequent feelings of self-doubt and a lack of confidence in one’s abilities. The scale is different from the CPQ Poised scale in the sense that it explores inner confidence rather than expressed or social confidence.

 

| **Emotional-support** | **Self-sufficiency** |
| --- | --- |
| Draws on others for emotional support. Enjoys having people to turn to in difficult times. Deals with emotions and feelings with the help of others. | Emotionally self-sufficient. Low need for support from others. Relies on self to deal with emotions and feelings. |

**Additional notes:** The Self-sufficiency scale explores the individual’s need for emotional support from others. Items in the scale explore feelings relating to the emotional resources the individual needs to draw support from in testing times. At the high end of the scale the individual describes their source of emotional support as being internal, with support from others being minimised or even avoided.

 

| **Robust** | **Sensitive** |
| --- | --- |
| Comfortable dealing with difficult people. Hard to upset. Responds to criticism as a learning opportunity. Emotionally unaffected by feedback. | Takes feedback to heart. Feelings can be hurt quite easily. Finds rudeness from others hard to let go. Can be sensitive to criticism. |

 

| **Stress-averse** | **Stress-fuelled** |
| --- | --- |
| Finds it difficult to concentrate when stress levels rise. Does not enjoy working under pressure. Does not need stress to perform effectively. | Performs best under a degree of stress. Flourishes in a fast-paced working environment. May need the stress of a deadline to perform effectively. |

**Additional notes:** The Stress-fuelled scale explores the individual’s typical emotional response to working under time pressure. Items in this scale focus specifically on task related sources of stress such as deadlines, time pressure and work volume. Individuals at the low end of the scale describe themselves as needing calm working conditions and a need to feel unhurried and unpressured to produce their best work. High end scores are associated with an emotional style that responds positively to stress at work, with feelings such as energy, focus and effectiveness.

 

### Motivation Values Scales

| **Satisfaction** | **Ambition** |
| --- | --- |
| Does not place importance on things like awards and career progression. Feels satisfied with their situation, and is not bothered about achieving things. | Achievement focused. Motivated by challenging goals and pursuing awards and achievements. |

**Additional notes:** The Ambition scale explores the achievement or outcome focus of the individual’s motivational style. Scores at the high end therefore describe an individual whose motivation stems from pursuing a succession of achievements or goals and keeping busy. Individuals at the low end are happy to focus on the process of work and can experience spells of relative inactivity without their motivation being adversely affected.

 

| **Cooperation** | **Competition** |
| --- | --- |
| Dislikes competition at work. Prefers collaboration to winning at work. Does not feel motivated by opportunities to compete with others. | Enjoys playing to win. Values being better than the rest. Motivated working in a competitive environment. |

**Additional notes:** The Competition scale focuses on the individual’s value for working in a competitive environment. People scoring at the high end of this scale value rivalry, targets, and competition at work and will feel motivated by comparing their performance to others and winning. The low end of the scale indicates a great value for cooperation. Individuals with low scores are unlikely to feel motivated by competition.

 

| **Inconsistent** | **Dependable** |
| --- | --- |
| Tendency to procrastinate. Sometimes struggles to find motivation to complete tasks. May let people down from time to time. | Prioritises productivity and task completion. Earns trust from others through reliability. |

 

| **Practical** | **Ethical** |
| --- | --- |
| Is committed to work without needing a moral purpose and does not feel the need to change the world through their work. Balances their principles with realities of the world as it is. | Career choices are influenced by a value for making the world a better place. Prefers work that contributes to the greater good. Is committed to achieving ethical goals. |

**Additional notes:** The Ethical scale explores the individual’s beliefs around the tension between commercial imperatives and ethical standards. People at the high end of the scale describe their ethical and moral position as being strong and fixed. Individuals with high scores on this scale are likely to feel uncomfortable working in a culture that favours business needs over ethical or professional considerations.

 

| **Supporting** | **Leading** |
| --- | --- |
| Is happy leaving it to others to manage things and has little need to be the person in charge. Not motivated by taking on greater levels of responsibility. | Likes managing things at work or being the person in charge. Enjoys taking on extra responsibilities. Motivated by opportunities to take the lead. |

 

| **Task-focus** | **People-focused** |
| --- | --- |
| Prioritises own work before helping colleagues. Not motivated by actively helping colleagues. Values self-reliance. | Enjoys helping others with their work. Values supporting others above finishing a task. Motivated by offering help to colleagues. |

 

| **Pragmatism** | **Perfectionism** |
| --- | --- |
| Delivers work that is fit for purpose. Avoids wasting time on perfection. Believes that perfection is the enemy of the good. Pragmatically judges when work is good enough. | Strives for perfection in their work. Motivated by achieving highest quality results. Dislikes delivering work that is less than perfect. |

 

| **Financially-driven** | **Personal-fulfilment** |
| --- | --- |
| Motivated by making money. Career choices likely to be influenced by potential earnings. Values doing work with a focus on financial performance. | Places greater importance on enjoying work than earning lots of money. Not motivated by the pursuit of high levels of financial reward. May feel uncomfortable working in a very profit-orientated role. |

**Additional notes:** The Personal-fulfilment scale helps us establish how important salary is to the individual as a source of motivation. Items relating to the low end of this scale include content with very strong assertions of the importance of being rich, earning money and enjoying material luxuries. Items relating to the high end of this scale relate to placing more emphasis on enjoyment of work than the need to earn a high salary.

 

| **Restless** | **Relaxed** |
| --- | --- |
| Is happiest when occupied with a task, and tends to seek out things to do in order to keep busy. Avoids feeling idle. Dislikes having nothing to do. | Finds happiness and satisfaction in moments of leisure and having little to do. Does not feel the need to be constantly engaged in tasks. Happy to do nothing from time to time. |

 

| **Focus** | **Variety** |
| --- | --- |
| Prefers consistency in their job. Likes work to be similar each day and dislikes juggling different tasks at once. Prefers to focus on specific, unvarying priorities. | Enjoys variety in their job. Likes every day to be different. Prefers tackling different demands, priorities and tasks in their day-to-day work. |

**Additional notes:** The Variety scale assesses how motivated the individual is by dealing with a variety of tasks and challenges at work. People at the high end of the scale are likely to feel motivated by roles that involve lots of plates spinning at the same time.

 

### Culture-Fit Values Scales

| **Stability** | **Change** |
| --- | --- |
| Prefers what's familiar over what's new. Prefers a stable organisational culture over a dynamic one. | Excited about change and enjoys working in a dynamic environment. Enthusiastic when new ways of working are introduced. |

**Additional notes:** The Change scale explores the individual’s values around organisational change. Individuals with scores at the high end of the scale will be very comfortable working in a culture that features frequent change; the individual is likely to feel motivated by newness and novelty and therefore may find it difficult to sustain themselves in a culture that favours stability, tradition and the familiar.

 

| **Serious** | **Humour** |
| --- | --- |
| Feels more at home in a culture that is professional and serious. Uncomfortable working in an environment with frequent joking around. Expects others to take work seriously. | Values working in an environment that welcomes light-heartedness and humour. Prefers workplaces where things are not taken too seriously. Enjoys working with people who have a laugh and a joke. |

**Additional notes:** The Humour scale focuses on the individual’s culture-fit values for fun, frivolity and light-heartedness in the workplace. Individuals with low scores favour a more sober and serious working environment and are likely to take a dim view of frivolity in the workplace. High scorers are likely to feel most comfortable working in an environment that is not too earnest and will enjoy a laugh and a joke at work.

 

| **Implementation** | **Innovation** |
| --- | --- |
| Prefers to work in a culture that values effectively applying processes over innovation. Uncomfortable working in a highly creative environment. Enjoys implementing practical solutions. | Motivated by opportunities to demonstrate creativity at work. Values working in a culture with a strong emphasis on innovation. Prefers coming up with original ideas to implementing them. |

**Additional notes:** People at the high end of the Innovation scale will generally look for a new or different way of doing things; they will be temperamentally disposed to avoid simply doing things the way they have been done before. The lower end of the scale represents the ‘if it’s not broke don’t fix it’ approach and will feel more comfortable applying trusted approaches. The scale does not imply a value judgement about which approach is best; the scale simply provides insights to the likely task style of the individual in relation to responding to challenges at work.

 

| **Down-to-earth** | **Intellectually-curious** |
| --- | --- |
| Enjoys working with practical, down-to-earth people. Prefers a culture that values experience and common sense over academic qualifications and intellect. | Favours working in an environment rich in intellectual stimulation and challenge. Comfortable in a culture of intelligent people and academic achievement. Enjoys intellectual discussions. |

**Additional notes:** This scale is **not** a measure of intelligence or ability. Users who are familiar with the 16PF should not conflate the CPQ Intellectually-curious scale with Cattell’s Reasoning factor\[1\]. The CPQ Intellectually-curious scale measures the individual’s values for working within a culture that includes intelligent, academically, or professionally well-qualified people. Individuals at the low end of the scale will favour a more down-to-earth, practical working culture where experience and common sense are valued over academic achievement.

 

| **Autonomy** | **Regulation** |
| --- | --- |
| Frustrated by strict processes. Values freedom from structure and rules at work. Dislikes sticking closely to procedures. | Prefers working within clear boundaries and controls. Values having rules to follow and clear structures at work. |

**Additional notes:** The Regulation scale provides insights relating to the individual’s value for structure in the workplace. High end scores indicate a preference for an organisational culture featuring rules, processes, and standard operating procedures. Individuals with low end scores are likely to feel frustrated by working in a very ordered, structured or rule-bound culture.

 

| **Business-focused** | **Values-focused** |
| --- | --- |
| Happy working for an organisation that emphasises growth rather than wider, societal concerns. Prioritises business or personal needs over their employer's social reputation. | Prefers an employer whose values are compatible with their own. Prioritises seeking a company with a positive social reputation, and evaluates career decisions based upon these factors. |

 

### **Self-Presentation Scales**

The forty-seventh scale in the Clevry Personality Questionnaire is a measure of response style. The scale is called Impression-management and it measures the extent to which the test-taker may have made an attempt to create a more favourable impression.

| **Candour** | **Impression-management** |
| --- | --- |
| Candid when responding to the questionnaire. Open and frank about possible weaknesses. Has probably made no effort to create a favourable impression. May have a very critical self-image or low self-awareness. | Has tended to give responses which are more socially desirable. May have attempted to create a more favourable impression. May have a very positive self-image or low self-awareness. |

The scale is identical in format to the other scales in the library:

- 6 items in length
- Positively and negatively balanced
- Narrow scale definition
- Highly reliable
- Results in a sten score on a bi-polar scale

\[1\] Cattell, H. E. P., & Mead, A. D. (2008). The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF). In G. J. Boyle, G. Matthews, & D. H. Saklofske (Eds.), *The SAGE Handbook of Personality Theory and Assessment: Vol. 2. Personality Measurement and Testing* (pp. 135–159). London: SAGE.

 

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