Bochum inventory for job-related personality description

The Bochum inventory for job-related personality descriptions (BIP, Hossiep & Paschen, 2019) is a psychological test procedure that systematically records job-related personality traits. For this purpose, statements are presented to the participant, which he is supposed to assess with regard to the personal accuracy of the statements. The answers are summarized into numerical values based on relevant professional dimensions, graphically displayed on a profile sheet and summarized in a psychological report . GDP can be applied in different contexts such as: B. in coaching measures , personnel development measures, selection processes or for personal assessment.

The GDP can be compared to other personality tests v. a. differentiate on the basis of its explicit occupational reference, whereby the standardization of the test (i.e. the extent to which personality traits are represented in the general public) is also carried out on employed persons.

The test

general information

The target group of BIP are female and male professionals ( specialists and managers ) and job seekers in German-speaking countries. The published (2nd, completely revised) version of the BIP comprises 14 scales (job-related aspects of personality), which are recorded on the basis of 210 statements to be assessed (so-called items). The current (6th revised) research version measures a total of 17 scales with the help of 253 items. The processing time is usually between 45 and 60 minutes. The BIP can be processed both as a questionnaire in paper format and on the computer. The procedure has already been translated into the following languages: English, French, Italian, Czech, Dutch, Danish, Spanish, Slovak, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Croatian, Chinese, Hungarian, Polish and Russian. The languages Brazilian Portuguese and Finnish are currently in print (as of June 2015).

Main areas and interpretation of the scales

The main areas of GDP are professional orientation, work behavior, social skills and psychological constitution.

Professional orientation

The professional orientation comprises three scales: achievement motivation , creative motivation and leadership motivation . The scale values are interpreted in GDP as follows:

People with high scores on the achievement motivation scale place high demands on their own performance. They are ready to be very involved in the pursuit of their goals and strive to continuously improve their own work.

People with a high degree of design motivation have a strong will to intervene in their work. They are motivated to eliminate grievances and try to implement their own ideas.

People with high scores on the leadership motivation scale want to assume leadership responsibility. You can convince other people and win them over. You have a rousing and inspiring effect on others.

(See Hossiep, R., Paschen, M., 2003, additionally: competitive orientation in the research version).

Work behavior

Work behavior also includes three scales: conscientiousness , flexibility and action orientation .

People with high scores on the conscientiousness scale adhere to agreements very reliably, are more inclined to perfectionism and proceed very carefully when processing tasks.

With high scores on the flexibility scale, people increasingly show the following characteristics: They adapt easily to new situations, can tolerate ambiguous situations well and are able to quickly adapt methods and procedures to changing conditions.

People with high scores in terms of action orientation immediately start implementing their decision after making a decision, proceed in a very goal-oriented manner and do not allow themselves to be impaired by distractions and difficulties in carrying out their work.

(cf. Hossiep, R., Paschen, M., 2003) (additionally: analysis orientation in the research version)

Social competence

Social competence comprises five scales: sensitivity , ability to make contacts , sociability , team orientation and assertiveness . The scale values are interpreted in GDP as follows:

People with a high sensitivity scale have a good feel for the moods of others and can reliably assess their own impact on others. They can also easily adapt to different social situations.

People who approach other people and can easily make contacts are characterized by high scores on the ability to communicate. You have diverse relationships and contacts and enjoy meeting other people.

People with high scores on sociability are friendly and considerate towards other people and value harmony in their dealings with others. They are also very willing to adapt to different people.

Typical characteristics of people with high scales for team orientation are: Willingness to work in a team and the willingness to accept and support team decisions. In addition, these people seek cooperation and exchange with others.

People with high scores for assertiveness like to enforce their ideas and defend their point of view emphatically. They have the upper hand in arguments.

(See Hossiep R., Paschen, M., 2003, in addition: Enthusiasm for the research version).

Mental constitution

Mental constitution comprises three scales: emotional stability, resilience and self-confidence . The scale values are interpreted in GDP as follows:

People with high emotional stability react calmly to difficulties and do not allow themselves to be discouraged. You get over problems and failures quickly.

High scores on the resilience scale are interpreted to mean that people are resistant to stress and still feel able to perform under pressure. In addition, they react resiliently even to high loads.

People with a high score on the self-esteem scale are confident about social interaction and are not very concerned about the impression they make on others. You stay calm in situations where there is an assessment of yourself.

(See Hossiep, R., Paschen, M., 2003).

Quality criteria

The GDP can be viewed as a reliable as well as a valid test procedure for job-related personality traits. With a sample of 9302 test participants, Cronbach's alpha values for the internal consistency of the BIP scales were between 0.75 and 0.92, which indicates a high level of measurement accuracy of the scales. For the retest reliability (i.e. reliability after repeated testing), correlation coefficients between 0.77 and 0.89 result for the GDP scales , which speaks for a high stability of the recorded job-related personality aspects (cf. Hossiep & Paschen, 2003). In addition, GDP has a high criterion validity (i.e. the measured values are related to relevant external criteria). The GDP measurements correlate with professional earnings ( Adj. R² = 0.15, N = 5674), with hierarchical position (Adj. R² = 0.16, N = 5192), with one's own professional success assessment (Adj. R² = 0.24, N = 5745) and with job satisfaction (adj. R² = 0.16, N = 4888). The test scales of GDP also correlate with the corresponding test scales of other personality questionnaires (EPI, NEO -FFI, 16PF -R) r = 0.54 to 0.84 (see Hossiep & Paschen, 2003), which suggests that the GDP also measures this what it claims to measure (construct validity ). GDP can also be viewed as an objective measurement method. With regard to the implementation objectivity, instructions for standardized implementation are available. With regard to the evaluation objectivity, there is a precise standardized procedure for manual evaluation (paper version) (including evaluation template, etc.), which can also be transferred to the computerized evaluation. For the interpretation of the scale values, there are detailed scale conceptualizations and sample interpretations (Hossiep & Paschen, 2003; Hossiep & Mühlhaus, 2005), which refer to extensive standard samples (total standard sample in the published version N = 9302, total standard sample in the research version currently N = 6207).

criticism

According to a study by the University of Zurich in 2006, the BIP is the only one of the nine personality procedures most used in Switzerland that does not rely on outdated theories, was developed explicitly for job-related use and is therefore to be regarded as a modern and scientifically sound procedure.

For the area of application of career counseling, the diagnostics group of the Swiss Association for Career Counseling has judged that it is the most suitable German-language procedure with regard to job-related characteristics.

Marcus (2004) named the job-related construction and the extensive database as advantages of the BIP in the journal for industrial and organizational psychology.

International versions

R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2003): Bochumský osobnostní dotazník - BIP (Czech edition). Praha: test center.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2006): BIP - Inventario Bochum de Personalidad y Competencias (Spanish edition). Madrid: TEA Ediciones, SA
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2007): BIP - Bochumský inventár profesijnýchcharistik osobnosti (Slovak edition). Praha: test center.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2007): BIP - Inventário de Personalidade e Competências para as Organizações (Portuguese edition). Lisboa: CEGOC-TEA.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2008): BIP - Business-focused Inventory of Personality (English edition). Oxford: Hogrefe.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2008): BIP - Inventaire de Personnalité de Bochum dans le contexte professionnel (French edition). Paris: Hogrefe.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2009): BIP - Werkgerelateerde persoonlijkheidsvAGENlijst (Dutch edition). Amsterdam: Hogrefe.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2010): BIP - Business-focused Inventory of Personality (Danish edition). Virum: Hogrefe.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2011): BIP - Бизнес-ориентиран въпросник за оценка на личността в работата (Bulgarian edition). Kingsgate: Hogrefe.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2013): BIP - Bochumski inventar za opis ličnosti u radnom okruženju (Croatian edition). Jastrebarsko: Naklada Slap.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2013): BIP - Business-focused Inventory of Personality (Italian edition). Firenze: Hogrefe.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2014): BIP - Bochum inventory for job-related personality description (Hungarian edition). Budapest: OS Hungary Tesztfejlesztő.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2014): BIP - Bochumski Inwentarz Osobowościowych Wyznaczników Pracy (Polish edition). Warszawa: Pracownia Testów.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2015): Методика оценки профессионально важных качеств личности - BIP (Russian edition). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (2015): Vprašalnik za oceno osebnosti na delovnem mestu - BIP (Slovenian edition). Ljubljana: Center za psihodiagnostična sredstva.

Complementary procedures

As a supplementary procedure, the external description inventory for BIP (BIP-FI) offers the possibility of capturing the so-called external image of a person. The person is described by another person (e.g. a work colleague). This external image is described on the same 17 personality dimensions as those of the research version of BIP. With a combined use of BIP and BIP-FI, matches and deviations between the self-image and the external image of a person can be determined. One possible area of application are 360 ° audits . The requirements module for BIP (BIP-AM) is a procedure with which the general requirements of a position can be systematically and efficiently analyzed and can therefore be assigned to the instruments of the requirements analysis. These are recorded on the same 17 personality dimensions as the research version of GDP. In combination with the GDP, the fit of a person and the respective activity can be determined with regard to the general requirements. The 6-factor inventory of GDP (BIP-6F) depicts six superordinate personality areas on a higher level of abstraction and thus - in contrast to BIP, which provides a detailed picture of job-related personality traits - an overview of a person's job-related self-image. The six overriding factors represent commitment, social skills, discipline, dominance, stability and cooperation. This procedure, like the BIP, has been published by Hogrefe Verlag since May 2012.

literature

E. Brähler, H. Holling, D. Leutner, F. Petermann: Brickenkamp handbook of psychological and educational tests. 3. Edition. Hogrefe, Göttingen 2002.
K. Heilmann: The Bochum inventory for job-related personality description (BIP). In: Ernst Fay (Ed.): Tests under the magnifying glass II. Pabst, Lengerich 1999.
R. Hossiep, M. Paschen (with the collaboration of O. Mühlhaus): Bochum inventory for job-related personality description (BIP). 2nd Edition. Hogrefe, Göttingen 2003.
R. Hossiep, O. Mühlhaus: Personnel selection and development with personality tests. Hogrefe, Göttingen 2005.
R. Hossiep: Measurement of personality traits. In: H. Schuler, K. Sonntag (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Arbeits- und Organizationpsychologie. Hogrefe, Göttingen 2007, pp. 450–458.
B. Marcus: Review of the 2nd edition of the Bochum inventory on job-related personality description (BIP) by R. Hossiep and M. Paschen. In: Journal of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Volume 48, 2004, pp. 79-86.
JM Müller: Bochum inventory for job-related personality description (BIP). In: HO Häcker, K.-H. Stapf (Hrsg.): Dorsch Psychological Dictionary. 15th edition. Huber, Bern 2009, p. 158.
Walter Simon (Ed.): Personality models and personality tests. GABAL Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-89749-636-4 . (Excerpts in books.google)
Stiftung Warentest : online tests for self-assessment: aptitude test passed. In: Finanztest. No. 11, 2004, pp. 35-37.
D. Rettig: Assessment Center - Infantile omnipotence fantasy of personnel. In: Wirtschaftswoche. February 2, 2009. (wiwo.de)
R. Hossiep, O. Mühlhaus: Personnel selection and development with personality tests. 2nd, completely revised and expanded edition. Hogrefe, Göttingen 2015.

Web links

Swiss Association for Careers Advice (SVB; PDF file; 54 kB)
Sample evaluation Hogrefe-Verlag (PDF file; 507 kB)
Information about research on the BIP Ruhr University Bochum
Information about research on BIP-AM Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Information about research on the BIP-FI Ruhr University Bochum
Information about research on the BIP-6F Ruhr University Bochum
BIP in the process database at iqpr - Institute for Quality Assurance in Prevention and Rehabilitation GmbH