Definitions of the WPI factors and scales
Influence
The extent to which the environment determines his or her actions and how independently he or she acts.
Scales:
- Status: Wanting to achieve the best possible. Wanting to get higher up.
People with a high score want to be among the best in their field, they want to move up, they want to excel. They would like a position with a lot of prestige and status. People with an average score are not particularly driven by a very strong will to move higher, but they are also not demotivated by taking vertical career steps. People with a low score feel little need to enhance their career, they are not interested in the status of their job. They consider their private life to be more important than their work.
Example items Status:– Optimistic: Aims to achieve social success.
– Negative: Does not want to take much effort to further their career.
- Dominance: Taking the lead. Playing a decisive role in the collaboration.
People with a high score want to influence others, they often lead and make decisions for the group. They determine what happens and can influence the opinions of others. People with an average score will not always try to avoid managing others and exerting influence, but they can also accept that others have more influence on the group or the process. People with a low score are happy to leave management to others. They are happy to follow the instructions issued by others. Their opinion is often not considered when decisions are made.
Example items Dominance:
– Positively formulated: Will convince others of their point of view.
– Negatively formulated: Has little influence on group decisions.
- Competition: Wanting to be better than others.
People with a high score want to excel in everything they do. They always want to win, they want to outperform others and turn everything into a competition. They like to score. People with an average score will not avoid competition and when necessary they will compete, but they are certainly not always driven by a strong drive to do so. People with a low score think that participating is more important than winning, they are good losers and do not like having to fight for things.
Example items Competition:
– Positively formulated: Wants to excel in everything he or she does.
– Negatively formulated: Hates competition.
- Self-presentation: Like being the centre of attention.
People with a high score like to be at the centre of attention, they have a lot to say, speak loudly and like to impress others. People with an average score will not avoid attracting attention, but likewise do not constantly feel the need to be at the centre of attention. People with a low score avoid attracting attention, they behave inconspicuously and quietly. They behave modestly.
Example Items Self-presentation:
– Positively formulated: Places him or herself in the foreground.
– Negatively formulated: Behaves inconspicuously in company.
Sociability
Characteristics that determine personal contact with others.
Scales:
- Need for contact: Being in need of company.
People with a high score like to be surrounded by people. They quickly seek contact with others, and easily start a conversation. They feel less comfortable when they are alone. People with an average score find it reasonably pleasant to be in the company of others, but they are also quite happy to be alone sometimes. They prefer to alternate between being in company and being alone. An average score can also indicate a preference for being in a smaller group. People with a low score would rather be alone than seek the company of others. They adopt a wait-and-see attitude in contact with others.
Example items Need for contact:
– Positively formulated: Loves to be surrounded by people.
– Negatively formulated: Has little need for contact with others.
- Socially at ease: Feeling relaxed in contact with others.
People with a high score feel relaxed and at ease around other people. People with an average score can sometimes feel rather tense with new contacts, but certainly not to the extent that they will avoid contact. People with a low score often feel shy and tense in contact with others. They avoid crowds.
Example items Socially at ease:
– Positively formulated: Feels at ease around other people.
– Negatively formulated: Finds it hard to make contact with strangers.
- Self-disclosure: Wanting to share one’s own feelings with others.
People with a high score openly show and discuss their feelings. They talk a lot with others about their experiences. People with an average score are happy to show their feelings and discuss them so they could not be described as closed, however, they certainly do wear their heart on their sleeve and do not always feel the need to talk about themselves. People with a low score keep their feelings to themselves. They are reluctant to talk about themselves. They may be seen as closed.
Example items Self-disclosure:
– Positively formulated: Likes to talk about their private life.
– Negatively formulated: Keeps their feelings to themselves.
- Trust: Believing in the good intentions of others.
People with a high score are trusting and can seem a bit naive. They assume that people tell the truth and keep each other’s best interests in mind. People with an average score usually see the positive side of others but are critical and realistic in their expectations. People with a low score need time to trust others, they want to get to know someone better before trusting them, they want to see which way the wind blows.
Example items Trust:
– Positively formulated: Is trusting.
– Negatively formulated: Rarely trusts anyone in advance.
- Friendliness: Being nice, happy and cheerful towards others.
People with a high score are cheerful, like to please others, are friendly, are often seen as “warm” and cordial. People with an average score stand out neither because of their friendliness or cordiality, nor because of their distance and grumpiness in their contact with others. They come across as more serious and laugh less. People with a low score are seen as distant and can appear grumpy and unfriendly. They come across as cold to others.
Example items Friendliness:
– Positively formulated: Is seen as friendly.
– Negatively formulated: Has difficulty responding enthusiastically.
- Attentiveness: Feeling involved with others. Wanting to help others.
People with a high score often like to help others, can easily put themselves into other people’s shoes. They like to offer their services and to help people in need. People with an average score are willing to help others, they have an average need to learn more about other people. However, they do not constantly feel the need to be there for others, nor will they always spontaneously offer help. People with a low score think that everyone should solve their own problems and feel little need to put themselves into other people’s shoes. They focus more on their own interests than on the interests of others.
Example items Attentiveness:
– Positively formulated: Quickly offers help.
– Negatively formulated: Leaves others to their own devices.
Enthusiasm
A person’s motivations in their work.
Scales:
- Energy: Having the energy to do a lot.
People with a high score bubble with energy, they work at a high pace and are active. They find it difficult to sit still and like to do extra work. People with an average score have an average energy level. They do not brim with energy, but, likewise, they do not feel lifeless and they are able to make an extra effort. People with a low score like to take their time and are easily tired and feel lifeless. They avoid making too much effort and like to take long breaks.
Example items Energy:
– Positively formulated: Has the energy to do many things at the same time.
– Negatively formulated: Avoids making too much effort.
- Personal growth: Driven to make full use of his or her own qualities.
People with a high score set themselves high goals, they want to get the best out of themselves and they want to continue to develop. People with an average score usually set themselves goals but will not set the bar too high for themselves. They will be motivated to achieve their goal, but no more so than most others. People with a low score are satisfied with work that they can easily deal with, they are not continuously on the look-out for new things to learn or to increase their knowledge and skills.
Example items Personal growth:
– Optimistic: Wants to work hard to achieve his or her goals.
– Negative: Finds it unnecessary to further improve his or her already satisfactory performance.
- Perseverance: Showing commitment. Taking tasks and agreements seriously and sticking to them.
People with a high score are people you can count on, they finish what they have started. They work in a disciplined way, take their duties seriously and are aware of their responsibilities. People with an average score show a reasonable amount of discipline, even though they are sometimes late or forget things. However, they will not place the responsibility for this on others. People with a low score neglect their duties, do not finish what they start and are often late or forget appointments. They place the responsibility on others.
Example items Perseverance:
– Positively formulated: Pushes on until the work is finished.
– Negatively formulated: Has difficulty making agreements about when the work should be finished.
- Innovation: Adapting easily to new circumstances.
People with a high score are open to changes in plans, easily accept that things go differently than expected and quickly get used to new situations. They can easily make changes to their strategy, are good at improvising and handle new information well. People with an average score usually know how to adapt to changing circumstances, but they need a little more time and it will also take them a little more effort than people with a high score. People with a low score like regularity and find it difficult to deal with last-minute changes to plans. They find it difficult to move from one situation to another and are annoyed at being distracted. They have difficulty adapting their behaviour to different situations.
Example item Innovation:
– Positively formulated: Quickly gets used to a new situation.
- Originality: Coming up with new solutions. Being creative.
People with a high score have a vivid imagination, are full of imagination and often have innovative ideas. People with an average score will sometimes come up with innovative ideas, but sometimes choose a standard solution. People with a low score often choose standard solutions, they find it difficult to come up with ideas and prefer work that requires little creativity in thinking.
Example items Originality:
– Positively formulated: Has innovative ideas.
– Negatively formulated: Seldom comes up with creative solutions.
- Independence: Wanting to do business in own way.
People with a high score want to decide for themselves how they approach tasks, they want to go their own way, make decisions independently of others and find it annoying to be checked on. They have little need for leadership. People with an average score usually know how to find a good balance between independence and dependence. They can deal with matters independently, but where necessary they will also ask others for advice. People with a low score are docile, need advice from others and base their opinions on the opinions of others.
Example items Independence:
– Positively formulated: Acts based on his or her own ideas.
– Negatively formulated: Is dependent.
Structure
The extent to which someone behaves in a goal-oriented way and organises him or herself.
- Orderliness: Applying structure.
People with a high score maintain their things, clean up clutter instantly and plan in advance how to deal with matters. People with an average score are not overly orderly, but are not sloppy either. They clean up after themselves but will not always do so immediately. People with a low score often lose things, they are sloppy, neglect their belongings and hate cleaning up.
Example items Orderliness:
– Positively formulated: Maintains his or her belongings.
– Negatively formulated: Often loses things.
- Precision: Working with care, with an eye for detail.
People with a high score like to check for accuracy, make hardly any mistakes and are attentive. They enjoy work that requires accuracy. People with an average score do pay attention to details, but it is not necessarily their primary interest. For them precision is a means to an end rather than an end in itself, but they usually work with sufficient precision, and do not easily make mistakes. People with a low score tend to make mistakes, are sloppy and pay particular attention to the big picture. They tend to forget details.
Example items Precision:
– Positively formulated: Loves work that requires attention to detail.
– Negatively formulated: Tends to forget details.
- Regularity: Needing order and rules.
People with a high score need fixed rules and procedures. They love order and precision and want to be in control. They want to know exactly where they stand. People with an average score have some need for order and rules, but they can also accept less regularity in their environment. They make plans and neither hate working in a somewhat chaotic environment nor working in an environment with more fixed rules and procedures. People with a low score can function well in a chaotic environment. They hate making plans, they also easily deviate from plans made.
Example item Regularity:
– Positively formulated: Likes to stick to the familiar.
- Conformity: Being able to adapt to the applicable standards and values. Respecting authority.
People with a high score do things as they should and want to live up to the expectations of others. They are willing to follow instructions and respect others based on their status. People with an average score will usually adhere to the applicable standards, values and work conventions. They can be critical but once they understand the importance of the instructions, they will follow them. People with a low score reject existing norms and values and break through rules. They are critical of managers, ignore differences in status and do not blindly follow managers’ orders.
Example items Conformity:
– Positively formulated: Does what the boss tells them to.
– Negatively formulated: Has difficulty doing what managers want.
- Deliberation: Thinking carefully before taking action.
People with a high score think carefully before starting anything, take the time to prepare themselves properly, make well-considered decisions and prepare for the unexpected. People with an average score usually know how to find a good balance between weighing things up before making a decision and reacting quickly to things that happen in their environment. People with a low score are impulsive and react spontaneously to proposals. They often do what first comes to mind. They often focus on the short term.
Example items Deliberation:
– Positively formulated: Deliberates matters carefully.
– Negatively formulated: Tends to act impulsively.
Stability
The degree to which someone is emotionally stable. Self-confidence, resilience. Feeling good in general.
Scales:
- Self-confidence: Being self-confident.
People with a high score have the feeling that they can handle a lot, are proud of themselves, are relaxed and value their own performance positively. People with an average score are usually reasonably self-confident but in more unfamiliar situations they may also experience feelings of insecurity, and may also doubt themselves. They do not feel that they are better than others, but certainly not that they are worse. People with a low score are not very confident, have little confidence in their own skills and qualities and often feel that they are less than others.
Example Items Self-confidence:
– Positively formulated: Values own performance positively.
– Negatively formulated: Doubts their own qualities.
- Optimism: Having a positive outlook on life.
People with a high score are hopeful about the future, feel that others have their best interests at heart and rarely feel miserable, lonely or sad. People with an average score sometimes experience fewer positive feelings, they do not automatically assume that others will be generous towards them. They are not particularly pessimistic by nature, and are optimistic enough not to get stuck in the negative feelings they can sometimes have. People with a low score often feel down and miserable for no reason. They have the feeling that people gossip behind their backs and that others begrudge them things.. Therefore, they often feel bad and regularly feel sad and dejected.
Example items Optimism:
– Positively formulated: Is hopeful about the future.
– Negatively formulated: Thinks that he or she is often wronged.
- Frustration-tolerance: Being tolerant towards others.
People with a high score are very patient with others, they are quick to show understanding and quickly give people the benefit of the doubt. They forgive others their mistakes. People with an average score are not quickly annoyed by others, but their patience is not endless. They can sometimes feel annoyed and irritated, but they do not make excessive demands on others. People with a low score set the bar high for others, are quickly irritated, are impatient and quickly judge others.
Example items Frustration-tolerance:
– Positively formulated: Rarely gets annoyed.
– Negatively formulated: Is quickly irritated.
- Resilience: Having adequate ability to deal with criticism and setbacks.
People with a high score can easily overcome criticism, they know how to cope with setbacks, they know how to maintain their self-control and do not care much about negative remarks. People with an average score can accept criticism and will also think about it. However, it does not play on their mind for too long. People with a low score think about setbacks for a long time, they are hurt by insults and react emotionally. They are easily disappointed.
Example items Resilience:
– Positively formulated: Can easily overcome criticism.
– Negatively formulated: Takes criticism personally.