THE GOLDEN PERSONALITY PROFILER FAQs

  • What's the difference between the Golden Personality Profiler and the Golden Personality Type Profiler?

    The Golden Personality Profiler rebranding reflects a return to the original name of the assessment "The Personality Profiler" or "The ORA Personality Profiler".

  • What's new about the Golden Personality Profiler?

    v5.1 of the Golden represents a major step in the evolution in the development of the Golden and specifically to the Tense Calm dimensions's Facet Scales. The Unsettled/Resilient and Unconstrained/Regulated Facet Scales round out the development of the Tense Calm Global domain.

    With the launch of v5.1 administrators have the choice of selecting one of two reports version, either the Talent Management report or the Self Development report.

  • Why are there so many different names for the Golden assessment?

    Shakespeare's quote..."a rose by any other name is still a rose" works for the Golden too. The Golden by another night is still a Golden! The original name given to the assessment in 1994 was The Personality Type Profiler. In 2002 a license was signed with Hogrefe to publish the assessment in Germany which they called the Golden Profiler of Personality (GPOP). Scientific naming conventions hold that the authors's last name be used and Hogrefe was the first to follow that tradition. When ECPA licensed the assessment for the French market they called it the Golden Inventory of Psychological Development. In 2004, Harcourt purchased ECPA and licensed the assessment, naming it the the Golden Personality Type Profiler. That same year the College Board acquired MyRoad an online career and education planning website which incorporated the Golden assessment. They did not want to use the name selected by Harcourt, so they adopted the name the ORA Personality Profiler. ORA was the name of the business founded by The Rev. Dr. Edward S. Golden, which originally owned and development of the assessment. Harcourt was itself purchased by Pearson which assumed the license from Golden LLC. Golden LLC was formed in 2004 when ORA, Inc. was dissolved and GoldenLLC was formed in Florida. Our objection to the use of the word "type" in the title stems from the growing understanding that the Golden is not just a Jungian type test. The Five Factor model, Hippocrates Temperament Theory, Allport's Trait Theory and Selye's Stress Theory are central to the success of the assessment, and needed to be recognized as such.

    In 2016, Golden LLC decided to end the branding/naming nonsense and launch the Golden Personality Profiler. The Golden Personality Profiler signifies a convention of using the Golden family name and the Personality Profiler, the affirmation that it is more than a simple "type" test. The Golden is the short term handle for the assessment and that seem's to be just right!

  • How do I select the Talent Management and Self Development reports?

    You can select the GPP report you want to use from within your administration account. From the menu line select My Account and under the Account Preferences section, select either the Talent Management and Self Development report. Hit the submit button to confirm your selection.

    Remember, you're only charged for a credit when the report is initially downloaded. That means you can request both report types for a client by changing the report type as instructed above.

  • What's the difference between the Talent Management report and the Self Development report?

    Both reports contain the same Global and Facet Scale structure; however, there is a subtle difference between the two reports. The Talent Management report utilizes the same content as the earlier version and is written to reflect the style and behavior of the profile type within a work, organizational or employment settings such as executive coaching teaming and leadership applications. The Self Development report is written towards a general assessment audience and is ideal for education, career planning and life coaching and relationship/family settings. It includes the Career and Educational Majors Suggestions content.

    Both the Talent Management and Self Development reports utilize the advanced scoring of the rare three out-of-pattern facet scale pattern for better initial profile determination, stress management content, temperament, cardinal, central and coaching suggestions.

  • How we can make available the other translated Golden Personality Profiler languages versions besides English?

    We are launching GoldenProfiler.com in January 2023. French, Dutch, UK, AU, IN and US English are available for administrators using the new global administration account platform. Access to the Golden in German, Czech, Slovakian, Hungarian, Croat, Korean and Turkish can be accomplished through one of our international publishers or distributors.

  • What is the origin of the Golden Assessment?

    The Golden has a deep and rich history stemming back more than 60 years. In the 1960s, Dr. Rev. Edward Smith Golden founded the North East Career Center at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr, Golden pioneered the use of vocational and psychological tests to guide clergy and church staff to more fulfilling lives and careers. In 1970 Dr. Golden founded Organizational Renewal Associates, Incorporated, a consulting company that took assessment and career development testing to for-profit companies, non-profits, educational and government organizations around the globe. Using a multi-battery assessment approach Golden introduced more than 100,000 people to the power of self-knowledge through these self-report assessments Tools like the Sixteen-Personality Factor (16-PF), Briggs Myers Type Indicator, Strong Vocational Interest Blank for men and for women, Campbell Interest and Skills Survey, Rokeach Value Survey, WAIS-PAS, Adjective Checklist, and many other assessments were applied over ORA’s 35 year legacy. Golden and ORA staff professionals were recognized as top experts in the application and interpretation of these assessments.

    The massive multi-level assessment database resulting from decades of use was viewed as rich suorce of research. During the 1980’s Dr. Golden hired David Saunders, Ph.D. to head up its cross assessment research and development effort. Saunders worked with Raymond Cattel on the development of the first version of the 16PF and later at Educational Testing Service, the first publisher of the Briggs Myers assessment under his research oversight.

    In 1979, Dr. Golden and ORA staff coordinated and produced the first conference of experts using Carl Jung’s Psychological Type theory in Philadelphia. Attendees were charged a membership fee which became the Association of Psychological Type (APT). In 1980 following the death of Isabel Myers. Ed, Sally, John and his wife Kiron, joined Dr. Saunders, his wife Fran, the official biographer of Isabel Myers life, and Isabel's son Peter at Isabel Myers home in Swarthmore, PA. Auctioneers were coming the next day to sell off the Myers personal possessions, but the data collected over Isabel's life needed to be saved. Dr. Saunders was contracted to organize and conduct research on the data saved that day. ORA and the Golden family, including Dr. Golden, Sally and their oldest son Scott formed the expert team directing Saunders in his research efforts. Every question ever developed by Myers and a dozen or so created by Saunders were aggregated into an assessment which became the MBTI form J, Type Differentiation Indicator and later the Expanded Analysis Report Form M, now called the Myers Briggs Step 2.. Data collected from ORA clients became the basis of the correlational and validation research of these assessment which included the Rokeach Values Survey, 16PF, Strong, and ACL results. Because of the rich data collected by ORA Saunders was able to complete the research quickly, however the enormous cost of supporting the research took a toll on the resources of ORA.

    Seeking to recoup that research investment ORA sought a formal research and training rights from the Myers and the MBTI publisher CPP. Despite their best efforts a relationship was not to be and ORA was forced to break off its deep friendship and informal business relationships with CPP and the Myers. During that period Dr. Saunders was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and needed to retire. ORA hired his protege Donald Johnson, Ph.D. to assume his research role. In 1993 Dr. Johnson along with Dr. John Golden, Ed Golden’s youngest son and President of ORA forged the strategy to develop ORA’s own personality, interest and values assessments. James Hughes, Isabel Myers son-in-law, was also a member of the ORA team assembled to undertake this venture. Today, Golden LLC, now carries on ORA's mission to bring the Golden Personality assessment to the world.

  • What language versions exist for the Golden?

    Foreign language versions currently exist: US, AU, IN & UK English, French, Dutch, Turkish, German, Czech, Slovakian, Croat, and Hungarian.

  • Can the Golden be used as an employment selection and hiring tool?

    The Golden was not designed as a selection tool. Appropriate use of psychological tests used in selection and hiring requires that assessments be constructed to measure aspects of the jobs they are screening candidates for. These are called Bonafide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ) or aspects of the jobs that determine employee success. This typically means that each job being screened for has to be analyzed for the specific BFOQ factors required. This can be an expensive and time consuming process. In the end, no matter how well a test is constructed and validated, there is no assurance that the legal system of a country will agree that it, or the process surrounding the assessment, does not result in discriminatory hiring practices. Each country has its own laws that must be understood. The United States Federal Law allows assessments to be used for selection screening, but these laws continue to be challenged with the net result meaning that employers must be judicious and responsible when using tests in the hiring process. Some organizations may include the Golden as part of a comprehensive candidate screening process with professional level employees. In such cases, the use of the Golden is designed to enlighten both the employer and potential employee in areas of strengths and developmental opportunities to guide the selection process.

    The Golden is most effective when applied as a post hiring developmental tool. The results can be used effectively to understand, manage and mentor new employees and form effective teams. However, the Golden's theoretical base and the global and facet scales measured can be used as a model to help guide the hiring and selection process. Asking questions like: - What type profile is needed in the open position?- What trait characteristics define effective and ineffective job performance? - What skills must be developed that are counter to the ideal type and trait profile in a candidate?

  • What is a "normative" assessment? How does that relate to the Golden assessment?

    Normative assessments measure quantifiable attributes on individual scales. The item structure of normative assessments, often following a typical Likert Scales format, and the actual responses and their scales are compared and measured against a "normed" population. The normed population is often represented by the well known standard "bell curve". This comparison allows normative tools to be used for selection purposes when the measured behaviors are determined to be specifically related to requirements in a targeted position or job. The Golden is not a normative based assessment.

  • What does "ipsative" mean and what does that have to do with the Golden assessment?

    Ipsative assessments are scored through using forced choice questions and responses. The results produced indicate the relative strengths and weaknesses of the person being assessed. There is no direct comparison to another person or group of people. Ipsative assessments are typically used as team building or as coaching instruments. They are ineffective as hiring and selection instruments. Ipsative assessments are commonly used as developmental tools.

    The Golden is a multi-theory based assessment that is a blend between an ipsative (forced choice) assessment and normative (Likert) based assessment. It has both elements, ipsative vs normative, within the assessment item structure. Section 1 and two are a true blend where respondents in section one and two, first select which behavior is more like them (forced choice) and then select the strength of response (normative). Section three is more normative than ipsative, but the actual scoring protocol is both.

  • Isn't the Golden Personality Profiler just another Jungian personality test?

    No, the Golden is so much more than just a Jungian personality type test. The Golden is a universal personality tool that combines five of the most widely accepted and respected theories of personality, including the five factor, trait, temperament, general adaptation/stress and Jung's psychological type theory into one comprehensive and elegant model. These theories are reported in the form of the five global scales and 38 facet scales of the Golden.

    The Golden also achieves significant advances in personality assessment and measurement. Advanced item format and content, scoring methods, report content, support materials and training for the Golden all in an online format distances itself from other Jungian assessments, as well as all other assessments of personality.

  • Can I get the Golden Personality Profiler using the Judging Perceiving (J/P) format?

    Yes, administrators can select between the traditional Judging Perceiving, or J/P format, or the more effective organiZing/Adapting, or Z/A format. This feature is set in the Administrator's dashboard My Account tab. Depending on your professional preferences and your client needs you can use one or the other, or switch between them as needed. However, you will find that most support materials and the online training certification course and Learning modules use the preferred Z/A format.

  • Why does the Golden Personality Profiler use OrganiZing/Adapting (Z/A) instead of Judging/Perceiving (J/P) for the fourth dimension of personality profile?

    The Z/A dimension was incorporated into the original Golden Personality Profiler in 1995. A general agreement among psychologists that it's an important dimension in behavior that can and should be measured. While this dimension is called many names, it is found in most comprehensive surveys of personality. For example the MBTI referes to these scales as Judging & Perceiving, whereas most Five Factor assessments refer to the scale as Low/High Conscientiousness. The selection of organiZing/Adapting (Z/A) label is based on 1) our conclusion that organiZing/Adapting (Z/A) best capture the overall meaning of the constructs measured; 2) they effectively convey, in everyday language, the behaviors within that construct. Organizing and Adapting help people remember and communicate this idea effectively. We found understanding, interpretation, and retention to be a problem with the Judging/Perceiving labels originally defined by Carl Jung to describe the Thinking & Feeling Judging dimension and Sensing/Intuiting Perceiving Function. Isabel Myers later constructed an advanced model to determine Jung's dominant function and called the fourth dimension Judging and Perceiving. The Factor Analytic statistical technique used to develop the Golden requires a test developer to use both science and art in the creation of their test, science in numbers and art in interpretation. In the case of the fourth dimension, organiZing and Adapting represent the two best single labels describing the item content.

  • What is the Golden Personality Profiler Team Report?

    The Golden Team Report presents the composite personality profile results of a select group of individuals who have completed the Golden individual assessment. The report can be used by the Administrator and is used as a tool by the team itself. Administrators gain a better understanding of the team prior to a training/consulting engagement and can use the report to help the team evaluate its own strengths and weaknesses. Looking at the Profile mix of the team and comparison to the leader gives a sense of the personality diversity in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Examining Facet Scale scatter plots for each of the 40 facets provides a glimpse of the diversity of individual behaviors endorsed by team members and the leader of the team.



    Administrators can select up 30 team members t profile in each report, select the team leader, identify the team name, and choose to use actual names or confidential team member designations. Reports can be generated using the Z/A or J/P formats.



    The team report can also be used to compare and contrast two team members such as, boss and Subordinate, peer to peer, and even has been used creatively in by family members, such as married couples , parent and child, sibling, couples exploring future marriage, and to gain insight into family and relationship dynamics.



    The cost for each report is $49.95.

  • What is the Golden Person2Person (P2P) report?

    The P2P report is available to administrators whose clients have completed the individual Golden Personality Profiler. The report compares and contrasts similarities and differences between any two people who already have their report. For example Boss and Subordinate, two peers, friends, classmates, spouses, family members, etc. The report insights make the insights gained from the individual report come alive and have practical meaning in terms of understanding and building stronger relationships between people.