16PF® Anniversary Celebration! |
Growing up with the 16PF Questionnaire
As someone who literally grew up with the 16PF® Questionnaire, I am delighted to be part of its 60th anniversary celebration.
My parents, Raymond and Karen Cattell, started the Institute for Personality and Ability Testing (IPAT) to research, develop, and publish the 16PF Questionnaire and other assessments. As a child, the IPAT office was attached to our home. Over the years, I watched as the business grew, gradually taking over room after room of our house - scoring in the basement, order fulfillment in the garage, and then a big, blue IBM computer took over our playroom! The business then expanded into the apartments next door, and eventually we built our own office building where IPAT grew even faster with additional staff, exciting new projects, and the latest computer technology.
My parents' vision was to help people improve their lives with the knowledge and understanding gained through objective personality measurement. Their commitment to research was always foremost and unfailing. They talked at length to individual test users who called; they shared ideas and offered help with research.
Because Father believed in conducting research on an international basis, we kids would often find ourselves at dinner with unannounced guests, for example, from Japan or South Africa. I also remember a French researcher who called and woke everyone at 3 a.m., and then sent a little gold clock to apologize. The clock sat on Mother’s desk for years, set to Paris time to remind us that around the clock there are people who are working on the 16PF Questionnaire.
Father’s idea of scientifically identifying and measuring all human personality traits was groundbreaking in 1949. But he never intended to stop there - he continued to explore and research personality, and develop innovative solutions. For example, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, he discovered and defined the 16PF Secondary (or Global) factors, which are currently called the Big-Five factors of personality. Then, around 1970, IPAT developed the first computer-generated report that interpreted an individual’s scores and score combinations. Today, the 16PF Questionnaire and its reports are available online in over 20 different languages worldwide.
IPAT’s employees continue to research and improve the 16PF Questionnaire. Their commitment to maintaining its scientific integrity and their dedication to excellent customer service are a testament to my parents’ vision and values.
As Raymond Cattell’s daughter, I am proud of his pioneering contributions to the domain of scientific personality assessment. As a psychologist myself, I continue to consult with IPAT and I look forward to a future of continued improvements and innovations of this timeless assessment of normal, adult personality, the 16PF Questionnaire.
Heather E.P. Cattell, Ph.D.
July, 2009 |
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