Quintax was launched on-line at the turn of the millennium. It was written and developed with the modern world and the modern workplace in mind, and it was based on the best supported model of personality currently available: the 'Big 5' model.
The most influential current research consensus in relation to personality structure to be found in modern psychology is the ‘Big 5’ model. Spanning multiple countries and cultures, Big 5 research suggests that personality is organised around five main behaviour styles (hence the ‘Quin’ in ‘Quintax’).
These, as they appear in Quintax are organised in three main areas:
Behaviour Domain | Quintax Scale | Scale Poles |
---|---|---|
Relationships with Others | Extraversion | Introvert vs Extravert |
Criticality | Personable vs Logical | |
Thinking Styles | Organisation | Adaptable vs Structured |
Intellectual Focus | Grounded vs Theoretical | |
Emotions | Emotional Involvement | Calm vs Volatile |
Response Style | Social Desirability | Low vs High Scoring |
The language of Quintax reports has been chosen carefully so as to be comprehensible and acceptable to people operating in the modern workplace. This language is positive and affirming while recognising and describing some of the challenges that can occur for a person when their fundamental preferences do not map easily on to the demands of work.
Quintax is focussed on behaviour at work. Users can be sure that the inferences they make are clearly related to the respondent’s work styles, and do not breach his or her rights to privacy outside work. Questionnaires that measure personality differences used to be designed without any specific situation as a focus – they drew upon aspects of life in general. In the business or occupational setting, this approach can bring an accusation of intrusiveness.
The question content in Quintax also reflects modern trends toward democratic working with multiple teams in delayered situations. Developed in the UK environment, but with broad based content, it is easy for respondents to understand and complete. Again with a recognition of typical work demands, it can typically be completed in less than 15 minutes.
Quintax was one of the first personality questionnaires to appear on the Internet. The current edition, in a form where the questionnaire website is mobile and device-aware, with multiple machine based measures of response style built-in (in addition to social desirability), continues our commitment to modern ways of doing things.