Ace the Thomas PPA Test with the Only Accurate Practice

The Thomas International Personal Profile Analysis Test (PPA), also known as the Thomas Personality Test, is a personality profiling test used by employers to assess candidates' fit for a particular job. It usually follows the GIA Test, the other of the two Thomas International Tests.

The PPA Assessment test results come as a behavioural profile based on 24 self-assessment questions. While the test should be answered at around 10-15 minutes, it is officially untimed.

The scoring method for the Thomas PPA test is based on the DISC model. These four letters represent an acronym of the four fundamental personality traits used to produce your profile: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance.

One of the main challenges of the Thomas PPA assessment is that questions are forced-choice.

Let's see what this means and how to overcome this difficulty.

Looking for a different personality test? cut-e personality tests, Hogan Personality Inventory, PI behavioural assessment, SHL's OPQ32.

All 24 questions of the Thomas PPA Test are constructed using four personality traits, as follows:

You need to select one personality trait at the top row which most describes you, and one at the bottom row which least describes you.

Each word relates to a different one of the four key personality factors of the DISC model, and those you choose as ‘Most' and ‘Least' will determine your score on each of these factors.

The unique structure of the Thomas International PPA Assessment, and the way the test results are analysed, pose two challenges which separate the PPA Test from other personality tests.

1. You need to recognise which word relates to which factor.
2. And even more important – The answers you DO NOT choose are as important as those you do.

 This will all be explained below.

💡 Learn more about how the tailored PPA prep can help you.

 Let's look at an example of a question that may appear on the Thomas International PPA Assessment:

Firstly, it's important to stress that on the PPA test, there is no single right answer for any single question.

But this doesn't mean there are no right or wrong answers at all. on the contrary, a strategy can be constructed for the Thomas International PPA test, but this strategy would depend on your job description and would span more than one single question.

Your aim is to create a solid, comprehensive profile across all 24 ppa test questions to best reflect the traits required for the job you want. And that can be accomplished only by taking the full, actual test.

However, just to give you a sense of how the test works, let's see what the most preferable response for such a question would be for several positions.

Note that forming a strategy does not mean you shouldn't answer honestly. Knowing how to navigate the test will allow you to avoid classic mistakes made by other candidates during their recruitment process, but honesty is still the best policy.

As you can see, the PPA Test is a personality assessment that falls under the category of a forced-choice test. All options are positive, so you will have to ‘sacrifice' some traits – namely, choose traits in which you admit you are not as good.

On the PPA test, the art of selecting the right statements for Most and Least throughout the entire test, based on the specific job you want is what will get you the passing score.

Remember earlier in the page, when we said that the PPA test is a personality assessment in which answers you do not choose are as important as those you do?

How about that there is no right or wrong answer for any single question, only for all 24 as a whole?

Here's why.

The PPA test aims to assess not only your deliberate work persona, the version of you that you are interested in presenting to any potential employer.

This is why after you are done ranking your responses for all 24 Thomas International PPA test questions, 3 different profiles will be created for you:

The words you choose for “most describes me” make up the first personal profile graph, which represents the qualities that you want others to see in you.

The words you don't choose will make up the second profile graph, which represents the qualities that you yourself believe you possess.

The difference between your Work Mask profile and your Behaviour Under Pressure profile makes up the third profile graph, which represents how people at work perceive you.

This profile is the most important one since it is the one that reflects your actual work behaviour in the eyes of the employer.

The Thomas PPA Assessment is based on the psychological theory known as the DISC model. The name is derived from the 4 behavioural factors assessed:

• Dominance – the need to control. Forceful, competitive, courageous, and aggressive.
• Influence – the need to connect with others. Outgoing, friendly, and sociable.
• Steadiness – the need for stability and peace. Calm, collected, and unpressured.
• Compliance – the need for correctness, formality, and conformity. Orderly, respectful, rule-obedient, and traditional.

Based on your choices (and the choices you do not make) The PPA test will rank your personality profile on a scale of these 4 factors (or traits) and will compare that to the ideal candidate’s profile for the specific job you want.

Here are several ideal profiles, taken from our Thomas International PPA practice test: