16PF Personality Test: 16 Traits or One Profile?
The 16PF does not give you a single total score. It splits personality into sixteen independent trait dimensions, and most of the time the pattern between dimensions tells you more than any one number.
The instrument started as a factor analysis by Raymond Cattell in 1949. Instead of beginning with a theory about what personality should look like, he collected trait words, had people rate themselves, and let the data cluster on its own. Sixteen clusters came out, and the structure has survived through the sixth edition (2019).
The version used here is the public-domain IPIP adaptation: 163 items, 5-point response scale, covering all sixteen primary factors. The commercial 16PF is proprietary (5th edition: 185 items, paid manual and scoring). The IPIP version measures the same factors with openly available items sourced from ipip.ori.org.
The sixteen primary factors
Each factor is its own axis, with opposite tendencies at the two ends:
| Factor | Low end | High end |
|---|---|---|
| A Warmth | Cool, detached | Warm, caring |
| B Reasoning | Concrete thinking | Abstract, quick learner |
| C Emotional Stability | Reactive, affected | Stable, mature |
| E Dominance | Deferential, avoids conflict | Forceful, competitive |
| F Liveliness | Serious, restrained | Enthusiastic, spontaneous |
| G Rule-Consciousness | Expedient, unconventional | Dutiful, rule-abiding |
| H Social Boldness | Shy, timid | Bold, venturesome |
| I Sensitivity | Tough-minded, objective | Sensitive, aesthetic |
| L Vigilance | Trusting, accepting | Alert, suspicious |
| M Abstractedness | Practical, grounded | Imaginative, idea-focused |
| N Privateness | Forthright, naive | Reserved, discreet |
| O Apprehension | Self-assured, complacent | Self-doubting, worried |
| Q1 Openness to Change | Traditional | Open to novelty |
| Q2 Self-Reliance | Group-oriented | Independent |
| Q3 Perfectionism | Tolerant of disorder | Orderly, self-disciplined |
| Q4 Tension | Relaxed, patient | Tense, driven |
Five global factors
Above the sixteen primary factors sit five second-order global factors: Extraversion, Anxiety, Tough-Mindedness, Independence, and Self-Control. Each is a weighted combination of primary factors. Anxiety, for instance, combines Emotional Stability (reversed), Vigilance, Apprehension, and Tension. For a rough personality type, read the globals; for specific behavioral tendencies, read the primaries.
How scoring works
Official editions report Sten scores: a 1-10 scale with a mean of 5.5 and SD of 2.0. Scores of 1-3 are low, 4-7 average, 8-10 high. The 5th edition takes 35-50 minutes on paper, 25-40 minutes on computer.
This site's IPIP version scores each factor separately, computed from 5-point item means. These are not Sten scores, so treat them as relative positions rather than comparing them directly against official norms.
Reliability data
5th edition technical manual (Conn & Rieke, 1994): mean internal consistency α = 0.75 across the sixteen primary factors (range 0.66-0.86), mean two-week test-retest 0.80. 6th edition (2019): mean α = 0.85 (0.78-0.93). The IPIP version's α values run 0.73-0.86, in the same range as the commercial form.
The criticism
16PF has a classic critique in the literature. Saville & Blinkhorn (1981) tested Cattell's claim that internal consistency coefficients underestimate 16PF reliability in a large UK sample and found no supporting evidence; it became one of the most-cited critiques of the instrument. The structure itself holds up: Irwing, Booth & Batey (2014) ran confirmatory factor analysis on 5,130 + 5,131 US standardization cases and found good fit for the sixteen primary factors, supporting the 5th edition structure.
Chinese edition
The Chinese 16PF was revised in 1970 by Liu Yonghe and Mei Jirui (A and B forms merged into 187 items), later followed by national norm revisions led by Dai Zhongheng and Zhu Beili, covering adults, university students, high school students, factory workers, technical professionals, and cadres. The Chinese edition's mean α is 0.69 (Jia-xi & Guo-peng, 2006).
This test gives you a reference position, not a diagnosis. If persistent emotional or behavioral problems are getting in your way, talk to a professional instead of taking more tests.