Many personality tests and assessments are based on The Big Five personality traits (FFM) which one of the most widely accepted frameworks for understanding human personality. It groups personality into five broad dimensions based on patterns observed across language and behaviour. Rather than being designed for a specific purpose like hiring, the FFM provides a general, research-based structure for describing how people differ from one another across a wide range of contexts. 

Just like FFM personality assessments, the PI Behavioral Assessment aims to measure personality, but they differ in purpose, structure, and practical application.

Broad vs. Workplace-Specific Measurement

The Five Factor Model is a broad, general model of personality, developed through statistical analysis of human traits. It captures five overarching dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

In contrast, the PI Behavioral Assessment is designed specifically for the workplace, measuring a smaller set of targeted behavioural drives that are directly relevant to job performance: Dominance – the drive exert one’s influence on people and events, Extraversion – the drive for social interaction with other people, Patience – the drive for consistancy and stability, and Formality – the drive to conform to rules and structure. 

Theory vs. Empirical Structure

The PI Behavioral Assessment is theory-driven, built on established psychological frameworks around motivational drives. The FFM, on the other hand, is empirically derived, meaning it was created by analysing patterns in personality descriptors rather than from a single underlying theory.

Predictive Power in Work Contexts

Both models are capable of predicting job performance at a similar level. However, the FFM often relies heavily on one trait (Conscientiousness) as the main predictor while the PI Behavioral Assessment uses multiple targeted factors, each relevant depending on the role. This makes PI more flexible and context-specific in practical use.

Efficiency and Practical Use

A key difference is efficiency: Many FFM-based assessments take from 15–20 minutes and up to more than an hour to complete. The PI Behavioral Assessment takes around six minutes to complete while maintaining comparable validity and reliability. This makes PI easier to scale in hiring processes and contributes to a more positive candidate experience. 

Relevance of Measured Traits

The Five-Factor Model includes traits such as Openness to Experience, which is often less predictive of job performance, and Neuroticism, which can introduce a risk of bias in hiring contexts. The PI Behavioral Assessment does not measure Openness and has only limited overlap with Neuroticism. Instead, it deliberately focuses on motivational drives that are more directly relevant to workplace behaviour and that are related to on-the-job performance, while also helping to reduce the risk of adverse impact.

Summary

Both models are scientifically valid, but they serve different purposes: The Five Factor Model provides a broad, research-oriented framework for understanding personality, while the PI Behavioral Assessment offers a more targeted, efficient, and workplace-focused approach. In practice, the difference is less about which model is ‘better’ and more about which is better suited to real-world organisational decisions.