8.1 The 85-Item Personality Attributes Measure: Both Formats

8.1 The 85-Item Personality Attributes Measure: Both Formats

Most candidates spend ninety-five percent of their preparation on the cognitive section, which is 65 of the 150 items. The personality attributes measure is the other 85 — the numerically larger half of the examination — and almost nobody knows what it looks like before sitting down. This section fixes that.

The publisher's framing: "In addition to cognitive ability, the New York State Police Trooper Examination measures personality attributes that are necessary for effective job performance as a trooper."

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1. Where It Sits in the Examination

The two sections are timed separately, so nothing you save in one can be spent in the other. The twenty-minute clock is not an accident or an oversight — a fast pace is a design feature of well-constructed personality inventories, because deliberation degrades measurement.

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2. Part 1: The Five-Point Agreement Scale

The first part presents statements and asks you to indicate your level of agreement on a five-point scale:

The publisher's sample statements give an accurate flavour:

• "I am sometimes nervous around friends whom I have not seen for a long time."
• "I enjoy trying to make others feel comfortable in new situations."
• "When I am uncertain of how to do a task, I will usually ask for clarity."

Note what these are not. They are not scenarios asking what you would do at a traffic stop. They are not ethics dilemmas. They are ordinary self-descriptive statements about temperament and habit, of the kind found in any standard personality inventory.

The instruction for answering:

"When answering questions in this section, you should briefly consider the statement that is presented and then provide a response that corresponds with your initial reaction regarding your level of agreement or disagreement. Your first reaction is usually the most candid and accurate response."

Briefly consider, then answer. The word "briefly" is carrying weight there.

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3. Part 2: Forced-Choice Statement Pairs

The second part changes format. You are shown two statements and asked to select the one you most agree with. Sample pairs from the official guide:

A. I am more assertive than most of my friends. B. Others would describe me as timid.

A. When I get home from work or school, I usually feel stressed. B. I do not bring my feelings about work or school home with me.

Three features of this format matter:

1. There is no neutral option. You must pick one, even when neither describes you well.
2. The pairs are not always opposites. Sometimes both statements are positive, or both negative, or unrelated to each other. The comparison, not the content, is the measurement.
3. The instruction is explicit about ties. "If you do not exactly identify with one option or if you are unsure, rely on your first impulse."

Forced-choice pairing exists specifically to reduce the advantage of answering in whatever direction seems socially desirable — when both options look equally good, or equally bad, there is no obvious "right" one to select. That design is worth understanding before you sit down, because a candidate who expects opposites and encounters two appealing statements can freeze, and there is no time budget for freezing at fourteen seconds per item.

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4. What Is Being Measured

The examination measures personality attributes that job-analytic research links to effective trooper performance. The published material does not name the specific traits scored, and you should treat any source that claims to list them with suspicion.

What can be said accurately:

• The traits are job-relevant behavioural tendencies, not knowledge and not intelligence.
• The section measures how you typically are, not what you know is correct.
• It is not a situational judgment test. There are no incident scenarios and no "best response" items anywhere on this examination.

That last point corrects a persistent misconception. Candidates often prepare for a de-escalation or use-of-force judgment component. The NYSP Trooper Examination has none. The behavioural assessment is a self-report inventory, and the psychological evaluation that does involve clinical assessment comes much later in the hiring process, after the Physical Ability Test and background investigation.

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5. Pacing the Twenty Minutes

Eighty-five items in twenty minutes is about fourteen seconds each. That is comfortable for the intended answering style and impossible for any other.

Practical guidance:

• Set a mental checkpoint. At the ten-minute mark you should be around item 42. If you are at item 25, you are over-thinking and need to speed up deliberately.
• Do not revisit answers. Second-guessing a self-report costs time and moves you away from your first reaction, which the publisher identifies as the most candid response.
• Do not leave items blank. An unanswered inventory item contributes nothing, and at this pace you will not have time at the end to sweep back through eighty-five statements.
• Expect repetition. Well-built inventories ask similar things in different words to check consistency. Encountering a statement that feels like one you already answered is normal and is not a trick; answer it the same honest way and move on.

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6. What Not to Bring Into This Section

Three habits that serve you well in the cognitive section actively hurt here:

Switch modes when the section changes. The cognitive section rewards deliberation; this one rewards candour at speed.