Personality Test in the Style of the PI Behavioral Assessment

A free practice test in the style of the PI Behavioral Assessment. Tick the words that describe you twice, once for work and once for your natural self, and see your behavioural drives and how much you flex at work. No sign-up.

What is a personality test in the style of the PI behavioral assessment?

The PI Behavioral Assessment is a short personality questionnaire used by employers in hiring. Instead of rating statements, you tick words from a list twice: once for how you feel you are expected to act at work, and once for your natural self. The difference between the two shows how much you adapt to fit your role. This is a free practice test in that style, with our own original word list. It is not affiliated with Predictive Index, LLC.

Personality test in the style of the PI behavioral assessment at a glance
Words	40
Typical time limit	Untimed
Format	40 descriptive words, ticked twice (once for work, once for your natural self)
Skills tested	Self-insight into your behavioural drives and how much you adapt at work
Used by	Employers and recruiters, as part of hiring and team building

The test below is a full-length example with worked solutions for every question. It is free, and there is no sign-up.

Written by Guy Thornton Updated 22 July 2026

Free Personality Test in the Style of the PI Behavioral Assessment

The four behavioural drives

Each drive is a spectrum with no better or worse end. When you finish both lists, your natural self and your work self are shown side by side on each one.

Drive	Higher	Lower
Drive	You're wired to take the lead. You push for results, decide quickly, and are comfortable with competition and control. You thrive where you set direction rather than follow it.	You lead through cooperation rather than force. You're happy to let others take charge, you build agreement, and you pick your battles. Collaborative, low-ego settings suit you.
Sociability	You're energised by people. You think out loud, persuade naturally, and build rapport fast. Roles with plenty of interaction and visibility suit you.	You're happy working heads-down. You think before you speak, prefer depth over small talk, and don't need an audience. Focused, independent work suits you.
Patience	You bring steadiness. You prefer a consistent pace, see things through, and stay calm under pressure. You're often the stabilising presence on a team.	You like pace and variety. Routine makes you restless, you move quickly, and you thrive when things change often. Fast-moving, varied work suits you.
Precision	You care about getting it right. You work to a standard, follow the process, and catch the details others miss. Structured, quality-critical work suits you.	You keep things flexible. You're comfortable with ambiguity, focus on the big picture, and don't get bogged down in rules. Open-ended, adaptable work suits you.

What your behavioural drives mean for your career

No profile is better than another, but your drives do point to the kinds of work where you tend to be at your best. High Drive with high Sociability leans towards leadership, sales and business development. High Precision with high Patience leans towards operations, analysis and quality-focused roles. High Sociability with lower Precision leans towards creative and people-facing work. High Precision with lower Sociability leans towards technical and research roles. These are tendencies, not verdicts, and most roles reward a blend. Employers often use scored aptitude tests alongside behavioural questionnaires like this, so it is worth knowing what those look like too.

What is the PI Behavioral Assessment?

The PI Behavioral Assessment is a short, widely used personality questionnaire that many employers include in their hiring process. It is unusual in how it works. Rather than rating statements on a scale, you are shown a list of descriptive words and tick the ones that apply, and you do this twice: first for how you feel you are expected to act at work, then for the natural you.

From those two passes it builds a picture of your behavioural drives, such as how much you push to take charge, how much you seek out people, how steady a pace you prefer, and how much detail and structure you like. The gap between your work self and your natural self shows how much you are adapting to fit your role, which is often the most interesting part of the result.

Is this the official PI assessment?

No. This is a free practice test built in the style of the PI Behavioral Assessment, using our own original word list. “Predictive Index” and “PI” are trademarks of Predictive Index, LLC, and this test is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to them.

What we have recreated is the format, a free-choice word checklist completed twice, and the idea of measuring behavioural drives, neither of which is owned by anyone. The specific words and the official scoring are not ours to use and we do not use them. Our version is free, needs no sign-up and gives you a genuine feel for how the real thing works, which is useful if you have one coming up as part of a job application.

How the two-pass word checklist works

You will see the same list of words twice.

First pass: tick the words that describe how you feel you are expected to act at work. This is your work self, the version of you that the job seems to call for.
Second pass: tick the words that genuinely describe you, the natural you, setting the job to one side. There are no right answers here, so be honest.

Your result shows both profiles side by side across four behavioural drives, and highlights where they differ most. A close match means you can largely be yourself at work. A wide gap on a drive means you are stretching to meet what the role expects, which is normal in small doses but worth noticing if it is large and constant.

How should you read your results?

Start with your natural profile, as that is the real you. The drive that scores highest is your strongest natural tendency, and the per-drive notes explain what each one means in practice. Then look at the gap between your natural self and your work self. Where the two line up, the role fits you comfortably. Where they diverge, you are adapting, and a large, lasting gap can be a quiet signal that the role or environment is not quite right for you. No profile is better than another. The value is in seeing your drives clearly and understanding where you flex to fit your work.

Prepare yourself for leading employers

I learnt exactly where I needed more practice and could focus on improving those areas.

Lora used Practice Aptitude Tests to keep track of her practice and progress.

Personality Test in the Style of the PI Behavioral Assessment FAQs

Is the test free?

Yes. The word checklist and your full results, including both profiles and what each drive means, are free with no sign-up and no payment. Nothing is stored against your name.

How long does it take?

Around five minutes. You tick words from the same list twice, so there is nothing to work out and no time pressure. Your results appear as soon as you ask for them.

Is this the official PI Behavioral Assessment?

No. It is an original practice test in the same style, using our own words. “Predictive Index” and “PI” are trademarks of Predictive Index, LLC, and this test is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

Why do you tick the words twice?

The two passes are the whole point. The first captures how you feel you are expected to act at work, the second captures your natural self. Comparing them shows how much you adapt to fit your role, which a single pass cannot.

What does the test measure?

Four behavioural drives: Drive (taking charge), Sociability (seeking people), Patience (preferring a steady pace) and Precision (attention to detail and structure). You see a score on each for both your work self and your natural self.

Do employers use this kind of test?

Yes. Behavioural questionnaires like the PI Behavioral Assessment are used in hiring to understand working style and fit, rather than to pass or fail you. Employers often pair them with scored aptitude tests, so it is worth practising those too.