The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), originally developed by Cattell and Mead (1949), is a 185-item measure of normal personality which is currently in its fifth edition. The instrument utilizes a multiple choice response format to assess 16 primary scales, 5 second-order scales, and 2 third-order scales. The questionnaire is available in computer or paper and pencil formats, and there are a variety of age-adjusted, condensed, and modified versions for use in various settings.
The 16PF is one of the oldest, most researched, and most influential measures of normal personality. Currently in its fifth edition, the most modern version of the 16PF was published in 1993 and later normed on 2000 US census data in 2001 (Cattell and Schuerger 2003). This instrument is the product of several decades of research and is the result of data from behavioral observations, questionnaires, and experimental research (Catell and Cattell 1995; Cattell and Mead 2008).
