DPA is a proven, simple, universally accepted preference profile.

It is the product of research by Drs Jim Kable and Richard Hicks. Dr Kable is currently the Chairman, Academic Committee, Australian Institute of Management and Dr Hicks is Professor of Applied Psychology at Bond University on the Gold Coast in Australia.  Their work established a link between preferences and the way a person approaches and responds to work, and provided an explanation for performance variations.  It also developed and validated a measure of these preferences for individuals and provided guidance for measuring jobs on the same criteria allowing for easy and meaningful comparison of job and incumbent (or possible candidate).

1. a 1974 study of differential academic success of students in the Department of Management at the Queensland Institute of Technology by Dr. J.C. Kable , and
2. the design, validation and application of preference tests by Dr. R.E. Hicks in Australia, New Guinea and elsewhere.

The DPA questionnaire has been designed specifically to measure the preferences of people particularly but not exclusively in the work situation. 

Preference can be defined simply as activities for which an individual has a liking, towards which he or she will move if free to do so.  They tend to be relative phenomena of consciousness; an individual presented with two areas of preference can differentiate one as ‘preferred’, although this choice may vary given the relative alternatives presented.  That is, an individual may prefer A (to B), but in a second situation prefer B (to C).

The DPA questionnaire provides a measure of relative quantitative versus qualitative preferences, and also measures eight categories of relative preference (which provide the data for the relative quantitative/qualitative score).

The early QIT research established that it was possible to differentiate preferences as either:

The early QIT research established that it was possible to differentiate preferences as either quantitative(QN) or qualitative(QL), and that these two dimensions could be accurately measured. This early research initiated the use of QN and QL as descriptions of the preferences of people especially but not exclusively in the work situation.

For example, an authoritarian, decisive Accountant, apparently serious and formal in relationships with other people, analytical but practical, dominant and favouring the rule of law (regulations and procedures), would be highly QN.  Conversely, a sensitive, flexible and apparently friendly Human Resources Manager, supportive of people and responsive to people-oriented problems, with an open communicative style, would be highly QL.

A major objective of the DPA development was to design an instrument that measured the individual's preferences AND the requirements of the individual's job in identical terms.  The selection of QN and QL as broad criteria for measurement not only fulfilled this objective, but also provided information on a sub-set of preferences if required.

The eight variables (categories) are measured over 84 pairs of statements, in three independent sections.  Each variable is assessed 21 times by the respondent.  This has been done to ensure a more accurate result than would occur if only one independent set of comparisons was used (28 pairs, each variable assessed only 7 times). The eight categories were assessed for the degree of QN-ness and QL-ness in each.  The categories, and their assessment, can be seen in the graph on the right.

The variables are defined as follows:

Social/People
A high score indicates a high preference for working with people; for face-to-face contact; for interacting and being with other people, for enjoying the company of others.

A low preference signifies a reluctance to be with people, a loner by choice; uncomfortable in face-to-face contact; feeling uneasy in groups or committees; preference for contacting people by telephone, memoranda or letters.

Creative/Innovative
A high score indicates a preference to draw and design; to do new things; to design procedures.  Some high scorers will enjoy high-risk situations where innovative solutions can be employed.  The high scorer may enjoy drawing and design (e.g. of plans for home, office or factory layouts) and related art aspects.

A low score indicates a preference for a more ordered life; more dependent on past procedures and previous experience; for structured goals and objectives.

…cont

Outdoor/Mobile
A high score indicates potential frustration with being at one location all day and a preference to be free to move around; does not like being pinned down in one place for too long.  At times a high scorer may want to remain at the work station to complete a task but must still have the opportunity to get up and go.  Some high scorers may enjoy work associated with the land, in gardening, farming and related areas.

A low score indicates a preference for remaining at one location, for enjoying working from one workshop or office, one building, one city; a preference, for example, to supervise from an office rather than go out and look.

Mathematical/Numerate
A high score indicates a preference for quantitative solutions to problems; use of tables, graphs and charts; avoiding making decisions which cannot be put in figures; possibly avoiding people decisions as these cannot be put into a mathematical formula; may enjoy working with detail.

A low score indicates a tendency to avoid figures if possible; may be potentially suspicious of decisions made through the use of figures only; possible difficulty reading tables and graphs.

Scientific/Analytical
A high score indicates a preference for using formulae or standard procedures to make decisions; preference for decisions which are logic oriented; possibly suspicious of ‘way-out’ solutions; prefers to have back-up evidence before implementing a decision.  A high scorer may enjoy working within formal or ‘scientific’ rules or guidelines.

A low score indicates a potential distrust of scientific procedures, especially if applied to people problems e.g. work study; would probably be reluctant to use management "techniques" such as Management by Objectives, Value Analysis; is likely to prefer to use intuitive rather than analytical approaches to decision making.

Clerical/Administrative
A high score indicates a preference for the use of routine procedures, structures and regulations; enjoying the paper war and the detail that goes with it; knowing where everything is and running a tidy ship.

A low score indicates potential impatience with paperwork; not a detail person; prefers not to have to write or read memoranda, letters, manuals or reports; dislikes files and filing.

Practical/Manual
A high score may indicate a preference to get to the meat of a problem and solve it in practice; tending to ignore theoretical things and attempting to ferret out the practical effects of the situation; may be results oriented.  A high scorer may enjoy practical activities such as repairs or building, physically using tools and materials to accomplish goals.

A low score may indicate a more theoretical approach; a possible tendency to solve the problem and leave others to implement the solution; could be ideas-oriented rather than ‘hands on’- oriented.

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