Hogan Practice Test

The Hogan Assessments are used by potential employers to determine whether you are a good fit for a position. The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) shows hiring managers and HR teams how you relate to others when you are at your best. In contrast, the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) looks at the dark side of your personality, allowing them to mitigate performance risks before they are an issue. The Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) examines your core values and motivations.

The Hogan test is untimed, but each test takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. You may be required to take any combination of the three but the HPI is the most popular Hogan assessment among recruiters, the HDS is the second most used, and the MVPI is the least used among the three.

Technically, there are no right or wrong answers on a personality test. However, there are techniques and strategies you can use while answering the questions to give yourself a leg up on the competition.

Hogan Assessment Question Types Explained

All three Hogan assessments give a statement and ask you to rate your agreement with it, whether you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with it, or state whether you agree, disagree or are undecided. 

Hogan Personality Assessments Comparison Table

Assessment	Hogan Personality Inventory	Hogan Development Survey	Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory
Acronym	HPI	HDS	MVPI
No. of Statements	206 items	168 items	200 items
Completion Time	15-20 minutes	15-20 minutes	15-20 minutes
Measures	“Bright-side” personality	“Dark-side” personality	“Inside” personality
In a nutshell	Your strengths and success factors, how well you may do at the job	Your potential derailers at work; factors that might undermine your success at the job	The fit level between your core goals, beliefs, and personal values on the one hand, and the work environment and organizational culture on the other hand

As these are personality tests, there are no right or wrong answers. However, the answers you give will shape the company’s opinion about your personality and whether or not you are the right candidate for the job. 

Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)

The Hogan Personality Inventory asks 4-option rating questions that attempt to show what type of employee you are, how well you lead, and the likelihood of you succeeding in a role. Hogan calls this test a look at the bright side, as it looks at your personality on your best day.  

Format of the Hogan Personality Inventory

The HPI assessment is made up of a list of 206 descriptive statements. You will be asked to label your level of agreement with each statement as either strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree. 

Hogan Personality Inventory Sample Questions 

Here are some sample questions you may face during the HPI test. 

Statement	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
I enjoy the company of others
I find myself curious about how things operate
I like working on a team

Which Personality Traits Are Measured by the Hogan HPI?

HPI Personality Scales

The Hogan Personality Inventory measures you in two different areas. First, it assesses your bright-side personality, which is your normal personality characteristics – qualities that provide insight on how well you may work and how successful you can become at your job. Second, the HPI provides feedback from an occupational perspective – how successful you can be in different types of jobs.

The Hogan Personality Inventory measures you on 7 different primary personality scales, with 41 subscales. 

The primary personality scales are:

• Adjustment – measures your stress tolerance, resilience, composure, and optimism
• Ambition – measures your competitive drive, goal orientation, and perceived energy
• Sociability – measures your social energy, relationship building skills, and communication frequency
• Interpersonal Sensitivity – measures your communication style, tact, and relationship management skills
• Prudence – measures your dependability, organizational skills, and detail orientation
• Inquisitive – measures your idea-orientation, curiosity, and willingness to hear new ideas
• Learning Approach – measures your learning style, likelihood of looking up new information, and your ability to stay current

Each of the primary scales also has multiple subscales.

Adjustment	Ambition	Sociability	Interpersonal Sensitivity
Empathy	Competitive	Likes parties	Easy to live with
Not anxious	Self-confident	Likes crowds	Sensitive
No guilt	Accomplishment	Experience seeking	Caring
Calmness	Leadership	Exhibitionistic	Likes people
Even-tempered	Identity	Entertaining	No hostility
No complaints	No social anxiety
Trusting
Good attachment

Prudence	Inquisitiveness	Learning Approach
Moralistic	Science ability	Education
Mastery	Curiosity	Math ability
Virtuous	Thrill-seeking	Good memory
Not autonomous	Intellectual games	Reading
Not spontaneous	Generates ideas
Impulse control	culture
Avoids trouble

Your responses to questions are translated into scores, which are organized by scale

HPI Primary Scales	Low scores indicate	High scores indicate
Adjustment	You are open to feedback, but can be moody and self-critical	You are calm and steady under pressure, but might be resistant to feedback
Ambition	You’re a good team player and let others take the lead, but may be complacent	You are energetic and competitive, but may be restless and forceful
Sociability	You’re good at working alone and staying quiet, but you may be socially reactive	You are outgoing, talkative, and attention-seeking
Interpersonal sensitivity	You’re direct and frank, but can be cold and tough	You are friendly and warm, but avoid conflict
Prudence	You’re flexible, open-minded, and impulsive	You are organized, dependable and inflexible
Inquisitive	You’re practical but uninventive	You are imaginative, but may be a poor implementor
Learning approach	You’re a hands-on learner but technology-averse	You’re interested in learning but intolerant of the uninformed

HPI Occupational Scales

From an occupational perspective, the HPI looks at the following: 

• Service orientation – Your potential of being service-oriented, pleasant, attentive, courteous, and helpful.
• Stress tolerance – Your potential to successfully cope with stress and pressure at work.
• Reliability – Your tendency and willingness to be a conscientious employee, and to comply with the company’s rules and protocols.
• Clerical potential – Your potential to perform well in administrative and clerical jobs.
• Sales potential – Your potential to be a successful and devoted salesperson and to achieve high sales performance.
• Managerial potential – Your potential to become a successful manager and a leader in the organization.

Hogan Development Survey (HDS)

The Hogan Development Survey asks 4-option rating questions that assess the dark side of your personality, to see if you have the qualities that disrupt relationships and interfere with the likelihood of the team’s success when under stress.  Hogan calls this test “a look at the dark side,” as it looks at your personality when things aren’t going well.  

Format of the Hogan Development Survey

The HDS assessment is made up of a list of 168 descriptive statements. You will be asked to label your level of agreement with each statement as either strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree. 

Hogan Development Survey Sample Questions

Here are some sample questions you may face during the HDS test. 

Statement	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
No challenge scares me at work
I set high standards for my work performance
I wish I would be more assertive

Which Personality Traits Are Measured by the Hogan HDS?

HDS measurement scales

The Hogan Development Survey assesses your dark-side personality, which is how your personality is reflected during low periods at work, high pressure, and while facing adversity. The primary scales of the Hogan HDS describe 11 potentially derailing behaviors that may arise in such periods. It reports how prone you are to exhibit these derailing behaviors and how these might be realized during your work. These are important aspects to examine in comparison to the demands and potential stressful scenarios that are native to your potential job.

The Hogan HDS measures you on 11 different primary personality scales, with 33 subscales. 

The primary scales are:

• Excitable – measures whether you work with passion and enthusiasm, and looks at whether you become frustrated, moody, irritable, and are inclined to give up on projects and people
• Skeptical – measures whether you are alert for signs of deceptive behavior in colleagues and whether you take action when it is discovered
• Cautious – measures your risk aversion, fear of failure, and how you avoid criticism
• Reserved – measures whether you act tough, aloof, remote, and unconcerned with the feelings of others
• Leisurely – measures whether you appear to be friendly and cooperative, but are actually following your own agenda and resisting those of others 
• Bold – measures your degree of fearlessness, confidence, and self-assuredness, assessing whether you can admit mistakes and learn from your experience
• Mischievous – measures the degree to which you are impulsive, adventurous, risk seeking, and limit-testing
• Colorful – measures the degree to which you are gregarious, fun, entertaining, and enjoy being in the spotlight
• Imaginative –  measures whether you are innovative, creative, possibly eccentric, and self-absorbed
• Diligent – measures whether you are hardworking, detail-oriented, and have high standards of performance for yourself and others
• Dutiful – measures if you are compliant, conforming, and eager to please others 

Each of the primary scales also has three subscales.

HDS Primary Scale	Subscale 1	Subscale 2	Subscale 3
Excitable	Volatile	Easily disappointed	No direction
Skeptical	Cynical	Mistrusting	Grudges
Cautious	Avoidant	Fearful	Unassertive
Reserved	Introverted	Unsocial	Tough
Leisurely	Passive-aggressive	Unappreciated	Irritated
Bold	Entitled	Overconfidence	Fantasized talent
Mischievous	Risky	Impulsive	Manipulative
Colorful	Public confidence	Distractible	Self-display
Imaginative	Eccentric	Special sensitivity	Creative thinking
Diligent	Standards	Perfectionistic	Organized
Dutiful	Indecisive	Ingratiating	Conforming

Your responses to questions are translated into scores, which are organized by scale

HDS Primary Scale	Low scores indicate	High scores indicate
Excitable	You seem calm to the point where you lack passion or urgency	You display dramatic emotional peaks and valleys regarding projects and people
Skeptical	You seem overly trusting	You seem to be cynical and expect betrayal
Cautious	You are willing to take risks without careful consideration	You avoid risk regardless of risk assessment
Reserved	You are overly concerned about the feelings of others	You don’t care how others feel
Leisurely	You seem to lack an agenda or focus	You are passive-aggressive and agenda-driven
Bold	You seem to lack self-confidence	You are assertive and overly self-confident
Mischievous	You are compliant and unadventurous	You test limits and can be devious
Colorful	You are modest, quiet, and unassuming	You seek attention and are socially prominent
Imaginative	You are practical but lack new ideas	You are unpredictable and offer unusual ideas
Diligent	You pay poor attention to detail and over-delegate	You are picky and micromanage
Dutiful	You are independent and resent authority	You are eager to please management

Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI)

The MVPI asks you to respond True, False, or Undecided to questions that measure your core goals, values, drives, and interests to see the type of role where you would be most productive. Hogan says that this test measures your personal values. 

Format of the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory

The MVPI assessment is made up of a list of 200 descriptive statements. You will be asked to mark whether you agree with the statement, disagree with it, or are undecided. 

Motives, Values, and Preferences Inventory Sample Questions

Here are some sample questions you may face during the MVPI test. 

Statement	Agree	Disagree	Undecided
It is more important to be satisfied with your job than to have job security
My team’s performance reflects on my performance
I do not like it when work interferes with my time at home

Which Personality Traits Are Measured by the Hogan MVPI?

Hogan’s Motives, Values, & Preferences Inventory assesses your “inside” personality, which consists of your core goals, values, drivers, and interests. It predicts the type of work you are likely to be happy with and find fulfilling, how well you may fit into the work climate and organizational values, the extent your prospective job will fit your career goals and motivations, and the type of people you will interact well with. All in all, the MVPI assesses how well you will fit in the work environment rather than how well you will do the job.

MVPI measurement scales

The MVPI measures you on 10 different primary scales, with the same 5 subscales for each scale. 

The primary scales are:

• Recognition – measures your responsiveness to praise and approval
• Power – measures your desire for success and control
• Hedonism – measures your orientation for fun
• Altruistic – measures your desire to help others and contribute to society
• Affiliation – measures the enjoyment you get from social interaction
• Tradition – measures your dedication to personal beliefs
• Security – measures your need for predictability and order
• Commerce – measures your interest in money and business opportunities
• Aesthetics – measures your need for self-expression, as well as look and feel of work products
• Science – measures your interest in knowledge and data

Each of the primary scales also has the same 5 subscales. They are:

• Lifestyle 
• Beliefs
• Occupational preferences
• Aversions
• Preferred associates

Your responses to questions are translated into scores, which are organized by scale.

MVPI Primary Scale	Low scores indicate	High scores indicate
Recognition	You prefer to share credit, and avoid getting attention	You value acknowledgement and prefer high-visibility projects
Power	You prefer to let others take the lead	You prefer opportunities to get ahead
Hedonism	You value business-like, formal settings	You value fun and prefer open-minded environments
Altruistic	You prefer productivity over morale	You prefer customer-focused environments
Affiliation	You value independence and prefer to work alone	You enjoy working on teams
Tradition	You value challenging the way things have always been done	You prefer maintaining the status quo
Security	You value taking risks	You prefer consistency and predictability
Commerce	You value relationships over profitability	You are bottom-line focused
Aesthetics	You value practicality and prefer routines	You value innovation
Science	You prefer people over technology	You prefer working with data and facts

Hogan Preparation Strategies

While there are technically no wrong answers on a personality test, the answers you give could disqualify you for a position. For example, answering “Agree” to a question that asks whether others take advantage of you might disqualify you for a managerial position but position you for an assistant role. Understanding why the test is asking certain questions can prepare you to deliver the answers that will help you land the job. 

With the right mindset and preparation, you can make yourself familiar with the type of questions you will see on the test, and give the answers the test is looking for. 

1. Put Yourself in the Right Frame of Mind

If you’re like most people, you act differently depending on the situation you’re in and the people you are with. While taking the Hogan Assessments, put yourself in the frame of mind that you already have the job you are applying for. In your personal life, you might respond “Strongly Agree” to the statement “I am not a competitive person,” but you want to give the response as if you already had the job.

Research the company and culture beforehand on social media so you can get a sense of the company’s corporate culture, and the answer appropriately. Remember, you’re not faking it. You’re answering as if you were already in the role. 

2. Try Some Free Online Personality Tests

Taking practice assessments before your test helps reduce the stress from your test day experience. You will already know what to expect and the types of questions they are asking. 

If you are completely new to the concept of personality testing, try to find some adequate free personality tests that offer feedback. Look for serious personality tests, rather than ones that tell you which 70s celebrity you are most like. Nonetheless, there is no replacement for a practice test or preparation course that is dedicated to your Hogan assessment test.

3. Learn about the Hogan Assessment Components

There are a lot of websites that claim to prepare you for any personality test, but you need to prepare specifically for the Hogan Assessment. The HPI, HDS, and MVPI each assess you differently, and failing to prepare for the specific elements of the test is insufficient. 

4. Find a Proper Hogan Assessment Preparation Course

Contrary to claims all over the internet, you can prepare for a personality assessment test. Familiarizing yourself with the format and style of the test will make you more comfortable come test day, and understanding what your hiring company is looking for will help frame your responses to questions. 

It’s also important to forget everything you may have heard or experienced about personality tests. You may have read that you should never show weakness, don’t exhibit any negative feelings, or answer honestly. Strictly following these pieces of advice will cost you your shot at the job. A professional Hogan Assessment course will guide you to the right approach. 

Hogan Test Features

Hogan Assessment Fast Facts (tl;dr)

• HPI – 206 items
• HDS – 168 item
• MVPI – 200 items
• Untimed, although most people complete each test in 15-20 minutes 
• Administered online
• Available in over 40 languages
• Hogan scores are delivered in percentile format, compared to large samples of working adults of similar profession

Assesses Three Aspects of your Personality

The Hogan assessment looks at the aspects of your personality 

• Bright side personality – your qualities on your best day, and how likely are you to succeed at the job.
• Dark side personality – hidden negatives traits that could derail your career, and undermine your success at the job.
• Personal values – your inner beliefs and motivations that may affect how well you fit in the work environment and organizational culture.

The results of the assessment give employers a full picture of what to expect from you when they hire you. 

Bright Side Personality vs. Dark Side Personality

The Hogan Assessment measures what it calls the bright and dark sides of your personality. The HPI measures your bright side, which essentially encompasses qualities that describe how you relate to others when you are at your best. 

The HDS delves into the dark side of your personality, looking for hidden personality traits that can derail careers, damage reputations, and hurt the team’s chance of success. 

Why Personality Tests are Used to Assess Work Performance Potential

The Hogan assessments help organizations identify the personality traits that might impact an employee’s behavior and performance, as well as identify candidates that will be a good fit for a company’s existing work culture. 

“Faking It” Strategy

Research done by Hogan has indicated that “faking” responses doesn’t work. The company studied the results of 6,000 job candidates who were denied a job after taking the test, and then had another opportunity to take the test 6 months later. Those candidates all had good reason to try and manipulate results in their favor, but the final results were all within the standard error of measurement. 

Rather than trying to “Fake it,” put yourself in the mindset of the role you are trying to land. That way, when you answer the questions it will come from your professional point of view. 

Technical Facts

Validity of Results

The Hogan Assessment was designed to predict behaviors among potential and existing employees, with the overall goal of improving the organizations that use the tool. For over 30 years, the test has continued to improve. The company focuses on research, to ensure the validity of its personality test. In other words, they ensure that the results that come from the test predict performance. 

Assessment Types Explained

While taking the HPI, HDS, and MVPI, you will be expected to read between 168-206 statements and indicate whether you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each of them. In the MVPI test, you will have an additional option to answer undecided. There is no time limit, but you are expected to move through each one of the tests in under 20 minutes. 

In the HPI and HDS assessments, many of the statements you are given are “I” statements, as the test tries to understand the different aspects of your personality. The MVPI questions ask for your reaction to statements of belief and behaviors. 

Language and Geography

The Hogan is available in over 40 different languages and has distributors and partners operating all around the globe.

Results Scale and Interpretations

After completing the test, results are immediately made available to the organization that gave you an assessment. Sharing the results with you is at the discretion of the company that gave you the test. However, as you prepare for the assessment, it is instructive to know the nature of the report that they will receive.

The report shows the fit between you and the position. That fit is based on decades of research, customized for the role that you applied for. The personality you display on the test is compared to the thousands of others who have held the type of role for which you applied. If your personality matches those who have succeeded in the role, you will likely move on in the process. 

Hogan Assessment Reports

Each report has three sections. There is an executive summary, percentile scores, and a look at the primary and subscales.

Executive Summary

The report begins with an executive summary. As you can see below, The HPI executive summary focuses on your strengths, the HDS summary focuses on your negative points, and the MVPI discusses your beliefs and motivations. 

Percentile Scores 

In the next section, your potential employer will see how well you performed by percentile. It’s important to remember that the percentile is based on the way your answers are compared to that of people who have succeeded and failed in the type of role you are interviewing for. 

This means that your scores cannot be seen as general scores but as a reflection of your personality compared to the ideal personality profile sought for the job.

As you can see in the sample reports below, scores are divided into the different primary scales that each test was designed to measure. 

Primary Scales and Sub-scales

In the final section of the report, your employer gets a detailed explanation of your results for each of the scales, as well as the subscales that contributed to the score. 

Hogan Assessment FAQs

Hogan Assessment Test Tips

1. Be Prepared

If you’ve never taken a personality test before, you may be in for a surprise. Take a prep course so you are prepared on test day.

2. Do your research

Learn what you can about the organizational culture and role before you take the test, so you can answer questions as if you are already in the role.

3. Practice

Sign up for a course like iPrep’s Hogan Assessment course, which will prepare you for how to approach the test.

4. Take care of yourself

Get a good night’s sleep the night before, and have a healthy meal before taking the test. The better you feel, the more likely it is that you will succeed. 

5. Breath

Staying calm is critical, but you need to remain calm and show them why you are the best candidate for the job. Remember, you’ve got this. 

6. Use Common Sense

Be honest, but bear in mind the position you are trying to get.

Administration

• Test Location: The Hogan assessments are not proctored and are taken online at home. 
• Test Schedule: The test is given as part of the hiring process
• Test Format: Multiple choice on computer
• Test Materials: Test taken on computer
• Cost: Covered by the recruiter
• Retake Policy: Determined by each employer

Test Provider

Hogan was founded by Drs. Joyce and Robert Hogan in 1987. The company began as a small startup, but has grown to serve more than half the Fortune 500 countries. Its tests are administered in 56 countries and in 47 languages.

Information Sources

• Hogan Assessments

Disclaimer – All the information and prep materials on iPrep are genuine and were created for tutoring purposes. iPrep is not affiliated with Hogan, which is the owner of the trademarks Hogan Personality Test (HPI), Hogan Development Survey (HDS), Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI), or any companies or trademarks that were mentioned above.