Science (original) (raw)
The Science behind better business decisions
Explore the scientific foundation of the assessments shaping our hiring, team dynamics, and performance management solutions
70+
Years of science
37.5M+
Assessments administered
383+
Validity studies completed
120+
Job roles validated
The science behind Confident hiring
Bad hires are expensive. Industry research puts the average cost of a mis-hire at 30–200% of annual salary, and most of those mistakes happen because decisions were made without objective data. Using PI’s Behavioral Science makes you 12X less likely to land a low-value hire.
The PI Hire solution is built on two rigorously validated assessments that measure what actually predicts job success: behavioral drives and cognitive ability. Not personality types. Not subjective interviews. Science-backed signals that have been linked to on-the-job performance across 120+ job roles.
PI Assessments
Every assessment in PI is independently validated, not just when it was first built. Here’s what that means for you:
Behavioral and Cognitive Targets
Set science-backed benchmarks for any role, so every candidate is evaluated against an objective standard — not a hiring manager’s instinct.
Hiring team alignment
Give your hiring panel the same objective data so decisions are consistent, defensible, and grounded in something more than "culture fit."
Validation and credibility
Every PI assessment has been certified by independent third-party reviewers as valid, fair, and reliable for use in hiring decisions. That's the documentation your legal and leadership teams will want
HOW PI'S SCIENCE HOLDS UP
Built to a standard most HR tools don't meet
Most competitors validate their science once. PI's in-house I/O scientists run ongoing validity research, so the science that informs your hiring decision today reflects the workforce of today — not the 1970s.
APA Grounded in best-practice guidelines
Every PI assessment is built and deployed in alignment with APA guidelines for workplace psychological testing. Every PI-certified partner is trained to apply them correctly and ethically.
383+ Ongoing validation studies
383+ validity studies and counting. The research doesn't stop at launch. PI's validity studies are ongoing- continuously tested, updated, and held to the same rigorous standards as the day they were published.
EEOC Independent psychometric certification
Every PI assessment is independently audited and certified. PI meets EEOC uniform guidelines for lawful employee selection.
WHY PI CARES ABOUT THE SCIENCE
People decisions are the most consequential decisions a business makes.
Most talent tools treat science as a credential.
PI treats it as a responsibility.
Because when you're making decisions about who gets hired, who gets developed, and who leads, the stakes are too high for borrowed theory. That's why PI doesn't license science or rely on research built for different eras. We build it. We test it continuously. And we publish the evidence.
OUR SCIENTIFIC COMMITMENT
- Continuously validated science. PI's I/O scientists run ongoing validity research so the science behind your decisions reflects how work actually happens today — not decades ago.
- Real-world validation means PI predicts performance in actual jobs, not theoretical ones. Our studies are built on data from the workplace — not borrowed from research designed for a different era
- Published and independently audited research. You don't have to trust PI's claims about its science — you can read the research yourself.
Anthony Belluccia, Ph.D.
Lead I/O Scientist · The Predictive Index
Skeptical of HR assessments? Hear from Dr. Belluccia why behavioral science belongs in every hiring decision
"[High] Performers are identified 81% of the time with job samples and assessments, compared to 66% of the time when only using structured interviews. That's a big gap you're leaving on the table without PI's assessments."
SCIENCE ACROSS THE EMPLOYEE LIFECYCLE
Validated for hiring. Proven across every stage of the employee lifecycle.
EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
Turn behavioral data into personalized development plans
PI gives employees and managers a shared, objective language for growth conversations grounded in behavioral data.
MANAGER EFFECTIVENESS
Empower managers to lead with data, not assumptions
Every employee's behavioral profile surfaces their natural workplace drives, preferred work style, and the conditions where they thrive.
TEAM PERFORMANCE
Design teams that are built to win
When behavioral profiles are overlaid across a team, PI surfaces where people naturally collaborate and where tension is likely to emerge.
ENGAGEMENT & RETENTION
Know why people leave before they do
PI connects engagement results to specific team experiences and behavioral dynamics so you can identify the root cause.
ORG-WIDE ALIGNMENT
Connect your people strategy to your business strategy
PI gives HR leaders and executives a common, science-backed language for decisions about hiring, structure, and talent investment.
WHAT PI'S SCIENCE ENABLES
Science backed insights for HR Leaders
PI's science isn't an end in itself — it's the foundation that makes every hire, every team, and every manager decision more defensible and more effective.
Fewer mis-hires Defensible hiring backed by validated benchmarks
Mis-hires are costly. PI gives you an objective signal before the offer — not a gut check after.
Stronger managers Behavioral data that turns managers into leaders
Managers drive team engagement. PI gives them the context to lead each person.
Lower voluntary turnover Engagement insights tied to team dynamics
Turnover is largely preventable. PI helps you identify at-risk managers and teams before people start looking.
Faster time to productivity Onboarding grounded in how people actually work
When managers understand behavioral drives from day one, development is targeted and time-to-performance shrinks.
See our science in action
Science claims are easy to make. We'd rather show you the data. Read our ecological validity study to see exactly how PI predicts job performance in real work environments — not just controlled research conditions.
Learn more about PI’s Science
Research and Validity at PI
Talent Optimization Certification
Reference Profiles
Frequently asked questions
Is the PI Behavioral Assessment legal to use in hiring?
Yes. The PI Behavioral Assessment complies with EEOC guidelines and is designed and validated against the four-fifths adverse impact standard—the regulatory threshold for discrimination detection. PI runs independent audits every five years using EFPA-certified auditors with PhDs in industrial-organizational psychology, and no adverse impact has been identified. The BA’s design (free-choice format, untimed, positively valenced adjectives) is engineered to resist gaming and reduce the kind of bias that emerges from forced-choice or negatively-framed assessments
How is PI different from personality tests like MBTI or DiSC?
MBTI and DiSC tell you personality type. PI’s Behavioral Assessment tells you whether someone will perform well in a specific job—and backs that with 700+ validation studies proving the connection. MBTI/DiSC are useful for self-awareness and team communication; PI is built for hiring decisions. Additionally, PI audits itself for fairness every year through independent experts; personality typing systems don’t. This makes PI legally defensible for hiring in ways personality typing isn’t.
How long has PI been around, and how many people have taken the assessment?
The Predictive Index has 70+ years of behavioral science research and delivers 2.5M+ assessments annually to 8,000+ clients in 142 countries. Built on seven decades of rigorous research and administered millions of times each year, PI’s Behavioral Assessment is one of the most widely used personality assessments in the world—trusted by organizations from construction to healthcare to professional services. Your hiring data is scored against a global norm sample of 9.7M responses, ensuring precision and legal defensibility.
Can PI assessments be used across different industries and job types?
Yes. PI’s validity studies span many different industries, regions, and job roles — the research includes more than 25,000 employees across 120 different job roles. PI customers range from manufacturing and healthcare to software and financial services. The Job Assessment tool also allows organizations to build behavioral and cognitive targets specific to their roles, ensuring the science is applied to their actual context.
Is the PI Behavioral Assessment biased?
PI treats fairness as a core psychometric responsibility, not a legal formality. The science team conducts differential item functioning (DIF) studies to identify and address score bias by demographic group. PI’s psychometricians provide guidance to clients on how to use assessments in a way that’s fair to all respondents, and work closely with product developers and consultants to make fairness a consideration in every part of the client experience. The assessment is free-choice and stimulus-response in format, which minimizes the coaching and bias effects that structured interview questions are more vulnerable to.
How does PI ensure the assessments stay accurate over time?
PI treats validation as an ongoing process. Researchers conduct reliability studies to report the accuracy of scores (internal consistency), stability over time (test-retest reliability), and reliability of the psychological constructs being measured. These studies help quantify measurement error and provide guidance on how to effectively use assessment results. The science team also monitors how assessments perform as workplace norms and workforce demographics shift, making continuous improvements rather than treating validation as a dated credential.
Does PI help with more than just hiring?
PI isn’t just a hiring tool. When managers use behavioral insights in their daily work—coaching, feedback, goal-setting—employees advance faster and stay longer. Companies using PI across hiring, development, and retention see major cost savings and lower turnover. Think of it as a blueprint for making better people decisions at every stage.