Since the Thomas Kilmann instrument was introduced in 1974, there has been a quantitative way to measure just how effective someone is with teamwork. Previously, an employer had no choice but to hang on to a job applicant’s word. And of course, whenever teamwork was what it took to get the job, the person being interviewed was highly likely to profess his or her prowess at being a true-blue team player.
By taking away the guesswork from whether someone is cooperative or not, the Thomas Kilmann psychological test has helped countless businesses hire the workforce tailor fit to their requirements. The fact is, an enterprise may need an employee who is either rabidly independent or thrives in a group environment.
The Thomas Kilmann instrument was developed by two psychologists who advanced the original theory of approach and avoidance that has long been a staple of introductory psychology in schools. In simplest terms, every person approaches any stimuli in life by either approaching the issue or avoiding it. And while there are major trends, psychologists also find out that there are surprising exceptions.
Take, for example, the case of a fire in a theater, where the standard response is to flee the situation. Sooner or later, some brave souls get out of the mold by accomplishing something heroic. This phenomenon merely illustrates that not every situation is a cut and dried thing.
Ultimately, people do respond in different ways to the same stimulus, a recognition that would drive two prominent psychologists to raise the bar higher by answering the all too important question of whether or not there is a hero in you. As in most psychological tests, it’s nothing short of miraculous how a series of questions can ferret out the truth from any individual–no matter how guarded.
Nevertheless, just like the standard lie detector test, someone eventually comes along to break the code. For ultimately, no psychological evaluation is fool-proof and that includes Thomas Kilmann. Tests of such nature are not designed to withstand chicanery.
They’re designed in earnest to seek the truth and nothing but the truth. So anyone who intends to break the record isn’t accomplishing anything. In this sense, breaking the bank is a kind of Pyrrhic victory. When the results are used properly, the simple evaluation that was developed through the collaboration of Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann can answer one of the most perplexing questions regarding human behavior.
Simply stated, is the individual under duress the most competitive person on the planet or the most cooperative? So rather than evade the question, responding truthfully is by far the most constructive response. After all, safeguards are in place to ward off any inconsistency.