The Practice Corner
Benefits of the VIA Personal Character Profile
(June 4, 2009)
By Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D.
Education Director, VIA Institute
The VIA Interpretive Report, written by Chris Peterson, Neal Mayerson, and VIA staff, is a detailed, 17-page report individualized to you, the test-taker of the VIA-IS. It is the first psychological test that I’m aware of that personalizes the results of a free, scientifically valid test and makes the in-depth interpretation portion of the results available to the user (at the $40 cost or with a discount). Typically, psychological test results and reports contain extensive jargon, are expensive and time-consuming, and are kept in the hands of the professional.
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As a psychologist who has spent considerable time over the years administering, scoring, and interpreting a variety of psychological tests, there are several components that I believe are worth highlighting in these VIA Interpretive Reports.
The mind-heart-self-others connection. Chris Peterson’s factor analysis work reveals a striking “circumplex model” that lays out the 24 character strengths in terms of whether they are strengths of the heart (e.g., gratitude), strengths of the mind (e.g., honesty), strengths that relate more to oneself (e.g., zest), and strengths that relate more to others (e.g., teamwork). The individual’s signature strengths (top 5) are highlighted on this graph. This depiction is a reminder that while it is possible two people could have a similar strengths profile, the subtle differences and interactions between and among character strengths are as varied as there are people on the planet. Thus, all work with VIA character strengths must be individualized.
Comparisons to others.
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The next step. No doubt one of the most common questions we at VIA and practitioners are asked after a client takes the VIA Survey is: “OK, great: Now what?” These reports are an answer to that question. After identification of one’s character strengths comes the phase of exploration. Individuals are encouraged to reflect on their signature strengths (top 5), consider how they’ve used them in the past, look for strengths in daily interactions and activities, and begin discussing them with others.
Jump start on practical application. For each of the individual’s top 5 or 6 strengths, detailed explanations, descriptions, and examples are given followed by concrete practical suggestions to boost the strength. How the individual makes these changes of employing strengths in everyday life is at the crux of positive psychology. This section of the report serves as an invaluable resource for both the individual user and the coach who plans to work with a client’s character strengths in depth.
Harkening back to the virtues. Often with all the great research and application discussion on character strengths that is being done, we lose focus on the broader categories: the virtues. This is interesting considering the VIA Classification started with an identification of those core virtues valued throughout the ages and across cultures. There are two graphs in the report that depict the individual’s virtue expression. This is important as it gives the person a sense for whether his or her strengths reside more as civic strengths, as emotional strengths, as interpersonal strengths, and so on.