The Highlands Ability Test asks you to perform a series of objective work samples to measure your natural abilities. These consist of what you do quickly and easily and they affect the ways you learn, communicate, lead, make decisions, solve problems, and use your mental and creative talents. You can take this test on-line or in a CD version in about 3 hours. When you have finished the test, Eden Rue Ph.D. will conduct a personal 2-hour, thorough feedback conference and counseling session with you to discuss your complete Ability Profile. You will receive a 35 page confidential written report as well as an audiotape of your conference.
Below find the details of the Abilities Test.
Abilities & Personal Style
Several of the work samples on the Highlands Ability Battery measure the ways in which individuals approach the people and the circumstances around them. The results describe the individual in terms which indicate the study and work environment which would make the individual most comfortable, productive and satisfied.
Specifically, the work samples measure where the individual fits on three different scales:
● The Generalist / Specialist Scale
● The Extrovert / Introvert Scale
● Time Frame Orientation
The Generalist/Specialist scale is not an absolute measure but a continuum which indicates the individual’s relative preference for working independently or in groups. People at one end of the continuum prefer to work on group projects; people at the other end derive energy from time alone and may prefer to work and solve problems independently. Seventy-five percent of the population falls on the generalist side of the scale.
The Extrovert/Introvert Scale is also a continuum. It measures how comfortable an individual feels when relating to the people around him. An individual at one end of the scale seeks other people out and gets energy from them; an individual at the other end is satisfied to be and work alone.
The work sample in Time Frame Orientation assesses an individual’s attitude towards future plans and goals. It tells us how far into the future the individual is likely to project his or her plans. Some people prefer to think and plan in the short term; others in the long term.
The Driving Abilities
The Highlands Ability Battery identifies five abilities as driving abilities. These five abilities will be more or less assertive in any one individual. Beyond a certain point, they may demand to be recognized and utilized by the individual. The scores in these abilities are significant in anticipating academic and occupational performance and satisfaction.
The five driving abilities are measured in separate worksamples:
Classification assesses the individual’s non-logical, intuitive problem-solving ability, i.e., the ability to see the relationship between seemingly unrelated objects or information — to go from the specific to the more general.
Concept Organization assesses the individual’s ability in linear, logical problem solving —the ability to assemble known facts, to see the logical connection between them, and to arrive at a logical conclusion.
Idea Productivity measures the number of ideas that spring to a person’s mind over a particular period of time in response to a set of new facts — the quantity of ideas, not the quality. This ability may be evidenced by the relative contributions of individuals who participate in a brainstorming session.
Spatial Relations Theory measures the ability to conceptualize and envision relationships, whether between abstractions (ideas, principles, theories) or between tangible objects.
Spatial Relations Visualization measures the ability to “see” and follow in three dimensions an object that is represented in two dimensions. The ability is related to the relative preference for hands-on work and experience and the satisfaction in achieving tangible results.
The Specialized Abilities
The specialized abilities can be divided into two categories — musical abilities and other specialized abilities. Together and separately, these abilities have an impact on the ways in which an individual takes in and learns new material.
The musical abilities:
Tonal Memory — the ability to remember tunes, tonal sequences and linguistic content. An excellent measure of an individual’s capacity to learn by hearing, as by listening to tapes.
Rhythm Memory — the ease with which an individual can turn physical movement into a learning process.
Pitch Discrimination — measures sensitivity to small differences in external stimuli; helpful to an individual in detecting subtle changes in the speech inflection of others.
The other specialized abilities:
Design Memory — the ability to learn through graphics and to place new data and information into graphic form, e.g., diagrams, drawings, outlines, etc.
Observation — the ability to focus on and remember visual details and to detect changes and irregularities as they occur.
Verbal Memory — the ease with which an individual learns new words and remembers the content of information presented visually, as in printed text; sometimes called associative memory.
Number Memory — the ability to learn, remember and use non-associated material such as raw data and numbers.
Visual Speed & Accuracy — the ease and speed with which an individual processes and interprets new written data; advantageous in fields that require instant recall of statistics.