Emergenetics
Generalities
The Emergenetics system was created by Geil Browning in 1991. The company that publishes the system is based in Centennial, Colorado. Emergenetics is sold by a network of distributors in the USA and abroad.
Assessment
The survey comprises 100 items that may take up to one hour to complete. It measures seven dimensions in two groups. The first group is said to be about how people think: analytical, conceptual, structural, and social. The second group is said to be about how people behave: expressiveness, assertiveness, and flexibility. Here is a brief recap with a GRI factors comparison.
| Dimension | GRI a priori |
|---|---|
| Analytical | Low 2 |
| Conceptual | Low 2, high 1 |
| Structural | Low 2, high 4 |
| Social | High 2 |
| Dimension | GRI a priori |
|---|---|
| Expressiveness | High 2, high 1, low 4 |
| Assertiveness | High 1, Low 2 |
| Flexibility | Low 4 |
Usage
The Emergenetics model is proposed for use in communication, motivation, group dynamics, dialogue, and understanding personal preferences to heighten strength, interest, and performance. It’s not explicitly proposed for recruitment.
Users of Emergenetics are provided with reports like most personality systems do, explaining the results and their context. There is also a report for teams that displays individual results next to each other.
The use of Emergenetics in recruitment is nowhere mentioned, or at least not in the technical report and website, but only in other uses one-on-one dialogue and team dynamics.
Comments
The Emergenetics model is said to be nomological, practical, and robust. But so are all the other systems that provide a framework and result in a simple way, so as to help people think about themselves and others. There is nothing specific to the Emergenetics model that makes it simpler and more valuable than any other model that can be presented in a simple way.
The model seems to borrow from the socio-analytic framework that provides more actionable information than if it were only built on the FFM (Five-Factor Model of personality) traits analysis. There are different ways to depart from the FFM, but mixing thinking traits and behavioral traits is confusing. Ultimately, the test measures traits, which can eventually be observed by how people act, whatever their origin. The long-standing dichotomy between body and mind doesn’t help to better understand how people interact with each other.
The seven dimensions of Emergenetics are not exempt from major overlaps. Emergenetics says that the two groups help implement a simple and practical approach to their understanding of people and services to their clients. But again, so does any model that may claim to be scientific because it relates to some research studies.
Emergenetics does not provide any assessment of adaptation, nor any tools and methodologies to study expectations from jobs and teams.