Ipsative vs normative scoring
If every person's scores add up to the same total, the scores are ipsative. They tell you the order of your own preferences, and they cannot rank you against anyone else. Here is why, and what it means for coaches.
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The difference in one table
| Normative | Ipsative | |
|---|---|---|
| How items are answered | Each statement rated on its own scale | You choose between options |
| Do totals vary between people? | Yes | No, they are fixed (in the ICA, 40) |
| Answers the question | How much of this trait do you have, compared with others? | Which of your tendencies leads, and by how much? |
| Percentiles and norms | Meaningful | Not meaningful |
The distinction was set out by Hicks in 1970 (Psychological Bulletin): when every respondent's totals are the same, the scores are purely ipsative.
What follows from a fixed total
- Comparisons stay within one person. A score of 15 for one person and 10 for another does not show that the first has more of that tendency.
- Scales are forced to correlate negatively. Raising one score must lower another; with four scales, the average correlation between them is pushed to about −1/3.
- Standard statistics mislead. Reliability coefficients and factor analyses calculated in the usual way are distorted.
- Few scales make it worse. Baron (1996) argued the problems shrink as the number of scales grows and are worst with only a few (source).
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Take the free testWhy use forced choice at all
Because choosing between options is harder to fake. In high-stakes settings, a meta-analysis found that forced-choice questionnaires inflated scores far less than rating-scale questionnaires, with an overall effect size of 0.06 (Cao & Drasgow, 2019).
Newer methods can recover between-person scores from forced-choice answers. Thurstonian item response theory does this (Brown & Maydeu-Olivares, 2011; 2013), but only with enough traits and suitable item design; simple counting does not.
What it means for your ICA result
Your four ICA scores always total 40, so they are ipsative. Read them as the order and spacing of your own preferences: what leads, what supports, what is developing and what is latent. The Orientation Strength Index measures that spacing.
For coaches, teams and hiring
Ipsative profiles show what someone leans on and what they could build, which makes them useful in coaching, team development and hiring. In hiring, use a candidate's profile to shape structured interview questions and to discuss role fit, and compare it with the demands of the role rather than ranking candidates by raw scores: Meade (2004) showed that ipsative and normative versions of the same items can lead to different hiring decisions (source). The practitioner license includes guidance for using the ICA in hiring.
Common questions
What does ipsative mean?
Ipsative scores describe a person relative to themselves. In a forced-choice test where everyone's scores add up to the same total, the scores show the order of your own preferences, not how you compare with other people.
Is ipsative scoring bad?
It answers a different question. It is weak for comparing or ranking people, but it suits self-reflection, and forced-choice formats are harder to fake than rating scales.
Can I compare my scores with someone else's?
Not directly. Because your four scores always add to 40, they describe the balance of your own preferences, not how much of each you have compared with other people. Someone else's 22 is not the same as your 22.
Keep reading
How the ICA personality test works
How the ICA works: 40 forced-choice items across eight life areas, four dimension scores, three faculties, 24 profiles and the Orientation Strength Index.
The ICA practitioner license for coaches, HR and hiring teams
Use the ICA in coaching, team development and hiring: six training modules, client files, group analysis and 25 assessment credits. $998 one-time.
The ICA and the MBTI® assessment compared
The ICA and the MBTI® assessment compared on price, time, privacy, results and research, with the MBTI retest data and sources, checked 13 October 2026.
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