Is the HBDI a Valid Assessment?

This explanation is courtesy of Herrmann International (www.hbdi.com)

The HBDI validation study was conducted by C. Victor Bunderson, Ph.D. in 1980 and was prepared to answer questions that both lay users and professionals in measurement might ask about the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI):

Does the HBDI actually measure what it purports to measure?


Is there defensible evidence based on accepted measurement standards that the scores produced by this instrument provide a reliable and valid guide to a person's profile?


Are preferences for different types of thinking, feeling, and doing (expressed through responses to the instrument) an outward manifestation of an underlying reality in the brain as this book suggests?


Under what circumstances does the HBDI maintain its validity?

These types of questions boil down to three basic ones:

Is the four-fold or quadrant model of brain dominance supported by research data?


Is the instrument a good way to quantify and thus make evident the underlying preferences for different ways of using the brain?


Is a particular application of the scores appropriate and valid?

The short answer to these questions is that on the basis of the investigations reported in this appendix and elsewhere, there is good evidence that:

Four stable, discrete clusters of preference exist.


These four clusters are compatible with the model explained in this book.


The scores derived from the instrument are valid indicators of the four clusters.


The scores permit valid inferences about a person's preferences and avoidances for each of these clusters of mental activity.


Furthermore, the use of the instrument meets high professional standards as it has so far been applied in learning, teaching, counseling, and self-assessment settings.