Introduction
The TPT questionnaire (Corral et al., 2002) is one of the most widely used questionnaires among occupational and organisational psychology practitioners in Spain (Muñiz et al., 2020). It is a self-report measure comprising 160 items assessing 15 personality dimensions relevant to workplace behaviour, as well as a social desirability scale. Although five new editions of the technical manual have been published to date, a review and update are recommended (International Test Commission, 2013; EFPA, 2025). This recommendation reflects a concern raised years ago regarding the psychometric properties of some scales (Arribas-Aguila, 2011). It also extends to the instrument's structure and suitability for today's workplace.
Purpose
To address this need, information about the different stages of the revision process of the original questionnaire will be presented, focusing on a pilot study used to define the standardisation version of the new TPT-2.
Method and results
Based on a subject-matter expert (SME) study and psychometric analyses with a very large sample (N = 51,482), three new scales (Honesty/Integrity, Professionalism, and Leadership) were added and 182 new items were developed. Together with 76 items retained from the original version, this yielded an experimental form with 258 items that was administered to a sample of 1,391 individuals in personnel selection contexts. Using these data, we conduct item analyses and evaluated scales unidimensionality and reliability, which led to the standardisation version of the questionnaire consisting of 170 items.
Conclusions
Using empirical and real-world data in the initial stages of questionnaire development and validation enables evidence-based decisions about item retention and scale structure, directly improving the resulting psychological measure.