by Brent W. Hubby, on Dec 6, 2022, 8:56:00 AM
Updated Sep 16, 2026
PDP Behavioral Assessments provide a statistically validated, objective system for pre-employment screening, employee motivation, and talent retention. While DiSC tests are popular for individual self-awareness, they lack validation for pre-employment hiring decisions.
Key Takeaways
- Primary Difference: DiSC is a self-assessment tool designed for personal development, whereas PDP Global’s ProScan is a predictive, EEOC/ADA-compliant behavioral assessment system built specifically for workforce management and hiring.
- Hiring Compatibility: Modern DiSC profiles explicitly state they are not validated for pre-employment screening. PDP’s ProScan (when paired with JobScan) measures job fit without disparate impact.
- Statistical Reliability: PDP ProScan achieves a Cronbach’s alpha reliability score of 0.94 and is validated with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), compared to DiSC’s average 0.87 Cronbach's alpha.
What Are the Origins of DiSC and PDP Assessments?
The DiSC behavioral model originated from psychologist William Moulton Marston’s 1928 book Emotions of Normal People, which outlined dominance, inducement, submission, and compliance. Marston never created an assessment; Walter Clarke developed the first DiSC-based checklist test in 1956 for workforce evaluation.
PDP Global developed the ProScan Survey in 1976 specifically for corporate talent selection and motivation. Built on research by psychologists Thurstone, Cattell, Guilford, and Fiske, ProScan utilizes a five-factor trait model (dominance, extroversion, pace, conformity, logic) validated through quantitative studies on working adults.
How Do the Assessment Outputs and Profiles Compare?
DiSC Personality Test
DiSC evaluates four traits (dominance, influence, steadiness, conscientiousness) and assigns test-takers a letter profile (e.g., "S" or "Di") describing general team behaviors and static motivators. Current DiSC versions are not validated to measure employment suitability for specific positions.
PDP Behavioral Assessment
PDP’s ProScan processes 148,000 computations via a 5-point Likert scale to generate dynamic behavioral profiles. Beyond measuring four cornerstone traits (dominance, extroversion, pace, conformity) plus logic, energy styles, and motivators, ProScan measures individuals across three distinct environments:
- Natural Self
- Priority Environment
- Outward Self
ProScan uses custom real-time checklists to identify fluid motivators rather than assigning static traits.
What Is the Research and Validity Behind Each Assessment?
DiSC validity varies by provider. Select versions report a median Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.87 and test-retest reliability of 0.86 using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA).
PDP Global has performed unparalleled research on working adults across the U.S. since ProScan’s inception in the 1970s. While experts consider a Chronbach’s alpha score of 0.70 to be acceptable, in the initial development research, ProScan produced an excellent reliability score of 0.94. Although the original ProScan Survey demonstrated very high reliability and validity, continual testing is an important value to us especially since language evolves over time. We underwent a series of multi-year studies ending in 2021 to optimize our instrument and determine the best possible set of trait descriptors to include in ProScan.
Recent multi-year studies resulted in 11 Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA), three Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA), and three Item Response Theory analyses (IRT). CFAs are the classic gold standard in statistical evaluation and go a step beyond EFAs. IRT is a new, modern technique for rigorous validation. Many companies stop at EFAs—if that—since successfully a CFA or a IRT can be a very involved process that few bother to complete. We’ve completed three CFAs and three IRTs to demonstrate repeated validation and to ensure that the ProScan Survey is valid and is the best instrument for business use.
When Should Businesses Use PDP vs. DiSC?
DiSC Personality Test
The DiSC personality test is useful for personal development and self-knowledge, but it’s not ideal for use in the workplace as a pre-employment screening tool. DiSC-authorized partners explicitly caution against its use in hiring, one partner company noting that:
“Although DiSC® profiles are often used as part of the hiring and onboarding process, they're not recommended for pre-employment screening. DiSC does not measure specific skills, aptitudes, or other factors critical for a position; it describes one’s natural work behavior patterns or styles to help improve productivity, teamwork, and communication.”
PDP Behavioral Assessment
We designed PDP behavioral assessments as a full people management system from recruitment to retention. What makes PDP so strong for businesses, in addition to our robust multi-year studies, is that we’ve verified that our assessments correlate directly with job performance and are free of disparate impact.
ProScan results can be coupled with JobScan to accurately predict job fit. By analyzing your current top performer’s behaviors and the behaviors that are desired for the role, our JobScan instrument builds a model of ideal behaviors. This customized job benchmark attracts candidates with the required behaviors for job success, so you get better-qualified candidates from the start. See how this call center reduced their interviewing time by 600% using our proven methods.
Our suite of assessments are highly objective and without bias, also known as disparate impact, during the hiring process against protected classes like race, gender, or age. We further strengthen compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with certification courses to ensure appropriate implementation.
The Center for Applied Psychology at the University of Colorado at Denver has validated our instruments, which all follow American Psychological Association standards. We also adhere to principles for the validation of personnel selection procedures by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology.
Insights to Hire, Motivate, and Retain
PDP behavioral assessments give you the insights you need to create a productive work environment. Our system delivers results, including:
- Decreasing employee turnover
- Improving interviews and the selection of new employees
- Reducing employee interpersonal conflicts
- Boosting morale, job satisfaction, and sense of value
- Building team communication and harmony
- Enhancing employee satisfaction and morale
- Uncovering employees operating in quiet quitting mode
- Increasing productivity and profits
- Standardizing the hiring process for efficiency
- Matching people to the tasks that best fit them
- Measuring employee stress so steps can be taken to reduce it
- Identifying anyone near burnout to proactively address the situation
Use PDP to find the right talent for your roles and drive a high-performance culture. Request a demo and see how PDP’s behavioral assessments can impact your organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes PDP ProScan legally compliant for hiring?
PDP ProScan is EEOC and ADA compliant, demonstrated through rigorous Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to be free of disparate impact against protected classes such as age, race, and gender.
Can DiSC tests be used for hiring and job pre-screening?
No. DiSC publishers explicitly state that DiSC profiles are not validated for pre-employment screening because they do not measure specific job aptitudes or predict candidate success.
How does PDP ProScan measure job fit compared to DiSC?
DiSC provides static trait descriptions. PDP pairs ProScan with JobScan to create a benchmark of ideal behaviors based on your company's top performers, accurately measuring candidate alignment with specific roles.
