I'm Paul Barrett, until recently the adjunct professor of psychometrics and performance measurement at Auckland University (NZ), and now the Chief Research Scientist for Hogan Assessment Systems Inc.

I completed my BSc in Psychology and Mathematical Statistics at the University of Exeter, UK in 1978. I began my academic research career under the supervision of the late Paul Kline also at the University of Exeter, completing my PhD in the psychometrics of personality tests in 1981. From there I moved briefly to an IT company, hoping to utilize some of my fledgling multivariate data analysis and programming skills for a company installing point-of-sale checkout scanners in retail supermarkets in the UK. Within 9 months, I was back in a research lab, at the invitation of the late Hans Eysenck at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, working on the measurement of human intelligence and personality using bioelectric potentials (EEG, median nerve conduction, and skin conductance), and chronometrics (reaction times & inspection times).

Whilst engaging in this work, I also undertook the remainder of the cross-cultural psychometrics for the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire project, which had been instigated by Hans and his wife, Sybil Eysenck back in the late 60s. Over 40 countries contributed data to the project, spanning 43,000+ cases of data. When the lab closed in 1994, I came to New Zealand as a lecturer in Research Methods within the department of Psychology at the University of Canterbury. However, in 1996, I was asked to become Chief Scientist and Head of the Psychometric Assessment Research Unit at one the UK’s High Security Forensic Psychiatric Hospitals (Ashworth, in Liverpool). Later in 1997, I moved on to take up the same role at the State Hospital in Carstairs.In 2001, I was invited to return to New Zealand by a Carter Holt Harvey Corp spinoff HR company. In my role as Chief Psychologist, I was responsible with two other consultants for innovating the patented graphical profiler technology which was used within the Talent Engine product.

In 2003, I left the company  and took up a 3-year adjunct professorial position at the University of Auckland. During the period 1982 through to now, I also worked as an applied methodologist and consultant in areas such as market research data analysis, selection and recruitment, commercial psychometrics, clinical outcome evaluation, and ROI analysis.

In recent years, I have acted as an expert witness for barristers in NZ Parole Board, High Court and Appeal Court cases, and other cases in the US and UK, mainly in the areas associated with the actuarial assessment of recidivist risk of offenders, and examining the validity of judgments made by psychologists to support recommendations of risk.

I am a Chartered Psychologist (#38680) within the BPS, a Chartered Scientist, and a full member of various US, UK, and European psychological and psychometric organizations.