Observation is the aptitude of spotting and remembering details, changes, or irregularities. The test was originally designed to help in the selection of factory inspectors. In any field that involves an inspection function, observation can prove useful. Other industries include claims investigation for insurance companies, detective work, scientific research, and safety engineering inspection. There are some other less obvious careers in which observation is a great boon: in art and museum work, and in gardening and horticulture, where distinguishing between different plants is important.  The natural ability to notice details and the need for an organized space are essential to succeed and be happy in these careers.

Observation is a driving ability.  The experience of noticing things out of place send signals to the brain that can best be equated to “nails on a chalkboard” – the involuntary reaction is a cringe. This is a driving ability because it demands satisfaction.  People who for one reason or another ignore this find that they experience unexplained anxiety.  Keeping things neat and tidy contributes to their sense of peace and calm.  When schedules get busy, the need for quiet in the visual space becomes paramount.

A sample from The Highland Ability Battery Observation portion. The test-taker must describe what has changed about the picture including a change in position, orientation, a missing object, or an added object

A Cultural Example

People from northern European countries tend to have this ability in greater proportion than other regions.  This became evident to The Career Profiler, a career coach and personality profiler, when traveling in South America.  That is a region of the world filled with many sights and smells and a relaxed society.  Sidewalks are squeezed in between buildings and roads in whatever configuration fits. Paint of every age and shade smears a mural across the buildings lining the road.  Dirt and trash are cleaned up when necessary but it is mostly not necessary.  

In this landscape lives a community of Mennonite Dutch-Germanic peoples.  They are known for their pacifistic religious views and industrious nature.  In their neighborhoods, streets are wide and straight.  Their sidewalks lie an even distance from the road. Grass grows along each side of these walks even though their villages are situated in the Chaco, Paraguay, “the green hell.”  The Mennonite hotel is dorm-like, with a plain dining hall.  The rooms are bare and spotlessly clean – sterile in comparison to the land in which they live.  The rooms are white like the picket fences – a remnant icon of their former homeland in Russia. There too they set up villages that were neat and productive.  Even in Russia this stood out in stark contrast to the helter-skelter of the native dwellers in the Ukrainian region of Russia at the time.  

A South American street vs. the classic Western idea of a home

It’s been centuries since the Paraguayan Mennonite’s ancestors left Holland. What drove these people to such perfection in streets and buildings? What caused them to keep these neat and tidy traditions in light of the more relaxed cultures into which they moved?  Something drove them.  Sure you could say their cultural protocols did.  But, they had long left the culture in which these protocols were formed.  They could long ago have adapted at least some of the culture of their new countries. But they didn’t.  This demonstrates that their need for visual orderliness is an internal drive. A drive strong enough to maintain orderliness even in cultural mores diametrically opposed to their own.

Observation in Children

In this cultural example, we can see that the aptitude of orderliness is a powerful thing. Similarly, children with this ability can expect to experience anxiety and even depression.  It is an actual need to see or create order in the world.  That means that when it is not satisfied, there is a drive from within to find satisfaction for it.  That’s why it’s important to know what your aptitudes and driving abilities are so that you can work with them and satisfy them. If you have children, it’s important to know their abilities so that you can accommodate them and help them achieve their greatest potential in those areas.

Ready to find out if you have the observation aptitude? We most strongly recommend The Highlands Ability Battery as an aptitude test. It will provide you with much more information than just your observation score. Get to know yourself and make your life better!

Have you ever considered a career in accounting? In your considerations have you ever wondered if there is an aptitude for accounting? Do you have the accounting aptitude?  If so, what does this mean about the choices you make in school, work, and your general life?

Remember that different aptitude test publishers refer to the same aptitude using different names. For example, Johnson O’Connor calls the accounting aptitude “graphoria.” The Highlands Ability Battery, on the other hand, calls it “visual speed and accuracy.” The accounting aptitude, according to Johnson O’Connor, is essentially “paper and pencil speed and accuracy. It is measured by the number-checking test, in which you compare two columns of numbers to see whether they match.” Those who finish quickly and accurately will receive a higher score. The aptitude is important in any kind of clerical task, such as filing, record keeping, balancing a checkbook, filling out forms, taking a multiple choice test, etc.

A sample of The Highlands Ability Battery visual speed and accuracy test

Implications for Daily Living

Maybe you already know you have the accounting aptitude. You might have noticed that you don’t struggle handling lots of papers, or lots of words or numbers on a piece of paper. If you are married, you should probably be the keeper of tax, medical, school, insurance, and other records. It isn’t a burden on you – it’s a natural ability. Depending on your other aptitudes, personality, and interests, you may do well in jobs that involve a great deal of paperwork: accounting, banking, bookkeeping, secretarial work, law, etc.. Remember that one aptitude is only one small piece of finding the perfect job for you.

Schooling Implications

The accounting aptitude is “particularly important to schoolwork. Low graphoria students tend to take longer to finish tests and do homework. They may have trouble taking notes, and may make mistakes on tests simply through clerical errors [meaning to mark A but marking B instead]. The results is that a typical school is generally harder for the low-graphoria person; there is less return for the effort expended, and perhaps ultimately this brings about a feeling that school is a waste of time,” according to Johnson O’Connor.

Low graphoria students may want to choose a smaller college

For those with low visual perception, we recommend taking steps to lessen its effects. For example, use a calculator instead of working out simple arithmetic problems on paper. Use a tape recorder to record lectures rather than trying to take notes. Instead of going slowly and painstakingly through your homework, do it quickly once and, as time allows, do it over again. Don’t keep stopping to check your work as you do it. The person with low graphoria often makes a mistake when starting again. Speeding up in doing a clerical task helps you maintain your concentration and therefore can help reduce errors.

We also recommend that students who score low in graphoria consider going to a small or non-traditional school rather than a large one. A smaller class size will generally put less emphasis on written work as the sole basis for judging you learning and performance. There may be less multiple-choice tests or Scantrons. If you are a woman and score low in graphoria, you may consider a co-ed school as opposed to an all-girls’ school. This is because women tend to score higher in graphoria than men, and at an all-girls’ school you would be at a disadvantage compared with your classmates.

Graphoria should be only one factor to consider when selecting a school. It is an important factor, however, of which teachers, parents, and students often are unaware. Knowing that you score low in graphoria can be of great help in avoiding unnecessary school problems. If you recognize that clerical mistakes contribute to a poor school performance, but you still wish to pursue higher education, find a college with a more holistic way of gauging academic performance. And, of course, find a job that avoids this aptitude so that you do not struggle and have performance issues. Inversely, for those with high graphoria, there may not be a reason for you to avoid a test-heavy, paper-work heavy university. And, depending on your other aptitudes and interests, accounting may be the right job for you!

As a Career

Once you have weighed your personal reasons for getting into accounting, it’s time to look at other factors. One area of research for you to conduct is the career outlook. A site like the Bureau of Labor Statistics is a good place to start. Accounting is growing faster than average (about 11% per year), which means there are plenty of jobs to be had. Furthermore, the work environment is important to consider. According to The Career Profiler, a career coach whose husband is an accountant, many accounting firms hire remotely or prefer accountants who work from home. This may be attractive to you if you have a family, many responsibilities at home, or if you are an introvert. Again, your other aptitudes and personality test results will help inform you about if the work environment will suite you. These many factors are all important to explore; a career coach like The Career Profiler can help you decide what tests to take and what your results mean.

In Closing

Do you have the accounting aptitude?

Now you know there is an accounting aptitude! If you think you have this aptitude, you now know how to make it work best for you. Maybe you don’t have it, but you can still take steps to avoid having to use it. Or maybe you are really not sure! In that case, find out your graphoria score by taking The Highlands Ability Battery today. You’ll get your score and a list of careers that cater to all your aptitudes. Remember that the perfect job for you depends on all three: your aptitudes, interests, and personality. You cannot find the right job based solely on whether or not you have graphoria. Explore the many different types of test that TestEts offers, including test packages like The BullsEye Career Program, to get the full picture of whether or not accounting is right for you.

Because aptitudes are inherent, there is not much you can do to acquire them. Furthermore, you can do little to develop those you have. However, no matter what set of aptitudes you have, you can become more proficient in the skills associated with them. In order to do that, you must first know your aptitudes. The aptitude test that we recommend the most is The Highlands Ability Battery. It’s the best way to find out what your aptitudes are. Once you know this, you can work on developing those aptitudes.

To develop your aptitudes, you must simply “exercise” them. Find ways to use them at work and at home. For example, you may have been lucky enough to have been born with the two engineering abilities to reason spatially. Find projects to work on at home: build something from scratch, repair things, remodel a room, serve on the building maintenance committee at church, or the office remodeling committee at work. Doing activities that use your aptitudes will increase skills that that aptitude allows.

How to develop your aptitudes

Now, there is definitely nothing you can do to acquire an aptitude you do not possess. But there is hope. In certain situations, people are able to “work around” the lack of an aptitude. You can use an aptitude you do have to overcome a lack of an aptitude in a specific situation.

For example, let’s say you lack reading comprehension. You find it difficult to recall the details of something you’ve read. But, you possess two other learning aptitudes – design and rhythm memory. Take the smart route and use your aptitudes instead of struggling through an activity that requires an aptitude you do not have. You can get into the habit of recalling what you have read in a way that doesn’t require reading comprehension. Rather than remembering the words on the page themselves, you can underline certain sections of text and later remember the pattern of underlines you made. Your memory for design and rhythm will recall the feeling the action of underlining through body movement. In this way, you can use your strengths and sidestep your weaknesses to get the same job done.

Practice makes perfect! Exercise your aptitudes every day

However, there are many careers that require a set of aptitudes in order to be successful in that job. A person can not learn how to reason spatially if they want to be an engineer. It’s not a matter of working hard or being “smart” enough. There is no amount of study and memorizing that enables a person to deal with the variety of engineering situations and problems naturally. Perhaps even more importantly, if you get into a job like engineering when you don’t have those aptitudes, you will not be happy or successful. Instead, find both by knowing your aptitudes and learning how to use them better.

Are you interested in developing your aptitudes? Or finding out ways to use your aptitudes to enhance the areas of your life where another aptitude seems required? You can find a career coach to help you brainstorm ideas on ways to practice building your aptitudes. TestEts strongly recommends The Career Profiler as a career coach. She will be able to answer your career aptitude questions and start on a plan to improve your personal life and career today.

The Highlands Ability Battery is a way to measure your aptitudes. If you’re wondering why it’s called an “ability” battery rather than an “aptitude” battery, it’s because an ability is a realized aptitude. In this sense, aptitudes can act as predictors of future abilities that develop out of that aptitude. As The Highlands Ability Battery overview states, “Knowing your abilities can help you steer toward tasks and roles that use your best talents, and steer away from tasks that would be naturally difficult for you to do.”

The The Highlands Ability Battery groups aptitudes into the following four categories. Each category contains several aptitudes in which you may test strongly, weakly, or moderately.

1. Personal style: “This section shows your results in three scales which interpret the frame of reference from which you approach your work: the Generalist/Specialist scale, the Introvert/Extrovert scale, and Time Frame scale.” You might think of these in as similar to the Meyers-Briggs, in which your personality affects the way you structure problems, make decisions, and generate energy.
2. Driving abilities: “The Driving Abilities are very powerful and influence almost every part of our work lives. This is true whatever an individual’s results. Each one of these abilities asserts itself in our lives. It is absolutely critical to take them into account when considering what role you should play at work.” The use of driving abilities is linked to career happiness.
3. Specialized abilities: “The Specialized Abilities help or enhance our work and lives. While most of them do not assert themselves as strongly as the Driving Abilities, it is important to pay attention to the patterns which form when these abilities combine with one another as well as with the Driving Abilities.”
4. Vocabulary: “Vocabulary is a personal tool developed by each individual over time, rather than a natural ability, but the range of your vocabulary will affect how effectively you can use some of your innate abilities.”

These four groupings are different than some other aptitude test publishers. There are pros and cons to different kinds of aptitude tests, but The Career Profiler most highly recommends The Highlands Ability Battery. Another important thing to keep in mind while choosing career tests is that no single test can tell you everything you need to know in order to choose the best job for you. As Johnson O’Connor, a major aptitude test publisher says, “Remember that any educational or career decision you make should take into account not only your abilities, but also other important life factors ­ such as your interests, personality, goals, values, family of origin and experience, and your stage of career development. Abilities alone should not determine what career and life decisions you make. Abilities should be considered a basic and important piece of the whole picture.”

This has been a brief overview of the components of The Highlands Ability Battery. If you have more questions, check out more blogs about aptitudes and Aptitude Tests. If you are not convinced about the power of knowing your aptitudes, learn more about why aptitudes make you happy!