Birkman began his studies in psychology at the University of Houston before enlisting in the United States Army Air Corps and becoming a B-17 bomber pilot. He became interested in the exploration of individual psychological differences while serving during World War II. His experiences with the impact that perceptions, and misperceptions, among his crew and fellow pilots had on performance led him to the study of social psychology. He began developing The Birkman Method in the late 1940s while working with a group of scientists at the University of Houston surveying psychological instruments for pilot selection by the Air Force. Birkman sought to create a single instrument that would measure self-concepts, social expectations, stress behaviors, and occupational interests valuable to both work and life. By 1951, he had completed his first iteration called the "Test of Social Comprehension." A self-report questionnaire eliciting responses about perception of self, social context, and occupational opportunities. Scales were empirically developed by comparing self-report item results with descriptions of likes, dislikes and behaviors provided by third parties. The Birkman Method took its final form in his 1961 doctoral dissertation. His work aligns with the social psychology theories of the organizational psychologist Kurt Lewin. Birkman authored two books: True Colors and A Man of Understanding. He was certified as a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Texas and was a member of the American Psychological Association, the Southwestern Psychological Association, Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology, and the Texas Psychological Association. He died in his sleep on March 26, 2014, at the age of 95.
The Birkman Method
The Birkman Method is an online personality, social perception, and occupational interest assessment consisting of ten scales describing occupational preferences, 11 scales describing “effective behaviors” and 11 scales describing interpersonal and environmental expectations. A corresponding set of 11 scale values was derived to describe "less than effective" behaviors. Occupational profiling consists of 22 job families with more than 200 corresponding job titles all connected to O*Net. The construction and comparative analysis of the Birkman Method is designed to provide insight into what specifically drives a person's behavior, with the goal of creating greater choice and more self-responsibility. It attempts to measure social behaviors, underlying expectations of interpersonal and task actions, potential stress reactions to unmet expectations, occupational preferences and organizational strengths. It is empirically supported by reliability and validity studies, including studies using classical test theory and item response theory. The Birkman Method has 3 different types of assessments available.
