DEC-009 — "Reads" not "measures / tests / assesses"
Authority: CLM-L021 · CLM-L024 | Edition: 1.0 | Status: Active
Principle
The MN Situation Map reads a Nature profile. It does not:
- Measure — implies quantitative precision and a stable underlying property being objectively quantified
- Test — implies pass/fail, correct/incorrect, or clinical diagnostic norms
- Assess — imports HR and clinical psychology register; implies evaluation against a standard
- Evaluate — implies judgment of quality or adequacy
- Score — see DEC-006
Each of these verbs imports a psychometric frame: the idea that there is a stable, measurable psychological property being captured with scientific precision. MN's claim is more modest and more specific: the instrument reads engagement orientation from behavioral and attentional patterns — it produces a profile, not a measurement.
Reads is the right verb because it implies interpretation, not measurement. You read a map. You read a situation. You read a profile. Reading implies a reader bringing judgment to a pattern — which is what a practitioner does with MN output.
OK examples
| ✓ OK |
|---|
| The MN Situation Map reads your Nature profile. |
| She read his profile before the coaching session. |
| What does the profile read? |
| The instrument produces a profile reading — not a psychological measurement. |
| Reading a profile means reading nine Natures in relation to situational demand. |
Not-OK examples
| ✗ Forbidden | ✓ Rewrite |
|---|---|
| The MN Situation Map measures your personality. | The MN Situation Map reads your Nature profile. |
| Take the test to find your Nature profile. | Complete the MN Situation Map to read your Nature profile. |
| The assessment evaluates your engagement orientations. | The MN Situation Map reads your engagement orientations. |
| Her psychological profile was assessed. | Her Nature profile was read. |
| The tool scores your nine Natures. | The MN Situation Map reads your nine Natures. |
| Take the personality test. | Complete the MN Situation Map. |
Forbidden vocabulary
measures (as primary description of what the instrument does) · tests · assesses · evaluates · scores (as verb for what the instrument does) · personality test · personality assessment · psychological test
Required vocabulary
reads · profile reading · produces a profile · complete the MN Situation Map · what the profile reads
Why
This entry is downstream of:
- CLM-L021 — Natures are situational; they are not stable psychological properties being measured. The reading changes meaning as situational demand changes.
- CLM-L024 — Nine Natures as named engagement orientations, not psychometric factors.
There is also a legal and ethical dimension: "psychological test" and "psychological assessment" carry specific meanings in regulated professions. Using this language for MN output invites category confusion that the framework should not create.
Common slip
Marketing language defaults to "take the test" because it's concise and familiar. The fix is equally concise: "complete the Map" or "get your reading." Neither loses conversion; both avoid the psychometric import.
Exception
In research and technical methodology writing, "instrument" and "measure" appear in their technical senses — describing the operational mechanics of the diagnostic. This is acceptable in research contexts where the audience knows the epistemological frame. It is not acceptable in practitioner-facing or public-facing content.