Psychological Measures in the Multicultural South African Context Essay

southwesterly Africa is deeply embed in the grow of its past and so it inevitable that mental legal opinion today would be capaciously influenced by the explanation of our country. Foxcroft (1997) argued that in that respect is a grave importance to deduct the disturb that fedearned run averagetion Africas past apartheid policies consent had on the shade and character of mental running gameing. In her paper she addresses the impact of Apartheid policies on analyse emergence and expenditure as well as linguistic, pagan and average factors that would pose a threat to the whiteness, immaterial and ethical use and comment of psychological demonstrates.This assignment go out describe a similar outline, whereby the past and fall in of psychological perspicacity will be discussed in order to belowstand why the stead of psychological discernment has non fartheranceed to the hold in that was expected of post-apartheid federation Africa. Fin each(prenominal) y, the laws or statutory controls that birth been employ to regulate measures will be discussed. It is historic to firstly understand what psychological discharge is and when it push aside be apply. agree to Krupenia, Mouton, Beuster and Makwe (2000), a psychological rise is an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior (Setshedi, 2008). screen outs must adequate three important criteria rigor, dependableness and standardization. combine to Gadd and Phipps (as cited in Groth-Marnat, 2009), a standardised audition is hotshot which keeps the canvas tips, administration, scoring, and interpretation procedures reconciled thus allowing comparisons between rack up. The aim of standardising tests mint in that locationfore be described as structuring tests so as to comp ar distinguishable persons scores (Gadd and Phipps, 2012). However, a problem arises out-of-pocket to the diverse and multi heathenish mise en scenes of southeastward Africa.It beco mes unwieldy to yield honorable and un diagonal firmnesss without pickings into consideration the run-in, coating and norms of the participants. The economical consumption truth act as No. 55 of 1998 ( arm 8) refers to psychological tests and sound judgement specifically and beas that Psychological test and separate similar forms or sound judgments of an employee be prohibited un little the test or perspicacity that is being utilise Has been scientifically shown to be valid and reliable, ceaseister be utilize fairly to all employees and is non prejudiceed against any employee or group ( train de Vijver & Rothmann, 2004).However, this has not been fully achieved and psychological examination in south-central Africa faces many altercates. These challenges or pitfalls owe themselves to the ideologies of the past, namely, Apartheid. The status of psychological testing in mho Africa today assholenot be considered without glowing on the past discriminatory laws and utilizes of apartheid. These laws discriminated politically and were ground on demographics, that being hunt and companionable class. The policies and mandate passed during apartheid influenced the way in which test pay backment was approached (Foxcroft, 2004). concord to Foxcroft, 2004, the development of newly culturally relevant tests has been minimal and the intellectual for this is that at that place is a dire shortfall of test development capacity in South Africa at present. Joseph & van Lill (2008) state that these large inequalities perpetuated during Apartheid whitethorn be embedded in South Africas amicable and economic constructions and as a result, variables such as oral communication, race, socio-economic status, the environment and social and educational backgrounds serve as study challenges to the validity, reli energy and standardisation of psychological testing.As was mentioned , The practice of psychological testing in South Africa conveys to be understood in terms of the impact that past apartheid political policies fall in had on test development and use (Foxcroft, 1997). To understand this, it is important to reflect on the history of psychological sound judgment in South Africa. History of psychological mindThere is adjacent consanguinity between science and authorities in South African psychological science (Claassen, 1995 Cooper, Nicholas, Seedat, & Statman, 1990 Nell, 1997) and so it is not surprising that the development of psychological tests during the apartheid era was shaped by the governance and ideologies of the meter. Under the apartheid regime, there was segregation on racial lines of residential aras and education. Job policies ensured that certain(p) jobs were reserved for certain groups, namely the fair population.Claasen (1997) asserts that psychological testing was introduced to South Africa finished the British and the development of psychological tests has followed close to the patterns of tests in the USA. South African tests however, were essential in a context of ani nearlytric distribution of resources as a result of apartheid policies and were thus utilise to exploit shady labour and deny blackamoor the large(p) unwashed access to education and economic resources, thereby perpetuating apartheid. It was therefore inevitable that psychological tests would follow the same kind of segregation along racial lines.As a result, assessment became an asset to the Apartheid regime and was reinforced by those scientists who believed in the Western c at one timept of apprehension (Foxcroft, 1997). Laher (2012) speaks of tests that were standardized for educated white South Africans but were administered to illiterate, uneducated or under the weather educated black South Africans without analyse as whether the test was unload of curve and suitability for the latter group of individuals. This, once again was through so as to use the results to justify that the w hite race was superior.Socio-political developments in the latter half of the eighties led to the start of the abolition of racialism advocated by apartheid. It later became app atomic number 18nt that there was a demand from the industrial and educational sectors of society, for common tests that would not be unsportsmanlike or discriminatory against race or culture (Claassen, 1995). running game developers were then under a great visual modality of wardrobe to give consideration to test virgule and to withal develop unbiased psychometric tests that were not designed to place one group as superior to the new(prenominal) and that would not discriminate along racial lines (Claassen, 1995 Owen, 1991 van Eeden & Visser, 1992).However, it appears the revolution of test development and testing practices has do less progress in the 1990s than was expected and this can be pinned down to the challenges faced callable to the multicultural and multilingual context of South Africa (F oxcroft, 2004), thus making the form of novelty more complex. The perception that psychological testing was unjust somewhat permuted in the post-apartheid years, however, this transformation of test development and testing practices has made less progress than was expected because of the complexness of ontogenesis unbiased and fair testing practices (Foxcroft, 1997, pp. 30). some of the major(ip) pitfalls associated with psychological assessment stems from the dire shortage of test ability capacity in the country at the moment (Foxcroft, 2004). There are very a few(prenominal) tests that hold back been positive in SA, that narration for the multicultural, multilingual and socio-economic aspects of the country. South Africa boasts el regular dissimilar official quarrels and an array of diverse cultures and norms. Although, voice communication and culture are twain linked they are completely polar and thus pose individual challenges to the assessment process. CultureAc cording to mansion and Maramba (2001), the use of goods and services of culture in psychology in general, has been of a secondary disposition and has acted as a moderator or qualifier of theoretical propositions assumed to be universal in scope (as cited in Gergen, Gulerce, Lock & Misra, 1996). Hall and Maramba (200112) further go on to hypothecate however, that there is an increasing awareness that European American psychological theories whitethorn be of limited relevance in non European American contexts and thus by considering cultural issues, it can unless avail in making psychology more encyclopedic and relevant.It is therefore important to understand the procedure that culture plays in the psychological assessment process. The fact that culture has been somewhat handle in psychological testing becomes a major pitfall as fit in to Foxcroft (2004), the South African society has a diversity of cultures in which appreciation for the culture of origin exists alongside variations in enculturation towards a Western norm (as cited in Claassen, 1997).Culture-fairness of tests and applicability across different groups of state has emerged as some of the most important themes associated with the fair and ethical use and interpretation of tests (van der Merwe, 2002) and thus it is vital that these objectives are met. With this said, the pr notwithstandingtive is on the psychological assessment practician to use caution when understand results peculiar(a)ly within the context of South Africa. Without measures with culturally relevant content and enchant norms, fair testing practice may be compromised thus leading to test bias. The public fight just about normingThe debate around the norming of psychological tests is a complex one. The interrogate practitioners communicate themselves is whether norms should be used or not. Some say it is a way of addressing the inequities in cross-cultural applications of tests (Paterson & Uys, 2005), others fe lt that creating different norms for different groups could be seen as discriminatory and just about comparable to apartheid practices (Paterson &Uys, 2005). A comment from a participant in the report card done by Paterson and Uys (2005), prepare the whole debate into perspective and stated that, You should not develop a norm on those mass for whom the test does not work.That is a demand you can only norm on groups where your test is reliable enough to use (Paterson & Uys, 2005). Foreign tests Psychological tests in South Africa are adaptations of foreign tests and from roughly the twenties to the 1960s were develop specifically for the white population, not taking into consideration culture and language so as to further differentiate between the white and black population. This has become a major challenge for psychological assessment today as there are very few psychological tests that have been developed in South Africa, that take into tarradiddle cultural biases, norms an d language.The works of Joseph and van Lill (2008) looks at the history of this country and they suggest that there was a recognised demand for tests that were more suitable for the different race and language populations. This need or demand grew during the latter part of the apartheid era, where there had been a need for change to the discriminatory policies and ideologies of the time. This all occurred during the 1980s to 1994. During this time there had been many studies, which served to prove bias in foreign tests being used in South Africa. The first consummate(a) study of bias was by Owen (1986).He analyzed test and item bias victimization various tests, for example, the Senior Aptitude Test, the robotic Insight Test and the Scholastic advance Test (van de Vijver & Rothmann, 2004). He found that there were significant differences between the test scores of black and white participants. His conclusion was that understanding the reasons for these differences and counteract ing them would be a major challenge. This turn out to be true as even now, psychological test bias in terms of demographics and culture re chief(prenominal)s a major pitfall of the assessment process.Retief (1992) think that personality tests seldom retain the direct of reliability and even loses some validity when used across cultures and the validity (Joseph & van Lill, 2008). Abrahams (1996) and Abrahams and Mauer (1999) conclude in another study that some tests such as the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) could not be used across different racial groups, as the reliability was not unobjectionable for the black groups (Joseph & van Lill, 2008). These results highlighted problems with the construct and item comparability of the test.From the conclusions made by the preceding(prenominal) psychologists, it is proposed that in order for an merchandise psychological test to be adopted in South Africa, it must be guardedly researched, before it can be used within our South African context (Joseph & van Lill, 2008). Language From looking at the imported tests into South Africa, that being those imported from Europe and the US, it is evident that they have been developed and standardized in slope. This poses a major problem in the South African context.Joseph and van Lill (2008) state that taking into account the history of South Africas language policies and differences in language proficiencies it is evident that when a psychological test is administered in English, individuals from a different demographic group prevail difficulties in understanding the test. South Africa boasts cardinal different official languages and not everyone in South Africa can speak melted English. According to Joseph and van Lill (2008), this may have a negative influence on an individuals performance on a test (Meiring, Van de Vijver & Rothmann, 2006).Thus, it is of great importance that language be considered when assessing the rightness of a psychological tes t in a multi-lingual context (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). There have been some tests that have been translated, for example the Wisconsin pecker Sorting Test (WCST), which has been translated for Setswana-speaking University students in an set out to standardise the WCST. However, even though translations have been made, there appears to still be some problems as English words with quadruple meanings cannot be adequately translated. English idioms cannot be expressed in another language without changing the entire decry structure along with the underlying logic of the sentenceand when that happens standardization, and the guarantee of fairness it promises, is lost (Richmond, n. d). The 16PF test used as an example to elaborate the use of foreign tests also serves as a good illustration here. Abrahams (2002) concluded that participants whose home language was neither English nor Afrikaans found that the items of the 16PF were more difficult to understand (Joseph & van Lill, 20 08).Tests such as the General Scholastic Aptitude Test (GSAT) Ability, Processing of Information and Learning battery (APIL-B) and Paper and Pencil Games (PPG) are the only psychological tests available today in all eleven official languages. From the cases above, it is unsnarl to see that issues relating to standardization, norm development and cross-cultural relevance to test material are evidence that there are major pitfalls associated with psychological measures used in a multicultural South African context.statutory Control It is important for certain measures and instruments in psychological assessment to be correct by law, especially when it involves culture. If there are tests that do not take into account culture and norms, fair testing practices may be compromised (Foxcroft, 1997) thus the need for fastidious statutory control of psychological assessment. According to Mauer (2000) there are two mends of legislation that regulate the assessment process.The first effe ct includes acts and regulations which take the form of the Constitution of the commonwealth of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996), the Labour Relations Act (66 of 1995), and the Employment Equity Act (55 of 1998), (Mauer, 200). These Acts deal with matters of individuals rights and with specific substantive issues (Mauer, 2000). The second piece of legislation is the Health Professions Act (56 of 1974) in which the scope of the profession of psychology, and the responsibilities and duties/functions of psychologists are address within the context of health sustentation in the country (Mauer, 2000).According to Mauer (2000), it is also important to note that the law restricts psychological assessment measures to only registered psychological professionals. The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, Section 8 (Government Gazette, 1998), stipulates that Psychological testing and other similar assessments are prohibited unless the test or assessment being used (a) has been scientifically show n to be valid and reliable, (b) can be applied fairly to all employees and (c) is not biased against any employee or group (Mauer, 2000).Apart from legislation, there are also guidelines which help perpetuate fair and ethical practices. According to the International Test Commissions International Guidelines on Test wont (Version 2000) the following fair and ethical practices must be adhered to 1). The appropriate, fair, professional, and ethical use of assessment measures and assessment results taking into account the needfully and rights of those involved in the assessment process 2). Ensuring that the assessment conducted closely matches the purpose to which the assessment result will be impute 3).Taking into account the broader social, cultural, and political context in which assessment is used and the slipway in which such factors might run assessment results, their interpretation, and the use to which they are put the test is valid for the purposes for which it is being u sed 5). Appropriate norms are consulted 6). Lastly, where tests that have been developed in other countries are concerned, appropriate research studies need to be undertaken to investigate whether the test is culturally biased and special care should be taken when interpreting the results of such tests (Foxcroft & Roodt, 2001).From points three and six, it is evident that culture, norms and language hugely determine if a test will prove to be free of bias and is ethically fair. If these variables are not considered, the test is considered inappropriate and biased. This is a unspoiled pitfall for psychological assessment in South Africa. Concluding remarks Ultimately, there are two gestures to ask here. The first question is asked by van de Vijver and Rothmann (2004) and that is whether the profession of psychology in South Africa is prepared for the challenge that is implicit in the Equity Act.According to van de Vijver and Rothmann (2004), the law is ahead of the nonchalant prac tice of psychological assessment and even now no country can live up to the expectations and demands proposed by the Act. To help achieve the propositions of the act, it has become one of the main goals of the assessment profession in South Africa to bring on-line(prenominal) practice and harmonize it with legal demands of the Equity Act (van de Vijver & Rothmann, 2004).This can be done by developing new instruments and validating existing instruments for use in multicultural groups (van de Vijver & Rothmann, 2004). The second question that is inherent in the argument around historical and current pitfalls is can the current status of psychological assessment (which is proving less satisfactory than was expected) be attributed to the past racially discriminatory and unethical policies that made up apartheid?In my opinion, the past always shapes the present and future. Apartheid policies, although abolished have left a great impact on the social and economic structures of the countr y. According to Claassen (1995) Cooper, Nicholas, Seedat, & Statman (1990) Nell (1997), there is a close relationship between science and the politics of the time and thus it can be concluded that the development of psychological tests during the apartheid era was shaped by the politics and ideologies of the time.Today, without considering the culture, norms and language of the context in which we live, psychological tests may perpetuate the type of bias undergo by minority groups during the apartheid era. It is important for there to be new developments of psychological tests that take into account the multicultural and multilingual nature of South Africa and turn them into positives, instead of test that are rendered inappropriate and unethical.