Introduction to Psychological Assessment in the SA Context 6th edition PDF

 SIXTH EDITION INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT EDITED BY CH...

 SIXTH EDITION INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT EDITED BY CHERYL FOXCROFT AND GERT ROODT  Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries. Published in South Africa by Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Limited Vasco Boulevard, Goodwood, N1 City, Cape Town, South Africa, 7460 P O Box 12119, N1 City, Cape Town, South Africa, 7463 © Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd 2023 The moral rights of the author have been asserted. Sixth edition published 2023 All rights reserved. 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Introduction to psychological assessment in the South African context 6e Print ISBN 978-0-190746-72-8 ePUB ISBN 978-0-190746-72-8 Typeset in Helvetica Neue LT Std 10pt on 12pt Acknowledgements Publishing manager: Alida Terblanche Publisher: Marisa Montemarano Project manager: Gugulethu Baloyi Editor: Deidre Donnelly Designer: Jade Benjamin Cover design: Judith Cross Typesetter: Aptara The authors and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce copyright material in this book. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, but if any copyright infringements have been made, the publisher would be grateful for information that would enable any omissions or errors to be corrected in subsequent impressions. Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work. Photograph acknowledgements Page 179: kaetana; Shutterstock TABLE OF CONTENTS List of contributors Introduction Part 1 Foundation Zone 1 An overview of assessment: Definition and scope 1.1 Introduction 1.2 About tests, testing, and assessment 1.3 Assessment measures and tests 1.3.1 Characteristics of assessment measures 1.3.2 Important issues 1.4 The assessment process 1.5 Psychological assessment in Africa 1.6 Conclusion 2 Psychological assessment: A brief retrospective overview 2.1 Introduction 2.2 A brief overview of the early origins of psychological assessment 2.2.1 Astrology 2.2.2 Physiognomy 2.2.3 Humorology 2.2.4 Phrenology 2.2.5 Chirology – Palmistry 2.2.6 Graphology 2.2.7 Summary 2.3 The development of modern psychological assessment: An international perspective 2.3.1 Early developments 2.3.2 The early twentieth century 2.3.3 Measurement challenges 2.3.4 The influence of technology 2.3.5 The influence of multiculturalism 2.3.6 Standards, training, and test users’ roles 2.4 The development of modern psychological assessment: A South African perspective 2.4.1 The early years 2.4.2 The early use of assessment measures in industry  2.4.3 The development of psychological assessment from the 1960s onwards 2.4.4 Psychological assessment in democratic South Africa 2.4.4.1 Assessment in education 2.4.4.2 The Employment Equity Act 2.4.4.3 Professional practice guidelines 2.5 Can assessment measures and the process of assessment still fulfil a useful function in modern society? 2.6 Conclusion 3 Basic measurement and statistical concepts 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Levels of measurement 3.2.1 Properties of measurement scales 3.2.1.1 Magnitude 3.2.1.2 Equal intervals 3.2.1.3 Absolute zero 3.2.2 Categories of measurement levels 3.3 Measurement errors 3.3.1 Random error 3.3.2 Systematic error 3.4 Measurement scales 3.4.1 Different scaling options 3.4.1.1 Category scales 3.4.1.2 Likert-type scales 3.4.1.3 Semantic differential scales 3.4.1.4 Intensity scales 3.4.1.5 Constant-sum scales 3.4.1.6 Paired-comparison scales 3.4.1.7 Graphic rating scales 3.4.1.8 Forced-choice scales 3.4.1.9 Ipsative scales (and scoring) 3.4.1.10 Guttman scales 3.4.2 Considerations in deciding on a scale format 3.4.2.1 Single dimensional versus composite scale 3.4.2.2 Question-versus statement-item formats 3.4.2.3 Type of response labels versus unlabelled response categories 3.4.2.4 Single attribute versus comparative rating formats 3.4.2.5 Even-numbered versus odd-numbered rating options 3.4.2.6 Ipsative versus normative scale options 3.5 Basic statistical concepts 3.5.1 Displaying data 3.5.2 Measures of central tendency 3.5.3 Measures of variability  3.5.4 Measures of association 3.6 Norms 3.6.1 The standard normal distribution 3.6.2 Establishing norm groups 3.6.3 Co-norming of measures 3.6.4 Types of test norms 3.6.4.1 Developmental scales 3.6.4.2 Percentiles 3.6.4.3 Standard scores 3.6.4.4 Deviation IQ scale 3.6.5 Interrelationships of norm scores 3.6.6 Setting standards and cut-off scores 3.6.7 Issues with norm use 3.7 Conclusion 4 Reliability: Basic concepts and measures 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Reliability 4.2.1 Defining reliability 4.2.2 Types of reliability 4.2.2.1 Test-retest reliability 4.2.2.2 Alternate-form reliability 4.2.2.3 Split-half reliability 4.2.2.4 Inter-item consistency 4.2.2.5 Inter-scorer reliability 4.2.2.6 Intra-scorer reliability 4.2.2.7 Contemporary approaches to estimating reliability 4.2.3 Factors affecting reliability 4.2.3.1 Respondent error 4.2.3.2 Administrative error 4.2.4 Interpretation of reliability 4.2.4.1 The magnitude of the reliability coefficient 4.2.4.2 Standard Measurement Error 4.2.4.3 Reliability and mastery assessment 4.3 Conclusion 5 Validity: Basic concepts and measures 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Validity 5.2.1 Defining validity 5.2.2 Types of validity 5.2.2.1 Content-description procedures 5.2.2.2 Construct-identification procedures 5.2.2.3 Criterion-prediction procedures 5.2.2.4 Possible criterion measures  5.2.3 Unitary validity 5.2.4 Indices and interpretation of validity 5.2.4.1 Validity coefficient 5.2.4.2 Factors affecting the validity coefficient 5.2.4.3 Coefficient of determination 5.2.4.4 Standard error of estimation 5.2.4.5 Predicting the criterion: Regression analysis 5.3 Conclusion 6 Developing a psychological measure 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Steps in developing a measure 6.2.1 The planning phase 6.2.1.1 Establish a test-development team 6.2.1.2 Specify the aim, target population, and nature of the measure 6.2.1.3 Define the content of the measure 6.2.1.4 Other test specifications to include in the plan 6.2.2 Item development, creation or sourcing 6.2.2.1 Develop the items 6.2.2.2 Review the items 6.2.3 Assemble and pre-test the experimental version of the measure 6.2.3.1 Arrange the items 6.2.3.2 Finalise the length 6.2.3.3 Answer mechanisms and protocols 6.2.3.4 Develop administration instructions 6.2.3.5 Pre-test the experimental version of the measure 6.2.4 The item-analysis phase 6.2.4.1 Classical Test-Theory item analysis: Determine item difficulty (p) 6.2.4.2 Classical Test-Theory item analysis: Determine discriminating power 6.2.4.3 Item-Response Theory (IRT) 6.2.4.4 Identify items for final pool 6.2.5 Revise and standardise the final version of the measure 6.2.5.1 Revise the items and test 6.2.5.2 Select items for the final version 6.2.5.3 Refine administration instructions and scoring procedures 6.2.5.4 Administer the final version 6.2.6 Technical evaluation and establishing norms 6.2.6.1 Establish validity and reliability 6.2.6.2 Establish norms, set performance standards or cut-scores 6.2.7 Publish and refine continuously 6.2.7.1 Compile the test manual 6.2.7.2 Submit the measure for classification 6.2.7.3 Publish and market the measure 6.2.7.4 Revise and refine continuously  6.3 Evaluating a measure 6.4 Conclusion 7 Cross-cultural test adaptation, translation, and tests in multiple languages 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Reasons for adapting measures 7.3 Test adaptation 7.3.1 Types of test adaptation 7.3.2 Challenges related to test adaptation in South Africa 7.4 Equivalence of adapted versions of measures used in multicultural and multilingual contexts 7.4.1 Equivalence of measures adapted for cross-cultural use 7.4.2 Exploring linguistic equivalence 7.4.2.1 Judgemental approaches 7.4.2.2 Empirical investigations 7.5 Statistical approaches to establish equivalence 7.5.1 Bias and equivalence 7.5.2 Measurement bias and equivalence 7.5.2.1 Bias and equivalence at the item level 7.5.2.2 Bias and equivalence in factor structures between groups 7.5.2.3 Evaluation of measurement invariance (MI) approaches 7.5.3 Prediction bias and equivalence 7.5.3.1 Procedures to establish prediction bias and equivalence 7.5.4 Construct bias and construct equivalence 7.5.5 Nomological bias 7.5.6 Method bias 7.6 Steps for maximising success in test adaptations 7.7 Multicultural test development 7.8 Conclusion Part 2 Assessment Practice Zone 8 The practice of psychological assessment: Controlling the use of measures, competing values, and ethical practice standards 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Statutory control of the use of psychological assessment measures in South Africa 8.2.1 Why should the use of assessment measures be controlled? 8.2.2 How control over the use of psychological assessment measures is exercised in South Africa 8.2.2.1 Statutory control 8.2.2.2 The different categories of psychology professionals who may use psychological measures 8.2.2.3 Other professionals who use psychological measures 8.2.2.4 The classification and evaluation of psychological measures  8.2.2.5 The Professional Board for Psychology and the protection of the public 8.3 Fair and ethical assessment practices 8.3.1 What constitutes fair and ethical assessment practices? 8.3.2 Why assessment practitioners need to ensure that their assessment practices are ethical 8.3.3 Professional practices that assessment practitioners should follow 8.3.4 Rights and responsibilities of test-takers 8.3.5 Preparing test-takers 8.3.6 Ethical dilemmas 8.4 Multiple constituents and competing values in the practice of assessment 8.4.1 Multiple constituency model 8.4.2 Competing values: An example from industry 8.4.3 Responsibilities of organisations as regards fair assessment practices 8.5 Conclusion 9 Administering psychological assessment measures 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Preparation prior to the assessment session 9.2.1 Selecting measures to include in a test battery 9.2.2 Checking assessment materials and equipment 9.2.3 Becoming familiar with assessment measures and instructions 9.2.4 Checking that assessment conditions will be satisfactory 9.2.4.1 Assessment rooms 9.2.4.2 Minimising cheating during group assessment and using assessment assistants 9.2.5 Personal circumstances of the test-taker and the timing of assessment 9.2.6 Planning the sequence of assessment measures and the length of assessment sessions 9.2.7 Planning how to address linguistic factors 9.2.8 Planning how to address test sophistication 9.2.9 Informed consent 9.3 The assessment practitioner’s duties during assessment administration 9.3.1 The relationship between the assessment practitioner and the test-taker 9.3.1.1 Adopting a scientific attitude 9.3.1.2 Exercising control over groups during group assessment 9.3.1.3 Motivating test-takers 9.3.1.4 Establishing rapport 9.3.2 Dealing with assessment anxiety 9.3.3 Providing assessment instructions 9.3.4 Adhering to time limits 9.3.5 Managing irregularities 9.3.6 Recording assessment behaviour 9.3.7 Specific suggestions for assessing young children and individuals with physical and mental disabilities  9.3.7.1 Specific suggestions for assessing young children 9.3.7.2 Assessment of individuals with physical disabilities 9.3.7.3 Assessment of mental disability 9.4 The assessment practitioner’s duties after assessment administration 9.4.1 Collecting and securing assessment materials 9.4.2 Recording process notes, scoring, and interpreting the assessment measures 9.5 Conclusion Part 3 Types of Measures Zone 10 Assessment of cognitive functioning 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Theories of intelligence: A brief history and overview 10.2.1 Background 10.2.2 Defining intelligence 10.2.3 Theories of intelligence 10.3 Interpreting the intelligence score and diversity issues 10.3.1 The meaning of the intelligence score 10.3.2 Individual differences and cultural diversity 10.4 Measures of general cognitive functioning 10.4.1 Individual intelligence measures 10.4.1.1 Description and aim 10.4.1.2 The application of results 10.4.2 Group tests of intelligence 10.4.2.1 Description and aim 10.4.2.2 The application of results 10.5 Measures of specific abilities 10.5.1 Aptitude measures 10.5.1.1 Description and aim 10.5.1.2 The application of results 10.5.2 Measures of specific cognitive functions 10.5.2.1 Description and aim 10.5.2.2 The application of results 10.6 Scholastic tests 10.7 Current and new trends in cognitive assessment 10.8 Conclusion 11 Measures of well-being 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Well-being 11.2.1 Defining well-being 11.2.2 Positive psychology and well-being 11.2.3 Domains of well-being 11.2.3.1 Subjective well-being  11.2.3.2 Other dimensions of well-being 11.2.3.3 Mental illness 11.3 Well-being in the workplace 11.3.1 Why well-being matters 11.3.2 The cost of ill health 11.3.3 Well-being in the workplace 11.3.4 Wellness programmes 11.4 Well-being among university students 11.5 Measures of well-being 11.5.1 Assessment of well-being in diverse contexts 11.5.2 Assessment of well-being in the work context 11.6 Conclusion 12 Personality assessment 12.1 Introduction 12.2 A conceptual scheme for personality assessment 12.3 Level 1: The assessment of relatively stable personality traits 12.3.1 The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) 12.3.2 The Big Five model of personality traits 12.3.3 The Basic Traits Inventory 12.3.4 The Hogan Personality Inventory 12.3.5 The Occupational Personality Questionnaire 12.3.6 The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 12.3.7 The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) 12.3.8 Cross-cultural use of structured personality assessment measures 12.3.9 The South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) 12.4 Level 2: Assessment of motives and personal concerns 12.4.1 Explicit motives 12.4.2 Implicit motives 12.4.3 Other projective methods of personality assessment 12.5 Personality and counterproductive behaviour at work 12.5.1 Work-related Risk and Integrity Scales (WRISc) 12.5.2 Hogan Development Survey 12.6 Uses and applications of personality tests 12.7 Conclusion 13 Career-counselling assessment 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The person-environment fit approach 13.2.1 Assessing intelligence 13.2.2 Assessing aptitude 13.2.3 Assessing vocational interests 13.2.4 Assessing personality 13.2.5 Assessing values  13.2.6 Evaluation of the person-environment fit approach to career counselling assessment 13.3 The developmental approach to career counselling assessment 13.3.1 Career assessment in the developmental approach 13.3.2 Evaluation of the developmental approach to career counselling assessment 13.4 The systems approach to career counselling assessment 13.4.1 Career assessment in the systems approach 13.4.2 Evaluation of the systems approach to career counselling assessment 13.5 Career construction theory and life-design counselling 13.5.1 Assessment in career construction theory and life-design counselling 13.5.2 Evaluation of career construction theory and life-design counselling 13.6 Career counselling in a changing environment 13.7 Conclusion 14 Computer-based and Internet-delivered assessment 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Some terms explained 14.3 Computer-based and Internet-delivered assessments in South Africa 14.3.1 Early South African developments 14.3.2 Technical limitations of early testing systems 14.3.3 A wider choice of tests becomes available 14.4 Computer-based testing in the twenty-first century 14.4.1 A wider variety of tests 14.4.2 Internet-delivered testing and cloud storage 14.4.3 Changes in the size and scope of assessment projects 14.4.4 Changes in reporting and interpretation 14.4.5 New types of assessments 14.4.6 Non-commercial resources become available for test developers and users 14.4.7 Artificial intelligence 14.4.8 Summary 14.5 Ethical and legal use of computer-based and Internet-delivered testing In South Africa 14.6 Conclusion Part 4 Assessment Practice Zone (2) 15 The use of assessment measures in various applied contexts 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Assessment in industry 15.2.1 Assessment of individuals 15.2.1.1 Personnel selection 15.2.1.2 Performance ratings or assessment 15.2.1.3 Interviews 15.2.1.4 Situational tests 15.2.2 Assessment of workgroups or work teams  15.2.3 Assessment of organisations 15.2.4 Organisational research opportunities 15.3 Infant and preschool developmental assessment 15.3.1 Why do we assess development? 15.3.2 What functions do we assess? 15.3.3 How do we assess? 15.3.4 What developmental measures are available for South African children? 15.3.4.1 Global developmental screening measures 15.3.4.2 Educationally focused screening measures 15.3.4.3 Diagnostic measures 15.3.4.4 Shortcomings of developmental assessment 15.3.4.5 Information from other sources and observations 15.4 The role of psychological assessment in education 15.4.1 The uses of psychological measures in educational settings 15.4.1.1 Uses for school-age learners 15.4.1.2 Uses for educational accountability purposes 15.4.2 Types of measures used in educational settings 15.4.2.1 Achievement measures 15.4.2.2 Aptitude measures 15.4.2.3 General and specific cognitive measures 15.4.2.4 Personality-related measures 15.4.2.5 Dynamic assessment 15.4.3 Uses of tests in higher-education contexts 15.5 Psychodiagnostic assessment 15.5.1 What is psychodiagnostic assessment? 15.5.2 Assessment measures and procedures 15.5.2.1 Interviews 15.5.2.2 Psychological assessment measures 15.5.3 Psychological knowledge and expertise 15.5.4 Psycholegal or forensic assessment 15.5.5 Limitations of psychodiagnostic assessment 15.6 Conclusion 16 Interpreting and reporting assessment results 16.1 Introduction 16.2 Interpretation 16.2.1 The relation between interpretation and validity 16.2.1.1 Descriptive interpretation 16.2.1.2 Causal interpretation 16.2.1.3 Predictive interpretation 16.2.1.4 Evaluative interpretation 16.2.2 Methods of interpretation 16.2.2.1 Mechanical interpretation of assessment results 16.2.2.2 Non-mechanical interpretation of assessment results  16.2.2.3 Combining mechanical and non-mechanical approaches 16.2.3 Interpretation of norm-referenced tests 16.2.4 Interpretation of criterion-referenced measures 16.3 Principles for conveying test results 16.3.1 Ethical considerations 16.3.1.1 Confidentiality 16.3.1.2 Accountability 16.3.2 Methods of conveying assessment results 16.3.3 Conveying children’s assessment results 16.4 Reporting assessment results in written form 16.5 Conclusion 17 Factors affecting assessment results 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Viewing assessment results in context 17.2.1 The biological context 17.2.1.1 Age-related changes 17.2.1.2 Physical impairments 17.2.2 The intrapsychic context 17.2.2.1 Transient conditions 17.2.2.2 Psychopathology 17.2.3 The social context 17.2.3.1 Schooling 17.2.3.2 Language 17.2.3.3 Culture 17.2.3.4 Environmental factors 17.2.3.5 Test-wiseness 17.3 Methodological considerations 17.3.1 Test administration and standardised procedures 17.3.2 Interpreting patterns in test scores 17.3.3 The influence of the assessment practitioner 17.3.4 Status of the test-taker 17.3.4.1 Anxiety, test-taking effort, and motivation 17.3.4.2 Faking bad, malingering, and faking good 17.3.4.3 Cheating 17.3.4.4 Practice effects 17.3.5 Bias and construct validity 17.4 Conclusion 18 On the road to culturally meaningful psychological assessment in South Africa 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Culturally meaningful psychological assessment: The journey so far 18.2.1 Conceptualising how to combine African-centred and Western-oriented approaches 18.2.2 Progress in developing indigenous, African-centred measures  18.2.3 Progress in adapting and researching Western-oriented measures for the South African context 18.3 Roadmap for the next phase of the journey 18.3.1 Culturally appropriate measures 18.3.1.1 Routes to developing indigenous measures and adapting Western- oriented measures 18.3.1.2 Inspiration for African-centred item development 18.3.1.3 Delineating norm groups 18.3.1.4 Qualitative measures 18.3.1.5 Creating repositories of research studies into assessment measures 18.3.2 Capacity-building in test development and adaptation 18.3.3 Foster good ethical practices and address assessment misuse 18.4 Conclusion LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Prof. Fatima Abrahams, Department of Industrial Psychology, University of the Western Cape (UWC). Prof. Mariéde Beer, Professor Emeritus retired from the Department of Industrial & Organisational Psychology, Universityof South Africa (UNISA). Prof. Gideon P. de Bruin, Professor in the Department of Industrial Psychology, Stellenbosch University (US). Dr Karina de Bruin, Managing Director, JvR Academy, and Research Associate in the Department of Psychology, University of the Free State (UFS). Prof. Francois De Kock, Associate Professor in the Section of Organisational Psychology, University of Cape Town (UCT). Prof. Cheryl Foxcroft, Dean: Teaching and Learning and Professor of Psychology, Nelson Mandela University. Dr Carolina Henn, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg (UJ). Dr Loura Griessel, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Industrial Psychology, University of the Free State (UFS). Prof. Kate Grieve, Former Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of South Africa (UNISA), and Clinical Psychologist (area of interest: Neuropsychology). Prof. Gert Roodt, former Vice-dean: Research in the previous Faculty of Management, University of Johannesburg (UJ). Prof. Louise Stroud, Professor in the Psychology Department and Director: School of Behavioural Sciences and School ofLifestyle Sciences, Nelson Mandela University. Dr Nicola Taylor, Director of Research at JvR Psychometrics, Randburg. Nanette Tredoux, CEO of Psytech South Africa, former Senior Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Councilspecialising in computerised assessments. Prof. René van Eeden, Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of South Africa (UNISA). The editors would like to thank the following authors for their contributions to previous editions of Introduction to Psychological Assessment: Prof. Diane Elkonin, Caroline Davies, Dr Jenny Jansen,and Prof. Anil Kanjee. INTRODUCTION The start of an exciting journey Hi there! You are about to embark on an interesting, challenging journey that will introduce you to the world of psychological assessment. Interesting? Challenging? 'That’s not what I have heard about assessment,’ you might say. Many people view courses and books on psychological assessment as dull, boring, and not relevant for students and professionals in people-oriented careers. Even if you have some doubts that you are going to enjoy learning about assessment, we beg you to give us a chance to share our enthusiasm about assessment with you and to show you why our enthusiasm is shared by countless others in South Africa and, indeed, all over the world. As you read this book, we hope that you will discover that assessment is an essential, integral part of psychology and other people-oriented professions. You will be exposed to the fact that assessment can be used in many different contexts, such as educational, counselling, clinical, psychodiagnostic, psycholegal/forensic, industrial (occupational), and research contexts. Furthermore, you will discover that assessment can be used for many different purposes (e.g. diagnosing learning problems, assessing whether a mass murderer is fit to stand trial, determining whether therapeutic intervention has been successful, and making job selection, placement, and training decisions). Does assessment still sound dull, boring, and irrelevant to you? No ways! Well then, let the journey begin. Requirements for our journey Whenever we set off on a journey, we need to make sure that we have a suitable mode of transport, a map, and other necessities such as fuel, refreshments, a first-aid kit, a reliable spare tyre, and so on. For your journey into psychological assessment territory: your vehicle will be the contents of this book, which have been carefully put together by a number of prominent people in the assessment field in South Africa you will be provided with a map, so that you have some idea of the places that we will visit and how those places can be grouped together a set of signposts will be provided to help you to identify important landmarks along the way and to correlate the information that you obtain in the various chapters you have to bring along an enquiring, open mind as you will find that we are going to challenge you to think about what you are reading and to develop personal insights you will need to keep a pen and a notebook/laptop/netbook/iPad/tablet handy at all times so that you can record your responses to challenging questions and case studies, as well as document your growing understanding of psychological assessment. The map for our journey You will notice that the map has been divided into three zones, which provide a logical grouping of the various stops (or chapters) that you will make along the way. This means that instead of thinking of this as a book (or journey) with 18 chapters (or stops), you should rather visualize three major focus points in your journey, as this makes it more manageable: In the Foundation Zone, which comprises Chapters 1 to 7, we will introduce you to the basic concepts and language of assessment as well as to how measures are developed and adapted so that they are culturally appropriate. In the Assessment Practice Zone, which comprises Chapters 8 to 9 and 15 to 18, we will tackle various issues concerning who may use measures, good assessment practices related to  administration, scoring, interpretation and reporting, the contexts in which assessment is used, and the progress being made in terms of psychological assessment becoming more culturally meaningful in South Africa. In the Types of Measure Zone, which comprises Chapters 1O to 14, we will focus on the different types of measures that are used to measure various aspects of human behaviour and functioning as well as on computer-based and Internet-delivered testing. Please note that we indicated only key aspects of chapter titles on the map (e.g. 1 Assessment overview). An important aspect of your journey is the speed at which you travel. Take things at a pace that you find comfortable. Speeding could result in a failure to grasp some of the essential concepts. Do not be alarmed if you find that you sometimes need to retrace your steps, especially when you travel through the Foundation Zone. It is better to revisit any concepts that you find difficult to understand in the early part of the book, as the remainder of the book builds on the knowledge that you acquire in the Foundation Zone. Signposts for our journey As you travel through each chapter you will find a number of signposts. Chapter outcomes Before you are provided with any material, you will be given an overview of the out comes of the chapter. This will enable you to work through the contents of the chapter in a focused way. Concepts To help you to identify the really important concepts in a chapter, they will always be presented in boldface or italics. Critical thinking challenge and case studies At an appropriate point in each chapter, you will find a case study, or something to get you thinking. The purpose of presenting you with this material is to encourage you to think critically about the material and to apply your new knowledge about assessment to real-life situations. We will provide you with some cues to help you with some of the critical thinking challenges and case studies. Although each chapter includes a case study, you should browse through some of the other chapters when answering the questions posed for a case study. Furthermore, as the case studies focus on ethical dilemmas, you should particularly consult the Ethical Rules of Conduct for Practitioners Registered under the Health Professions Act, 1974 (http://www.hpcsa.co.za/downloads/conduct_ethics/rules/ethical_rule s_psychology.pdf) when working through the case studies. Check your progress At the end of every chapter you will find a few questions that you should try and answer. This will give you a good indication of whether you understood all the concepts and issues explained in the chapter. Web sites and advanced readings Something else that is important is to note that we have included many references to work published in South African journals. We would encourage you to access the relevant articles as they will expand on what has been included in this book. In addition, many chapters include references to advanced readings that you could consult to read further on a topic. Furthermore, there are a number of Web sites that could be accessed where you can get up to date knowledge and information about psychological assessment and testing. For example: http://en.wikipedia.org www.psychtesting.org.uk www.intestcom.org https://www.intestcom.org/page/4 and https://www.intestcom.org/page/5 (for online readings in testing and assessment) http://www.apa.org/topics/testing/index.aspx www.psyssa.com www.siopsa.org.za We hope that you find your journey through this book as interesting as we found the conceptualisation and preparation stages. We would also like to thank all those who contributed to making this book a reality, either by way of writing sections or on the editorial, typesetting, and production side. The contributors, in particular, need to be thanked for their time and effort in preparing their insightful, scholarly contributions. Finally, we would like you to let us know your impressions of this book, and any suggestions you have for improving it. Send your comments to Cheryl at the following email address: [email protected]. Cheryl Foxcroft and Gert Roodt Foundation Zone When you look at the map that guides your journey through this book, you probably don’t realise that the first zone involves climbing up a rather steep hill. The reason why the hill is so steep is that you will be introduced to most of the important concepts in psychological assessment and measurement in this zone. These concepts are not always easy to understand, so we suggest that you proceed slowly through this zone. Do not be afraid to turn back and retrace your steps if you need to. 1 Assessment overview 2 Historical perspectives 3 Basic measurement concepts 4 Reliability 1 5 6 Validity Developing a measure 7 Cross-cultural perspectives An overview of assessment: Dennition and scope CHERYL FOXCROFT AND GERT ROODT  CHAPTER OUTCOMES 1 By the end of this chapter you will be able to: ❱ distinguish between tests, assessment measures, testing and psychological and competency-based assessment ❱ name the characteristics of assessment measures ❱ understand the value of adopting an Africa-centred approach in South Africa ❱ recognise the limitations of assessment results ❱ explain assessment as a multidimensional process. 1.1 Introduction We constantly have to make decisions in our everyday lives: what to study, what career to pursue, whom to choose as our life partner, which applicant to hire, how to put together an effective team to perform a specific task, and so on. This book will focus on the role of psychological assessment in providing information to guide individuals, groups, and organisations to understand aspects of their behaviour and make informed and appropriate decisions. In the process you will discover that assessment can serve many purposes. For example, assessment can help to identify strengths and weaknesses, map development or progress, inform decisions regarding suitability for a job or a field of study, identify training and education needs, or it can assist in making a diagnosis. Assessment can also assist in identifying intervention and therapy needs, measuring the effectiveness of an intervention programme, and in gathering research data to increase psychology’s knowledge base about human behaviour or to inform policy-making. South Africa is situated in Africa, and professionals and researchers are increasingly recognising the importance and value of adopting a more African-centred approach. As South African society is multicultural and multilingual in nature, this book also aims to raise awareness about the role of culture and language in assessment, and to suggest ways of addressing them from an African-centred perspective. As we begin our journey in this chapter you will be introduced to key terms, the characteristics of assessment measures, the multidimensional nature of the assessment process, and the limitations of assessment results. 1.2 About tests, testing, and assessment One of the first things that you will discover when you start journeying through the field of psychological assessment is that many confusing and overlapping terms are used. As you travel through the Foundation Zone of this book, you must try to understand the more important terms and think about how they are interlinked. In essence, tools are available to make it possible for us to assess (measure) human behaviour. You will soon realise that various names are used to refer to these tools such as tests, measures, assessment measures, instruments, scales, procedures, and techniques. To ensure that the measurement is valid and reliable, a body of theory and research regarding the scientific measurement principles that are applied to the measurement of psychological characteristics has evolved over time. This subfield of psychology is known as psychometrics, and you will often hear of the psychometric properties of a measure or the term psychometric measure. Psychometrics refers to the systematic and scientific way in which psychological measures are developed and the technical measurement standards (e.g. validity and reliability) required of such measures. When we perform an assessment, we normally use assessment tools as well as other information that we obtain about a person (e.g. school performance, qualifications, life and work history, family background). Psychological assessment is a process-orientated activity aimed at gathering a wide array of information by using psychological assessment measures (tests) and information from many other sources (e.g. interviews, a person’s history, collateral sources). We then evaluate and integrate all this information to reach a conclusion or make a decision. Seen from this perspective, testing (i.e. the use of tests, measures), which involves the measurement of behaviour, is one of the key elements of the much broader evaluative process known as psychological assessment. Traditionally, psychology professionals have performed all aspects of the assessment process (test selection and administration, scoring, interpreting and reporting/providing feedback). Furthermore, as the outputs of psychological assessment are in the form of psychological traits/constructs (such as personality and ability), the expertise to perform psychological assessment is a core competence of an appropriately registered psychology professional. However, in the modern testing era, there has been a shift in the role of the psychology professional in the assessment process in the work and organisational context in particular (Bartram, 2OO3). This shift has been due to the advent of Internet-delivered computer-based tests as well as the growing impact of technological developments on testing (see Chapter 14) and competency-based assessment (see Section 2.3.6, which focuses on assessing the skills, behaviours, attitudes/values required for effective performance in the workplace or educational/training settings, the results of which are directly linked to the competency language of the workplace or educational setting). These factors have redefined who a test user is and the role of the psychology professional in assessment, given that computer-based tests require little, if any, human intervention in terms of administration and scoring, and computer-generated test interpretation and reports are often available. This results in some test users in the workplace only needing the skill to use and apply the competency-based outputs from a test, which does not require extensive psychological training. There is much controversy around the shifting role of the psychology professional and the role of non-professionals in assessment in some areas of psychology. This controversy will be debated further in Chapters 2, 8 and 14 and has even been raised in legal cases (e.g. Association of Test Publishers of South Africa and Another, Savalle and Holdsworth South Africa v. The Chairperson of the Professional Board of Psychology, unreported case number 12942/O9, North Gauteng High Court, 2O1O). Having summarised the relationship between tests, testing, and assessment, let us now consider each aspect in more depth. However, you should be aware that it is almost impossible to define terms such as 'test’, 'testing’, 'assessment measure’, and 'assessment’. Any attempt to provide a precise dennition of ‘test’, or of ‘testing’ as a process, is likely to fail as it will tend to exclude some procedures that should be included and include others that should be excluded (International Test Commission, 1999, p. 8). Instead of focusing on specific definitions, we will highlight the most important characteristics of assessment measures (tests) and assessment. 1.3 Assessment measures and tests 1.3.1 Characteristics of assessment measures Although various names are used to refer to the tools of assessment, this book will mainly use assessment measure and test. Preference is given to the term assessment measure as it has a broader connotation than the term test, which mainly refers to an objective, standardised measure that is used to gather data for a specific purpose (e.g. to determine what a person’s intellectual capacity is). The main characteristics of assessment measures are as follows: Assessment measures include many different procedures that can be used in psychological, occupational, and educational assessment and can be administered to individuals, groups, and organisations. Specific domains of functioning (e.g. intellectual ability, personality, organisational climate) are sampled by assessment measures. From these samples, inferences can be made about both normal and abnormal (dysfunctional) behaviour or functioning. Assessment measures are administered under carefully controlled (standardised) conditions. Systematic methods are applied to score or evaluate assessment protocols. Guidelines are available to understand and interpret the results of an assessment measure. Such guidelines may make provision for the comparison of an individual’s performance to that of an appropriate norm group or to a criterion (e.g. a competency profile for a job), or may outline how to use test scores for more qualitative classification purposes (e.g. into personality types or diagnostic categories). Assessment measures should be supported by evidence that they are valid and reliable for the intended purpose. This evidence is usually provided in the form of a technical test manual. Assessment measures are usually developed in a certain context (society or culture) for a specific purpose and the normative information used to interpret test performance is limited to the characteristics of the normative sample. Consequently, the appropriateness of an assessment measure for an individual, group, or organisation from another context, culture, or society cannot be assumed without an investigation into possible test bias (i.e. whether a measure is differentially valid for different subgroups) and without strong consideration being given to adapting and re-norming the measure. In Chapter 7 you can read about cross-cultural test adaptation. Furthermore, in the historical overview of assessment provided in Chapter 2, you will see what a thorny issue the cross- cultural transportability of measures has become, especially in the South African context. Assessment measures vary in terms of: – how they are administered (e.g. group, individual, or on a computing device) – whether time limits are imposed. In a speed measure there is a large number of fairly easy items of a similar level of difficulty.  These need to be completed within a certain time limit, with the result that almost no one completes all the items in the specified time. In power measures on the other hand, time limits are not imposed so that all test-takers may complete all the items. However, the items in a power measure get progressively more difficult – how they are scored (e.g. objectively with scoring masks or more subjectively according to certain guidelines) – how they are normed (e.g. by using a comparison group or a criterion) – what their intended purpose is (e.g. screening versus diagnostic, competency-based testing) – the nature of their items (e.g. verbal items, performance tasks) – the response required from the test-taker (e.g. verbally, via pencil and paper, by manipulating physical objects, by pressing keys on a computer keyboard or touching elements on a screen) – the content areas that they tap (e.g. ability or personality- related). All the characteristics of measures outlined above will be amplified throughout this book. Furthermore, various ways of classifying assessment measures are available. In Chapter 8 we discuss the classification system used in South Africa as well as the criteria used in deciding whether a measure should be classified as a psychological test or not. You will also notice that the different types of measures presented in Chapters 1O to 14 have largely been grouped according to content areas. 1.3.2 Important issues There are two important aspects about assessment results that you should always keep in mind. Firstly, test results represent only one source of information in the assessment process. Unfortunately, assessment measures, because they offer the promise of objective measurement, often take on magical proportions for assessment practitioners who begin to value them above their professional judgement or opinion. Lezak (1987) reminds us that psychological assessment measures: are simply a means of enhancing (renning, standardising) our observations. They can be thought of as extensions of our organs of perception … If we use them properly … they can enable us to accomplish much more with greater speed. When tests are misused as substitutes for, rather than extensions of, clinical observation, they can obscure our view of the patient (Lezak, 1987, p. 46). Secondly, we need to recognise the approximate nature of assessment (test) results. Why? The results obtained from assessment measures always need to be bracketed by a band of uncertainty because errors of measurement creep in during administration, scoring, and interpretation. Furthermore, the social, economic, educational, and cultural background of an individual can influence his or her performance on a measure to the extent that the results present a distorted picture of the individual (see Chapter 17). Thorndike and Hagen (1977), however, point out that it is not just in the field of psychology where assessment information may be subject to error. The teacher’s perception of how well a child reads, the medical doctor’s appraisal of a person’s health status, the social worker’s description of a home environment, and so on, all represent approximate, informed, yet somewhat subjective, and thus potentially fallible (incorrect), opinions. 1.4 The assessment process The assessment process is multidimensional in nature. It entails the gathering and synthesising of information as a means of describing and understanding functioning. This can inform appropriate decision-making and intervention.  The information-gathering aspect of the assessment process will be briefly considered. 'Test performance in a controlled clinic situation with one person is not a representative sample of behavior!’ (Bagnato & Neisworth, 1991, p. 59). Information-gathering itself must be multidimensional. Table 1.1 highlights the varied aspects across which information could be purposefully gathered, with the purpose of the assessment determining which aspects are appropriate. Table 1.1 SOURCES OF INFORMATION EXAMPLES Multiple measures ff Multiple domains Multiple sources  SOURCES OF INFORMATION EXAMPLES Multiple settings ’ fl Multiple occasions fi By gathering a wide array of data in the assessment process, a richer and broader sampling of behaviour or functioning can be achieved. However, the assessment battery (i.e. the combination of measures used) must be tailored to an individual, group, or organisation’s needs (e.g. in terms of their age, level of ability and disability, capacity, job analysis) as well as to the purpose of the assessment. You can read more about the tailoring of assessment and the selection of tests for a battery in Chapter 9. After gathering the information, all the information must be synthesised, clustered together, and weighed up in culturally- sensitive ways to describe and understand the functioning of an individual, group, or organisation. Based on such descriptions, predictions can be made about future functioning, decisions can be made, interventions can be planned, and progress can be mapped, among other things.  It is particularly in the synthesis and integration of assessment information that much skill and professional judgment is required to identify the underlying patterns of behaviour and to make appropriate deductions. This is why you need to draw on all your knowledge from all areas of psychology, and not just from the field of assessment, when you perform a psychological assessment. However, it is important to recognise the limits of human wisdom when reaching opinions based on assessment information. Why? When assessment practitioners synthesise and integrate assessment information, they do so in as professional and responsible a way as possible, using all the wisdom at their disposal. At the end of this process, they formulate an informed professional opinion. Even though it is an informed opinion, it is nonetheless an opinion, which may or may not be correct. The assessment practitioner may be fairly certain that the correct opinion has been arrived at, but absolute certainty is not possible. Nonetheless, increasing emphasis is being placed on the consequences of the outcomes of assessment for individuals and organisations and the responsibility of the psychology professional in this regard (see Chapter 8). For example, if a wrong selection decision is made when hiring a senior-level employee, possible negative outcomes for an organisation could be: added financial risk, lowering of effectiveness and efficiency, bad publicity and legal action (related to unfair labour practices if the employee is retrenched/fired). ❱❱ CRITICAL THINKING CHALLENGE 1.1 In your own words, explain what the assessment process involves and where assessment measures fit into the picture. As we conclude this section, another crucial aspect of the assessment process needs to be highlighted. Can you guess what it is? Various parties, often with competing motives and values, are involved in the assessment process. The person doing the assessment, the person being assessed, and external parties such as employers, education authorities, or parents, all have a stake in the outcome of the assessment. Therefore, it is important that the assessment practitioner performs assessment in a professional, ethical manner and that the rights, roles, and responsibilities of all the stakeholders involved are recognised and respected. This will be explored in more detail in Chapter 8, including unpacking the Ethical Rules of Conduct for Professionals Registered under the Health Professions Act, 1974 (Department of Health, 2OO6) in terms of psychological assessment. 1.5 Psychological assessment in Africa You now have a broad understanding of some of the key terms and the characteristics of psychological assessment measures, and know that assessment is a process that includes, but is not limited to, the application of psychological tests. In many ways, assessing human behaviour is a universal phenomenon. Based on our interactions with a person, we form a judgement or opinion of them, which leads us to conclude that someone is 'clever’, 'wise’, 'assertive’, or 'lacks self-confidence’. Such assessment is informal. When it comes to the formal assessment of human behaviour using standard measures, psychological testing and assessment is part of the universal discipline of psychology that is practised around the world. They key, however, is that the tests that you use need to be contextually sensitive and relevant for the assessment to yield valid and reliable results that can be used to make decisions, plan interventions, and so on. In Chapter 2 we trace the history of the development of psychological testing universally and in South Africa. As you will see, psychological testing as we know it today largely originated in Europe and America, and reached the shores of Africa when, for example, countries were colonised, or when African scholars studied and trained abroad in the colonial era and brought Westernised measures back with them. For too long, Westernised assessment approaches and measures were uncritically transported into the African context. Fortunately, the last decade has seen an increase in emphasising the necessity of exploring indigenous cultures’ understandings of psychological constructs, and how assessment is approached, to inform the development of indigenous measures or the adaptation of Western-orientated assessment measures so that they are culturally appropriate and produce valid assessment results in the multicultural African context (e.g. Mkhize, 2OO4; Moletsane, 2O16; Mpofu, Ntinda & Oakland, 2O12; Zuilkowski, McCoy, Serpell, Matafwali & Fink, 2O16). Nsamenang (2OO7, p.23) argues that in doing so we will develop a psychology that is 'truly tuned to Africa, and sensitive and useful to African needs’. Throughout this book the progress being made in adopting an African-centred approach during the development and adaptation of tests and approaches, test administration, and the culturally sensitive interpretation of test results is stressed. Note this progress as you work through each chapter. You can then compare your notes to the summary of the progress made and the road still to be travelled that is provided in Chapter 18. However, adopting an African-centred approach does not exclude drawing on and contributing to the Western-orientated psychological assessment knowledge base. Why? Given 'the fluidity and changing nature of communities and cultures in the global context’ (Van der Merwe, Ntinda, & Mpofu, 2O16, p. 4O), African communities also find themselves in transition. Increased globalisation leads to greater acceptance of diverse cultures and a fusion of Western- and African- based views, values, and ideas by African youth, for example (Mkhize, 2OO4; Ratele, 2OO4). To best cater for the diversity of African people, we need to adopt an integration of African- and Western- centred approaches to enrich all aspects of psychological assessment (Moletsane, 2O16; Mpofu, Ntinda, & Oakland, 2O12; Zuilkowski, et al., 2O16). Furthermore, African-centred psychology is part of the universal discipline of psychology. Consequently, 'its potential to enrich and extend the discipline is great’ (Nsamenang, 2OO7, p. 32). A list of readings is provided at the end of the chapter for you to explore approaches to psychology that are centred in Africa in more depth. ❱❱ CRITICAL THINKING CHALLENGE 1.2 To what extent is indigenous assessment of cognitive and personality functioning practised in African cultures? What implications does your answer have for the argument that we need to draw on and integrate African- and Western- orientated approaches to psychological assessment? Some of the readings at the end of the chapter could help you grapple with these questions. CHECKING YOUR PROGRESS 1.1 1.1 Define the following terms: Psychometrics Psychological assessment Testing Competency-based assessment Assessment measure Assessment battery Integration of African- and Western-centred approaches to assessment. Another way more fun way to check your progress is to see how you respond to the questions posed after reading through the following case study: ❱❱ ETHICAL DILEMMA CASE STUDY 1.1 Lindiwe, a Grade 12 learner, consults a Registered Counsellor (RC) for career guidance. Based on an interview and the results of the Self-Directed Search (SDS) (see Chapter 13, Section 13.2.3), the Basic Traits Inventory (Section 13.2.5.3) and the Differential Aptitude Tests Form R (Chapter 10, Section 10.5.1.1) it is found that Lindiwe has a strong interest in working in the legal field, has an above- average verbal ability, and has the general ability to succeed at further studies. The RC advises her to pursue a legal career and enrol for a law degree at a  university. Lindiwe does so and emails the RC four years later with the news that she has successfully completed her studies and has been accepted to do her articles at a reputable law firm. Questions (a) What would have guided the RC in deciding how to address the referral question of providing Lindiwe with career guidance? (Hint: what do you need to know about Lindiwe’s context?) (b) In what ways did the RC demonstrate responsible use of assessment measures in this case study? (c) Is there evidence of irresponsible assessment practices in this case study that could have resulted in negative consequences for Lindiwe? 1.6 Conclusion This chapter introduced you to key terms in the field of psychological assessment. You learned about the tools (assessment measures or tests) used in psychological testing and assessment, their characteristics, and the psychometric properties (measurement standards) required of them. You further learned that test results are only one source of information in an assessment process and that the conclusions reached from them are always approximate in nature. The multidimensional nature of the assessment process, and the competing values and motives of those involved in the assessment process, were also highlighted. The chapter concluded with the proposition that for culturally appropriate assessment to be conducted in South Africa and the African continent, a fusion of African-centred and Western-orientated approaches is needed. ADVANCED READING Mkhize, N. (2004). Psychology: An African perspective. In K. Ratele, N. Duncan, D. Hook, P. Kiguwa, N. Mkhize & A. Collins (Eds.), Self, community & psychology (pp. 4.1–4.29). Lansdowne, South Africa: University of Cape Town Press. Makhubela, M. (2016). ‘From psychology in Africa to African psychology’: Going nowhere slowly. Psychology in Society (PINS), 52, pp. 1–18. Retrieved on 12 April 2018 from http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2309-8708/2016/n52a1. Moletsane, M. (2016). Understanding the role of indigenous knowledge in psychological assessment and intervention in a multicultural South African context. In R. Ferreira (Ed.), Psychological assessment: Thinking innovatively in contexts of diversity (pp. 20−36). Cape Town: Juta and Company. Mpofu, E., Ntinda, K. & Oakland, T. (2012). Understanding human abilities in sub- Saharan African settings. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 4(3). Retrieved on 12 April 2018 from https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1036. Nsamenang, A.B. (2007). Origins and development of scientific psychology in Afrique Noire. In M.J. Stevens and D. Wedding (Eds., under the supervision of John G. Adair). Psychology: IUPsyS Global Resource (Edition 2007). London: Psychology Press. Nwoye, A. (2015). What is African psychology the psychology of? Theory & Psychology, 25(1), pp. 96–116. Ratele, K. (2017). Four (African) psychologies. Theory & Psychology, 27(3), pp. 313– 327. Valchev, V.H., Van de Vijver, F.J.R., Nel, J.A., Rothman, S. & Meiring, D. (2013). The use of traits and contextual information in free personality descriptions across ethnocultural groups in South Africa. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, pp. 1077−1091. (Can be accessed online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032276). Van der Merwe, K., Ntinda, K & Mpofu, E. (2016). African perspectives of personality psychology. In L.J. Nicholas (Ed.), Personality Psychology (pp. 32– 50). Cape Town, South Africa: Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd. Zuilkowski, S.S., McCoy, D.C., Serpell, R., Matafwali, B. & Fink, G. (2016). Dimensionality and the development of cognitive assessments for children in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 47(3), pp. 341– 354. (Can be accessed online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022022115624155). Psychological assessment: A brief retrospective overview CHERYL FOXCROFT, GERT ROODT, AND FATIMA ABRAHAMS  CHAPTER OUTCOMES 2 By the end of this chapter you will be able to : ❱ understand how assessment has evolved since ancient times ❱ appreciate the factors that have shaped psychological assessment in South Africa ❱ develop an argument about why assessment is still valued in modern society. 2.1 Introduction At the start of our journey into the field of psychological assessment, it is important to gain a perspective on its origins. This is the focus of this chapter. Without some idea of the historical roots of the discipline of psychological assessment, the great progress made by modern assessment measures cannot be fully appreciated. In this chapter you will also be introduced to some of the key concepts that we will be elaborating on in the Foundation Zone of this book. As you journey through the past with us, you should be on the lookout for the following: how difficult it was in ancient times to find an objectively verifiable way of measuring human attributes (ask yourself the reasons for this) how the most obvious things in the world of ancient philosophers and scientists (such as the human hand, head, and body, as well as animals) were used in an attempt to describe personal attributes the stepping stones that some of the ancient 'measures’ provided for the development of modern psychological assessment the factors both within and outside of the discipline of psychology that have shaped the development of modern psychological assessment the factors that shaped the development and use of psychological assessment in South Africa. 2.2 A brief overview of the early origins of psychological assessment The use of assessment measures can be traced back to ancient times. One of the first recordings of the use of an assessment procedure for selection purposes can be found in the Bible in Judges Chapter 7, verses 1 to 8. Gideon observed how his soldiers drank water from a river, so he could select those who remained on the alert. Historians credit the Chinese with having a relatively sophisticated testing programme for civil servants in place more than 4 OOO years ago (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2OO9). Oral examinations were administered every third year, and the results were used for work evaluations and for promotion purposes. Over the years, many authors, philosophers, and scientists have explored various avenues in their attempts to assess human attributes. Let us look at a few of these. 2.2.1 Astrology Most people are aware of the horoscopes that appear in daily newspapers and popular magazines. The positions of planets are used to formulate personal horoscopes that describe the personality characteristics of individuals and to predict what might happen in their lives. The origin of horoscopes can be traced back to ancient times, possibly as early as the fifth century BCE (McReynolds, 1986). Davey (1989) concludes that scientists, on the whole, have been scathing in their rejection of astrology as a key to understanding and describing personality characteristics. Do you agree? Briefly state your reasons. 2.2.2 Physiognomy McReynolds (1986) credits Pythagoras for being perhaps the earliest practitioner of physiognomy, in the sixth century BCE. Later on, Aristotle also came out in support of physiognomy, which attempted to judge a person’s character from the external features of the body and especially the face, in relation to the similarity that these features had to animals. Physiognomy was based on the assumption that people who shared physical similarities with animals also shared some psychic properties with these animals. For example, a person who looked like a fox was sly, or somebody who looked like an owl was wise (Davey, 1989). What is your view on this? ❱❱ CRITICAL THINKING CHALLENGE 2.1 Many application forms for employment positions or for furthering your studies require that a photograph be submitted. It is highly unlikely that selection and admission personnel use these photographs to judge personal attributes of the applicants, as physiognomists would have done. So why do you think that photographs are requested? Try to interview someone in the human resources section of a company, or an admissions o fficer at an educational institution, to see what purpose, if any, photographs serve on application forms. 2.2.3 Humorology In the fifth century BCE, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, developed the concept that there were four body humours or fluids (blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm) (McReynolds, 1986). Galen, a physician in ancient Rome, took these ideas further by hypothesising four types of temperament (sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic), corresponding to the four humours (Aiken & Groth-Marnat, 2OO5). The problem with the humoral approach of classifying personality types into one of four categories was that it remained a hypothesis that was never objectively verified. Today the humoral theory mainly has historical significance. However, based on the views of Hippocrates and Galen, Eysenck and Eysenck (1958) embedded the four temperaments within the introversion/extroversion and the emotionally stable/emotionally unstable (neurotic) personality dimensions that they proposed. Of interest is the fact that Eysenck and Eysenck’s (1958) two personality dimensions still form the basis for modern personality measures such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire. You can read more about these measures in Chapter 12. 2.2.4 Phrenology Franz Gall was the founder of phrenology, the 'science’ of 'reading people’s heads’ (McReynolds, 1986). Phrenologists believed that the brain consisted of a number of organs that corresponded with various personality characteristics (e.g. self-esteem, cautiousness, firmness) and cognitive faculties (e.g. language, memory, calculation). By feeling the topography of a person’s skull, phrenologists argued that it was possible to locate 'bumps’ over specific brain areas believed to be associated with certain personality attributes (Aiken & Groth-Marnat, 2OO5). The fundamental assumptions underlying phrenology were later demonstrated to be invalid in research studies. Consequently, no one really places any value on phrenology today. 2.2.5 Chirology – Palmistry Bayne (as cited in Davey, 1989) asserted that palm creases (unlike fingerprints) can change and he found that certain changes appeared to be related to changes in personality. He also believed that all hand characteristics should be taken into consideration before any valid assessments could be made. However, to this day, no scientific evidence has been found that, for example, a firm handshake is a sign of honesty, or that long fingers suggest an artistic temperament (Davey, 1989). 2.2.6 Graphology Graphology can be defined as the systematic study of handwriting. Handwriting provides graphologists with cues that are called 'crystallised gestures’ that can be analysed in detail. As handwriting is a type of stylistic behaviour, there is some logic to the argument that it could be seen to be an expression of personality characteristics. Graphologists hypothesise that people who keep their handwriting small are likely to be introverted, modest, humble, and shun publicity. Large handwriting, on the other hand, shows a desire to 'think big’, which, if supported by intelligence and drive, provides the ingredients for success. Upright writing is said to indicate self-reliance, poise, calm and self-composure, reserve, and a neutral attitude (Davey, 1989). Davey (1989) concluded that efforts of graphologists to establish validity of such claims have yielded no or very few positive results. Although there are almost no studies in which it has been found that handwriting is a valid predictor of job performance, graphology is widely used in personnel selection to this day (Simner & Goffin, 2OO3). It is especially used in France, but also in other countries such as Belgium, Germany, Italy, Israel, Great Britain, and the United States (US). This has prompted Murphy and Davidshofer (2OO5) to ask why graphology remains popular. What reasons do you think they unearthed in attempting to answer this question? Murphy and Davidshofer (2OO5) concluded that there were three main reasons that fuelled the popularity of handwriting analysis in personnel selection: It has high face validity, meaning that to the ordinary person in the street it seems reasonable that handwriting could provide indicators of personality characteristics, just as mannerisms and facial expressions do. Graphologists tend to make holistic descriptions of candidates such as 'honest’, 'sincere’, and 'shows insight’, which, because of their vagueness, are difficult to prove or disprove. Some of the predictions of graphologists are valid. However, Murphy and Davidshofer (2OO5) cite research studies that reveal that the validity of the inferences drawn by the graphologists was related more to what they gleaned from the content of an applicant’s biographical essay than the analysis of the handwriting! Despite having found reasons why graphology continues to be used in personnel selection, Murphy and Davidshofer (2OO5) concluded that, all things considered, there is not sufficient evidence to support the use of graphology in employment testing and selection. Simner and Goffin (2OO3) concur with this and argue that the criterion- related validity of graphology is lower and more variable than that of more widely known and less expensive measures. For example, whereas the criterion-related validity of graphology varies between.O9 and.16 (Simner & Goffin, 2OO3), the criterion-related validity of general mental testing and structured interviews in job selection has been found to be.51, & when used in combination, the validity coefficient increases to.63 (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). Simner and Goffin (2OO3) thus caution that the continued use of graphology for personnel selection could prove to be costly and harmful to organisations. 2.2.7 Summary All the avenues explored by the early philosophers, writers, and scientists did not provide verifiable ways of measuring human attributes. The common thread running through all these attempts (but probably not in the case of graphology), is the lack of proper scientific method and, ultimately, rigorous scientific measurement. 2.3 The development of modern psychological assessment: An international perspective 2.3.1 Early developments Psychology has only started to prosper and grow as a science since the development of the scientific method. Underlying the scientific method is measurement. Guilford stated as long ago as 1936 that psychologists have adopted the motto of Thorndike that 'whatever exists at all, exists in some amount’ and that they have also adopted the corollary that 'whatever exists in some amount, can be measured’ (Thorndike, 1918, p. 16). It was perhaps the development of objective measurement that made the greatest contribution to the development of psychology as a science.  During the Italian Renaissance Huarte’s book was translated into English as The Tryal of Wits (1698). This book was a milestone in the history of assessment, because for the first time someone proposed a discipline of assessment, gave it a task to do, and offered some suggestions on how it might proceed. Huarte pointed out that: people differ from one another with regard to certain talents different vocations require different sets of talents a system should be developed to determine specific patterns of abilities of different persons so that they can be guided into appropriate education programmes and occupations. This system would involve the appointment of a number of examiners (triers) who would carry out certain procedures (tryals) in order to determine a person’s capacity (McReynolds, 1986). A further milestone in the development of modern psychological assessment came from the work of Thomasius, a professor of philosophy in Germany. According to McReynolds (1986), Thomasius made two main contributions to the emerging field of assessment. He was the first person to develop behavioural rating scales and, furthermore, the ratings in his scales were primarily dependent on direct observations of the subject’s behaviour. Another milestone was the coining of the term psychometrics by Wolff. This term was used throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but was mainly applied to psychophysical measurements (McReynolds, 1986). In the twentieth century, with the shift towards the measurement of individual differences, the term was applied to a wider variety of measuring instruments, such as cognitive (mental ability) and personality-related measures. After the foundation had been laid by experimental psychologists such as Wundt, the latter half of the nineteenth century saw some promising developments in the field of assessment linked to the work of Francis Galton, James McKeen Cattell, and Alfred Binet. One of experimental psychology’s major contributions to the field of psychological assessment was the notion that assessment should be viewed in the same light as an experiment, as it required the same rigorous control. As you will discover, one of the hallmarks of modern psychological assessment is that assessment measures are administered under highly standardised conditions. 2.3.2 The early twentieth century The twentieth century witnessed genuine progress in psychological assessment and one of the first overviews of available tests was published by Whipple (1914). The progress made has mainly been attributed to advances in: theories of human behaviour that could guide the development of assessment measures statistical methods that aided the analysis of data obtained from measures to determine their relationship to job performance and achievement, for example, as well as to uncover the underlying dimensions being tapped by a measure the application of psychology in clinical, educational, military, and industrial settings. Other than these advances, there was another important impetus that fuelled the development of modern psychological assessment measures in the twentieth century. Do you have any idea what this was? During the nineteenth century and at the turn of the twentieth century, in particular, a need arose to treat mentally disturbed and disabled people in a more humanitarian way. To achieve this, the mental disorders and deficiencies of patients had to be properly assessed and classified. Uniform procedures needed to be found to differentiate people who were mentally insane, or who suffered from emotional disorders, from those who were mentally disabled or suffered from an intellectual deficit. A need therefore arose for the development of psychological assessment measures. According to Aiken and Groth-Marnat (2OO5), an important breakthrough in the development of modern psychological assessment measures came at the start of the twentieth century. In 19O4, the French Minister of Public Instruction appointed a commission to find ways to identify mentally disabled individuals so that they could be provided with appropriate educational opportunities. One member of the French commission was Binet. Together with Simon, a French physician, Binet developed the first measure that provided a fairly practical and reliable way of measuring intelligence. The 1905 Binet-Simon Scale became the benchmark for future psychological tests. The measure was given under standardised conditions (i.e. everyone was given the same test instructions and format). Furthermore, norms were developed, albeit using a small and unrepresentative sample. More important than adequacy of the normative sample, though, was Binet and Simon’s notion that the availability of comparative scores could aid interpretation of test performance. In developing the Binet-Simon Scale, a domain approach was followed. That is, the scale consisted 'of items requiring for their solution knowledge and skills considered informative about effective performance at school’ (Poortinga & Klieme, 2O16, p. 14). Such an approach resulted in a scale that was less likely to measure universal aspects of cognitive functioning across cultures (Poortinga & Klieme, 2O16). It is interesting to note that one of the earliest records of the misuse of intelligence testing involved the Binet-Simon Scale (Gregory, 2O1O). An influential American psychologist, Henry Goddard, was concerned about what he believed to be the high rate of mental retardation among immigrants entering the US. Consequently, Goddard’s English translation of the Binet-Simon Scale was administered to immigrants through a translator, just after they arrived in the US. 'Thus, a test devised in French, then translated to English was, in turn, retranslated back to Yiddish, Hungarian, Italian, or Russian; administered to bewildered labourers who had just endured an Atlantic crossing; and interpreted according to the original French norms’ (Gregory, 2OOO, p. 17). Add to this that as the Scale was domain-oriented rather than tapping universal mental processes (Poortinga & Klieme, 2O16), it was not really appropriate to apply it cross-culturally. It is thus not surprising that Goddard found that the average intelligence of immigrants was low! The Binet-Simon Scale relied heavily on the verbal skills of the test-taker and, in its early years, was available in French and English only. Consequently, its appropriateness for use with non-French or non-English test-takers, illiterates, and with speech- and hearing- impaired test-takers was questioned (Gregory, 2O1O). This sparked the development of a number of non-verbal measures (e.g. Seguin Form Board Test, Knox’s Digit Symbol Substitution Test, the Kohs Block Design Test, and the Porteus Maze Test). World War I further fuelled the need for psychological assessment measures. Why? Large numbers of military recruits needed to be assessed, but at that stage only individually administered tests, such as the Binet- Simon scale, were available. So World War I highlighted the need for large-scale group testing. Furthermore, the scope of testing broadened at this time to include tests of achievement, aptitude, interest, and personality. Following World War I, with the emergence of group tests that largely used a multiple-choice format, there was widespread optimism regarding the usefulness of psychological tests (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2OO9). Samelson (1979, p. 154) points out that Cattell remarked that during the war period 'the army testing put psychology on the map of the US’. Given that over a million people were tested on the Army Alpha and Army Beta tests in the US, Cattell’s observation has merit. Furthermore, the testing of pilots in Italy and France, and the testing of truck drivers for the German army, for example, suggest that the world wars did not only put psychology on the map in the US but elsewhere in the world as well. 2.3.3 Measurement challenges Although the period between the two world wars was a boom period for the development of psychological measures, critics started pointing out the weaknesses and limitations of existing measures. Although this put test developers on the defensive, and dampened the enthusiasm of assessment practitioners, the knowledge gained from this critical look at testing inspired test developers to reach new heights. To illustrate this point, let us consider two examples, one from the field of intellectual assessment and the other from the field of personality assessment. The criticism of intelligence scales up to this point, i.e. that they were too dependent on language and verbal skills, reduced their appropriateness for many individuals (e.g. for illiterates). To address this weakness, Wechsler included performance tests that did not require verbal responses when he published the first version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales in 1937. Furthermore, whereas previous intelligence scales only yielded one score (namely, the intelligence quotient), the Wechsler Intelligence Scales yielded a variety of summative scores from which a more detailed analysis of an individual’s pattern of performance could be made. These innovations revolutionised intelligence assessment. The use of structured personality measures was severely criticised during the 193Os as many findings of personality tests could not be substantiated during scientific studies. However, the development of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) by Butcher in 1943 began a new era for structured, objective personality measures. The MMPI placed an emphasis on using empirical data to determine the meaning of test results. According to Kaplan and Saccuzzo (2OO9), the MMPI and its revision, the MMPI- 2, are the most widely used and referenced personality tests to this day.  World War II reaffirmed the value of psychological assessment. The 194Os witnessed the emergence of new test-development technologies, such as the use of factor analysis to construct tests such as the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire. During this period there was also much growth in the application of psychology and psychological testing. Psychological testing came to be seen as one of the major functions of psychologists working in applied settings. In 1954 the American Psychological Association (APA) pronounced that psychological testing was exclusively the domain of the clinical psychologist. However, the APA unfortunately also pronounced that psychologists were permitted to conduct psychotherapy only in collaboration with medical practitioners. As you can imagine, many clinical psychologists became disillusioned by the fact that they could not practise psychotherapy independently, and, although they had an important testing role to fulfil, they began to feel that they were merely technicians who were playing a subservient role to medical practitioners. Consequently, when they looked around for something to blame for their poor position, the most obvious scapegoat was psychological testing (Lewandowski & Saccuzzo, 1976). At the same time, given the intrusive nature of tests and the potential to abuse testing, widespread mistrust and suspicion of tests and testing came to the fore. So, with both psychologists and the public becoming rapidly disillusioned with tests, many psychologists refused to use any tests, and countries such as the US, Sweden, and Denmark banned the use of tests for selection purposes in industry. So it is not surprising that according to Kaplan and Saccuzzo (2OO9), the status of psychological assessment declined sharply from the late 195Os, and this decline persisted until the 197Os, when the use and usefulness of tests gradually began to increase. Why? The standardised nature of tests were seen to provide a common basis for making clinical diagnoses, and the economies of scale that tests provided resulted in an increase in the use of tests for selection and placement in industry. Poortinga and Klieme (2O16, p. 17) argue that this period in which test use was sharply criticised declined and then increased, leading to the following understanding: Tests may be fallible, but it was appreciated that through standardisation and psychometric analysis of validity, the weaknesses (and strengths) of tests can be made explicit, while other methods of assessment and diagnosis may lead to even poorer judgements but are not open to public scrutiny. This statement remains a good summary of the status of psychological testing versus other assessment approaches in the second decade of the twenty-first century. 2.3.4 The influence of technology In the 195Os and 196Os, the technical innovation of the high-speed scanner to score test protocols (viewed as the first use of computer technology in testing) increased the use of interest questionnaires (e.g. the Strong Vocational Interest Blanks) and personality tests (e.g. the Minnesota Multi-phasic Personality Inventory, the MMPI), in particular. This invention, coupled with greater use of multiple-choice item formats, led to the increased efficiency of, and a reduction in, the cost of testing (Clarke, Madaus, Horn & Ramos, 2OOO). According to Joubert and Kriek (2OO9) the 'use of computer- based testing has been reported in the literature since 1963 ’ (p. 78). In 1962 the first computer-based test interpretation (CBTI) system was developed at the Mayo Clinic for the MMPI (Swenson, Rome, Pearson, and Brannick, 1965). This was followed by the development of a system for the computer-based interpretation of the Rorschach Inkblot Test in 1964 (Gregory, 2OO7). The 197Os witnessed the first automation of the entire assessment process at a psychiatric hospital in Utah and the introduction of computerised adaptive testing (CAT) (see Chapter 14, Section 14.2). Until the 198Os, the role of the computer in testing was restricted mainly to recording answers and computing test scores (Murphy & Davidshofer, 2OO5). The first original applications of computerised testing involved the computerisation of the items of paper-and-pencil tests, for both administration and scoring purposes (Bunderson, Inouye & Olsen, 1989; Linn, 1989). This continued until the early 198Os, when the emergence of advanced computer technology, and the possibilities this presented for the design, administration, and scoring of tests, had a large impact on all aspects of the testing industry (Clarke, Madaus, Horn & Ramos, 2OOO). The advent of computer-based tests meant that computers became an integral part of the process of testing (administration, scoring, and reporting), rather than simply providing the means of scoring the tests as they did initially. Computer-based testing differs from the conventional paper-based testing primarily in that test- takers answer the questions using a computer rather than a pencil and paper (Clarke, et al 2OOO). Computer technology also made it possible to develop different types of items. For example, in 1994 the first multimedia assessment batteries were developed to assess real-life problem-solving skills in prospective employees (Gregory, 2O1O). During the 199Os and the twenty-first century, computer-based testing and its delivery over the Internet have brought more flexibility to the testing arena (testing can happen anytime, and anywhere). The efficiency of test delivery has also been increased, and the test- development process has been enhanced. Expert item writers from all over the world can be contracted to develop items (i.e. the questions, tasks, and activities that require a response in a test), and can be linked to each other electronically. This not only facilitates the item-development process but also the item-refinement process. The process of assessment generation can now be done through item- generation engines, which encapsulate a model of the intended assessment, and take the form of software that writes the test at the touch of a key. The use of computers has also helped test developers to re-envision what test items look like, and how they are scored and reported (Zenisky & Sireci, 2OO2).  Stark, Martin and Chernyshenko (2O16, p. 395−398) assert that technology has impacted on psychological and educational testing in five main ways. These are summarised in the table below, along with some challenges experienced. Table 2.1 IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON CHALLENGE(S) TESTING ff fl ’ IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON CHALLENGE(S) TESTING ffi fi fi  IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON CHALLENGE(S) TESTING Despite the advances that computer-based and Internet-delivered testing has brought to the field of testing and assessment, it has also brought many legal and ethical challenges. Consequently, various good practice guidelines have been published, with the International Test Commission Guidelines on Computer-Based and Internet- Delivered Testing (International Test Commission, 2OO6), and A Test- taker’s Guide to Technology-based Testing (International Test Commission, 2O1O) being the most recent. 2.3.5 The influence of multiculturalism In the latter part of the twentieth century and during the first two decades of the twenty-first century, multiculturalism started becoming the norm in many countries. As a result, attempts were made to develop tests that were ‘culture-free’. An example of such a measure is the Culture-free Intelligence Test (Anastasi & Urbina, 1997). However, it soon became clear that it was not possible to develop a test free of any cultural influence. Consequently, test developers focused more on ‘culture-reduced’ or ‘culture- common’ tests in which the aim was to remove as much cultural bias as possible from the test by including only behaviour that was common across cultures. For example, a number of non-verbal intelligence tests were developed (e.g. Test of Non-verbal Intelligence, Raven’s Progressive Matrices) where the focus was on novel problem-solving tasks and in which language use, which is often a stumbling block in cross-cultural tests, was minimised. Furthermore, given that most of the available measures have been developed in the US or the United Kingdom (UK), they tend to be more appropriate for Westernised English-speaking people. In response to the rapid globalisation of the world’s population and the need for measures to be more culturally appropriate and available in the language in which the test-taker is proficient in, the focus of psychological testing in the 198Os and 199Os shifted to cross- cultural test adaptation. Under the leadership of Ron Hambleton from the US, the International Test Commission (ITC) developed Guidelines for Adapting and Translating Tests (International Test Commission, 2O16), which have become the benchmark for cross- cultural test translation and adaptation around the world. They have also assisted in advocating against assessment practices where test- takers are tested in languages in which they are not proficient, sometimes using a translator who translates the test 'on the run’. In addition, many methodologies and statistical techniques (e.g. Structural Equation Modelling) have been developed to establish whether different language versions of a test are equivalent (Hambleton, Merenda & Spielberger, 2OO5). Sparked by research stemming from large-scale international comparative tests such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progressive International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), the second decade of the twenty-first century has seen renewed interest in issues of bias and fairness when testing in linguistically diverse contexts. Consequently, the ITC has decided to develop guidelines for testing language minorities. You can read more about how and why measures are adapted for use in different countries and cultures in Chapter 6 and about language issues in assessment in Chapters 7 and 9. A new trend that is emerging in the twenty-first century is to approach the development of tests that are used widely internationally (e.g. the Wechsler Intelligence Scales) from a multicultural perspective. For example, when it comes to the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC), the norm through the years has been to first develop and standardise the measure for the US, and thereafter to adapt it for use outside the US. However, for the development of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition (WISC-IV), experts from various countries provided input on the constructs to be tapped as well as the content of the items to minimise potential cultural bias during the initial redesign phase (Weiss, 2OO3). In the process, the development of the WISC- IV set a new benchmark for the development of internationally applicable tests. A further trend in multicultural and multilingual test development is that of simultaneous multilingual test development (Solano- Flores, Turnbull & Nelson-Barber, 2OO2; Tanzer, 2OO5). This differs from the process outlined for the development of the WISC-IV, and which continues to be used in test development currently, where people from different cultural and language groups provide input on the construct(s) to be tapped but the items are still developed in English before they are translated into other languages. Instead, in simultaneous multilingual test development, once the test specifications have been developed, items are written by a multilingual and multicultural panel or committee where each member has a background in psychology (general and cross-cultural in particular), measurement and linguistics as well as with respect to the specific construct that the test will measure (e.g. personality, mathematics). Chapter 7 will provide more information on this approach. Non-Western countries are also rising to the challenge of not only adapting Westernised measures for their contexts (e.g. Gintiliene and Girdzijauskiene, 2OO8, report that, among others, the WISC-III and the Raven’s Coloured Matrices have been adapted for use in Lithuania), but also to develop their own indigenous measures, which are more suited to their cultural contexts. For example, Cheung and her colleagues have developed the Chinese Personality Inventory (CPAI), which was revised in 2OOO and is now known as the CPAI-2 (Cheung, Leung, Fan, Song, Zhang, & Zhang, 1996). This me