Psychological Assessment in a Multi-Cultural Context
INTRODUCTION
There is no doubt that different vocations require different skill sets, including nursing in the medical field. There are certain personality traits that exist within an individual’s personality that would make that person conducive to the nursing profession, for example ones capacity, ability or willingness to interact with patients in a caring, empathetic manner, or whether an applicant to nursing school would holistically be suited for the profession. These personality traits can be discovered through psychological assessment as a tool to maximize success in a selection process.
In South Africa there are challenges and concerns to be raised when considering psychological assessments due to the multi-cultural context of the country, and even though most of these concerns have been resolved there is still a generally wide perception that psychological assessments are not suited for our diverse cultural pool. In order to understand where this perception comes from, one has to look at the journey of psychological assessment in South Africa to date and only then will we be able to dispel the myths and incorrect perceptions.
HISTORY
Psychological assessment first came to be in South Africa through our British colonial heritage (Claassen, 1997), and at its inception was primed for measurement towards western cultures. Internationally there were attempts to design tests that were “culture-free” however they were unsuccessful, which also tells us that the concern of considering psychological assessments due to the multi-cultural context of South Africa is in fact valid. There are many factors in South Africa that provoke further question not raised internationally because of our unique social, political and economic background, as well as the numerous diverse cultures including, Western, Eastern and several African cultures by now living in South Africa for many generations.
Within educational and clinical practices measures were developed
There is no doubt that different vocations require different skill sets, including nursing in the medical field. There are certain personality traits that exist within an individual’s personality that would make that person conducive to the nursing profession, for example ones capacity, ability or willingness to interact with patients in a caring, empathetic manner, or whether an applicant to nursing school would holistically be suited for the profession. These personality traits can be discovered through psychological assessment as a tool to maximize success in a selection process.
In South Africa there are challenges and concerns to be raised when considering psychological assessments due to the multi-cultural context of the country, and even though most of these concerns have been resolved there is still a generally wide perception that psychological assessments are not suited for our diverse cultural pool. In order to understand where this perception comes from, one has to look at the journey of psychological assessment in South Africa to date and only then will we be able to dispel the myths and incorrect perceptions.
HISTORY
Psychological assessment first came to be in South Africa through our British colonial heritage (Claassen, 1997), and at its inception was primed for measurement towards western cultures. Internationally there were attempts to design tests that were “culture-free” however they were unsuccessful, which also tells us that the concern of considering psychological assessments due to the multi-cultural context of South Africa is in fact valid. There are many factors in South Africa that provoke further question not raised internationally because of our unique social, political and economic background, as well as the numerous diverse cultures including, Western, Eastern and several African cultures by now living in South Africa for many generations.
Within educational and clinical practices measures were developed
Bibliography: Foxcroft, C & Roodt, G. (2005, 2nd edition). An Introduction to Psychological Assessment in the South African context. Nzimande, B. (1995). Culture fair testing? To test or not to test? Claassen, N. (1997). Cultural Differences, Politics and Test Bias in South Africa. Website: http://www.hsrc.ac.za - Human Sciences Research Council.