PSYCH311 - PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT 1

Chapter 2: Historical, Cultural, and Legal/Ethical

Considerations
OUTLINE
I. A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE II. CULTURE AND ASSESSMENT III. LEGAL AND ETHICAL
A. Antiquity to the Nineteenth A. Evolving Interest in CONSIDERATIONS
Century Culture-Related Issues A. The Concerns of the Public
B. The Twentieth Century B. Some Issues Regarding B. The Concerns of the
Culture and Assessment Profession
C. Tests and Group Membership C. The Rights of Testtakers

I. A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ● 1911 - 3rd revision of the Binet-Simon Scale

● 1916 - developed the 4th revision at Stanford University
A. Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century and term it as Standford-Binet Scale by Lewis Terman.
● The first systematic tests were developed in China as early
as 2200 B.C.E. as a means of selecting people for
government jobs.
● Individuals passing the tests were entitled to a number of
privileges, which varied depending on the current dynasty.
● During the Song (or Sung) dynasty, tests emphasized
knowledge of classical literature. Testtakers who
demonstrated their command of the classics were ● Binet and colleague Theodore Simon developed a series
perceived as having acquired the wisdom of the past and of tests designed to assess mental abilities rather than
were therefore entitled to a government position. focus on learned information such as math and reading.
● Darwin’s interest in individual differences led his ● Binet instead concentrated on other mental abilities such as
half-cousin, Francis Galton, to devise a number of attention and memory. The scale they developed became
measures for psychological variables. known as the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale
● Galton demonstrates that individual differences not only ● In1939, David Wechsler, a clinical psychologist at Bellevue
exist but also are objectively measurable. Hospital in NYC, introduced a test designed to measure
adult intelligence.
● In Germany, Wilhelm Wundt started the first experimental
psychology laboratory and measured variables such as ○ According to him, “intelligence was the aggregate or
reaction time, perception, and attention span.The objective global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to
is to ensure that any observed differences in performance think rationally, and to deal effectively with his
are indeed due to differences between the people being environment”.
measured not extraneous variables.
● Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale - original name
● James Mckeen Cattell, an American who had studied with
● Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) - new name
Galton, coined the term mental test in 1890 and was
responsible for launching mental testing in its modern form.. ● The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale is an individually
administered, standardized test design to measure
● Founding member of the APA and that organization’s 4th
cognitive ability in individuals from age 16 years to 90
President.
years, 11 months.
B. The Twentieth Century ● Group testing was basically developed to meet a pressing
● 20th Century (1900 - 2000) practical need of large number of recruits for the war.

● Brought the first tests of abilities such as intelligence ● Robert Yerkes - was an American psychologist best known
for his work in intelligence testing and in the field of
● 1905 - Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon developed the comparative psychology.
first intelligence test to identify mentally retarded Paris
schoolchildren. ○ In 1917, he was elected president of the American
Psychological Association. After the U.S. entered
● 1908 - The number of tests was increased World War I, Yerkes urged the APA to get involved in
contributing psychological expertise to the war effort.

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● Arrmy Alpha II. CULTURE AND ASSESSMENT
○ Is a test that measures “verbal ability, numerical ability, ● Culture: The socially transmitted behavior patterns, beliefs,
ability to follow directions and knowledge of and products of work of a particular population, community,
information”. or group of people (Cohen,1994)

○ It was distributed to determine whether draftees could ● Professionals in assessment have shown a growing
read English, but also to evaluate soldiers so that they sensitivity to cultural issues with every aspect of test
could be assigned to tasks or training in alignment with development and use
their abilities. ○ Early psychological testing of immigrant populations by
● Army Beta Henry Goddard was controversial: He found that the
majority of immigrant populations were
○ Was developed for those men with limited literacy who
“feeble-minded.”
were unable to respond ti the written test or who were
unable to take a test in English. A. Evolving Interest in Culture-Related Issues
● By the late 1930’s, over 4,000 psychological tests were in ● Goddard’s findings were largely the result of using a
print. translated Stanford-Binet intelligence test that
● Robert Woodworth was assigned the task to develop a overestimated mental deficiency in native
measure of adjustment and emotional stability called English-speaking populations, let alone immigrant
Personal Data Sheet populations.

● The Woodworth Psychoneurotics Inventory was the first ● Goddard’s research sparked a nature vs. nurture debate:
widely used self-report personality test. Were IQ results indicative of some underlying native ability
or the extent to which knowledge and skills had been
● An advantage of self-report is that respondents are acquired?
arguably the best-qualified people to provide answers about
themselves. ● In the 1930’s and 1940’s developers of IQ tests devised
culture-specific tests and clarified that the tests were not
● A potential disadvantage is that respondents may have intended for minority cultures. Yet, the tests were used on
poor insight into themselves. People might honestly believe individuals belonging to other cultures.
some things about themselves that in reality are not true.
● Today, developers of intelligence tests take precautions
● In psychology, a projective test is a personality test against bias
designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli,
presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal ● Culture-fair tests, also called culture-free tests, are
conflicts projected by the person into the test. designed to assess intelligence (or other attributes)
without relying on knowledge specific to an individual
○ Projective tests, such as the Rorschach Inkblot Test, cultural group.
are tests in which an individual is assumed to “project”
onto some ambiguous stimulus his or her own unique ● The Culture Fair Intelligence Test was created by
needs, feathers, hopes, and motivation Raymond Cattell in 1949 as an attempt to measure
cognitive abilities devoid of sociocultural and
● Thematic Apperception Test is a storytelling test usually environmental influences.
used for children where cards or images are shown to be
described. B. Some Issues Regarding Culture and Assessment
1. Verbal Communications
1. Academic and Applied Tradition
● Some meaning and nuance may be lost in translation
● Psychological Assessment has proceeded along two lines
- the academic and applied ● Some interpreters may not be familiar withmental health
issues - Pre-training may be necessarry
● Academic tradition: Researchers at universities throughout
the world use the tools of assessment to help advance ● In interviews language deficits may be detected by trained
knowledge and understanding of human and animal examiners but may go undetected in written tests.
behavior.
● Assessments need to be evaluated in terms of the
● In the applied tradition, the goal is to select applicants for language proficiency required and the current level of the
various positions on the basis of merit. test-taker.

Psychological Testing in the Philippines 2. Non-Verbal Communication and Behavior

● Virgilio P. Enriquez - Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao ● Non-verbal signs or body language may vary from one
culture to another
● Aurora R. Placio - Panukat ng Katalinuhang Pilipino
● Psychoanalysis pays particular attention to the symbolic
● Anadaisy Carlota - Panukat ng Pagkataong Pilipino
meaning of non-verbal behavior
● Gregorio E.H. Del Pilar - Masaklaw na Panukad ng Loob
● Other cultures may complete tasks at different pace, which
or Mapa ng Loob
may be particularly problematic for timed tests

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 3. Standard of Evaluation 3. Computerized Assessment
● Judgements related to certain psychological traits can be ● A number of psychological tests can be purchased online or
culturally relative administered and scored online.
● Cultures differ in regard to gender roles and views of ● Offers convenience, simplicity, and a greater range of
psychopathology assessment.
● Cultures also vary in terms of collectivist vs. individualist ● Issues in computer-assisted psychological assessment
value. (CAPA)
○ Collectivist Cultures value traits such as conformity, ○ Access to a test administration, scoring, and
cooperation, interdependence, and striving toward interpretation software
group goals
○ Comparability of pencil-and-paper vs. computerized
○ Individualist Cultures place value on traits such as tests.
self-reliance, autonomy, independence, uniqueness, and
○ The value of computerized test interpretations.
competitiveness
○ Unprofessional, unregulated “psychological testing”
III. LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS online.
A. Concerns of the Public
C. The Rights of Test-Takers
● RA No. 10029 The Philippine Psychology Act of 2010 or
● Test takers have the right to know why they are being
Psychology Act
evaluated, how the test data will be used, and what (if any)
○ Passed on March 16, 2010, the Bill “recognizes the information will be released to whom.
significance of the psychological services that practicing
1. The Right of Informed Consent
psychologists provide to diverse types of clients, but
● With full knowledge of such information, test-takers give
also recognizes the need to protect the public by
their informed consent.
preventing inexperienced or untrained individuals from
offering psychological services. “Simply put, anywhere ● Information needed for consent must be in a language the
as a psychology graduate working anywhere as a test-taker can understand.
psychologist or doing psychological services, you must
● Some groups (e.g. people with Alzheimer’s Disease) may
be licensed to practice” (Villar, 2012).
not have the capacity , or competency, to provide informed
B. Concerns of the Profession consent.
● The APA has published many works over the years to ● Competency may be defined as:
delineate ethical, sound practice in the field of
○ Being able to evidence a choice as to whether one
psychological testing and assessment.
wants to participate;
1. Test User Qualifications ○ Demonstrating a factual understanding of the issues;
● Test user qualifications: In 1950 the APA published a
○ Being able to reason about the facts of a study,
report called Ethical Standards for the Distribution of
treatment, or whatever it is to which consent is sought,
Psychological Tests and Diagnostic Aids. It outlined three
and
levels of tests in terms of expertise:
○ Appreciating the nature of the situations
○ Level A - Tests or aids that can adequately be
administered, scored, and interpreted with the aid of a ■ If competency, cannot be provided by the person, a
manual. substitute decision-maker is used (e.g. next of kin).
○ Level B - Tests or aids that require some technical 2. The Right to be Informed of Test Findings
knowledge of test construction/use and knowledge of ● The right to be informed of test findings: In the past
psychology and education test-takers were often not told of diagnostic findings or
○ Level C - Tests and aids that require substantial anything that might hurt their self-image.
understanding of testing and supporting psychological ● Currently, giving information about test performance to
fields together with supervised experience in the use of examinees is ethically and legally mandated and may be
these devices. useful from a therapeutic perspective as well.
2. Testing People with Disabilities ● Test-takers have a right to know about test findings and
● Test people with disabilities: Some challenges in testing recommendations
people with disabilities may include ● Tests-users should sensitively inform test-takers of the
○ Transforming the test into a form that can be taken by purpose of the test, the meaning of the score relative to
the test taker those of other test-takers, and the possible limitations and
margin of error of the test.
○ Transforming the responses of the test taker so that
they are scorable, and
○ Meaningfully interpreting the test data.

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 3. The Right to Privacy and Confidentiality
● The right to privacy and confidentiality: in most states,
information provided by clients to psychologists is
considered privileged information.
● Privilege is not absolute - psychologists may have to
disclose information if ordered by the courts or the client
may harm self or others.
● Another ethical mandate, regarding confidentiality, pertains
to safe-guarding test data.

4. The Right to the least Stigmatizing Label

● The right to the least stigmatizing label: The Standards
advise that the least stigmatizing labels should always be
assigned when reporting test results.