The Importance Of Psychological Assessment

Great Essays
Register to read the introduction… It was transported from western, middleclass culture with its corresponding values, and applied mostly out of the context in which it was developed. Plainly this was misuse of the tests and constituted abuse. Psychological tests applied in South Africa were standardized for the white population, and applied without any adaptation to the very different context in the country; Factors, such as culture, language, socio-economic status, education and levels of acculturation of the South African population were ignored (Bedell et al, 1999).Test results were used to justify racial differences and entrench the idea of white superiority in relation to other groups. In the 1930's and 1940's tests standardized on white children were administered to other races without investigation for test bias. White children scored highest in these tests and black children the lowest ( Foxcroft & Roodt, 2005). Psychologists used the international Stanford Binet intelligence test; the South African revision of which later became known as the Fick Scale. In1929 Fick noticed the unfairness of the test when applied to black school children, and tried to correct this by using individual measures such as motoring and reasoning.. These measures were also standardized for white children, and …show more content…
It is important therefore to consider the factors that are responsible for differences in test performance. If the results of tests are interpreted in a sensitive and intelligent way, with these factors in mind, the correct decision can be made and mistakes in selection avoided. The factors are briefly discussed hereunder.
Every human being is influenced by his or her own culture, and also in the process of enculturation influenced by other cultures, particularly those that are dominant in a given society .Culture influences every aspect of our life's journey from birth until death. How we view the world is a reflection of the culture into which we are born, how we live our lives, the languages that we speak, and our values are important aspects of our cultural heritage. As such objectivity in relation to our own culture is usually very difficult and the ability to understanding other cultures often

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Culture is the foundation of which we build our lives. It impacts every single aspect of our society: our thoughts, perspectives, actions, and goals, all are impacted by the culture we are surrounded by. However, this cultural impact is not always positive; unless we are aware of our predispositions, those around us may suffer as a result of their consequences. Because its impact is so great, is it very easy to have our perspective of the world be in a negative, harmful light, even when we are not aware of it. Culture influences the way we see the world, which influences the way we change the world.…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hmong Culture Essay

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Hmong Culture Culture is unique form to describe someone and to learn things. It is also a form to understand the different points of view of a person. When I hear people talking about other people from all around the world the first thing that comes up to my mind is culture. I’ve always wanted to learn how people from other places have different cultures and how there cultures are the same or different from mine. For me it’s really interesting seeing how many similarities I share with other people who I thought were different from me.…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My Mother Pieced Quilts

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Does one’s culture inform the way one views others and the world? Yes it does. In many articles it showed how different one's culture could be to another person, and how it affects how they view the world. Some of those articles are Indian Father's Plea, My mothers pieced quilts, HAPA, Everyday use, and Where worlds collide. People's culture changes how they view the world outside of their own.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Culture: the shared set of ideas, skills, institutions, customs, attitude, values, and achievements that characterize a group of people. Who someone is and what they believe legitimately characterizes them; to say it shapes their perspective of the life they and others have would be correct. A person’s culture greatly affects their views of others and the world because of situations like discrimination, social behavior, and general beliefs. Authors such as Robert Lake, or Medicine Grizzlybear, and Pat Mora would agree with this position due to the fact that both have experienced the struggles of discrimination and differences in beliefs. So many groups of people face discrimination today based upon their culture, race, and social position.…

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Psychosocial Assessment American Cancer Society anticipated approximately 1,688,780 new cancer cases to be diagnosed and roughly 1,087,860 of the population to live with cancer in the United States in 2014 (American Cancer Society, 2017). Advanced chemotherapy and radiation or surgery had improved the survival rate of the cancer population. In spite of those treatment improvements, cancer had become a chronic illness which had caused the patient population to commonly suffer from fatigue, lower self-esteem, depression and poor quality of life (QOL) during their treatment process. Chronic illness severely had affected the diagnosed patients both physically and mentally. Additionally, it had a great impact on the lives of patient family members,…

    • 304 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In North Korea most people don’t know what “freedom” means, in China most people don’t know what “opinion” means, in the Middle East most people don’t know what “solution” means, and in America most people don’t know what “the rest of the world” means. From shaping personalities to affecting perceptions, culture is the invisible bond that ties individuals together in a society. At a young age, people absorb cultural values and beliefs which are manifested through one’s lifestyle. Culture strongly influences the ways of thinking and living. The differences in these factors is what causes diversity among cultures in several parts of the world.…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A person's culture affects the way they see the world by the way they grew up,they have a different point of view on things. It is clear when reading reading "Indian father's plea", Two Ways to Belong in America" and “By Any Other Name” that culture does affect the way people see the world. “I want him to be proud of his rich heritage and culture and i would like him to develop the necessary compatible to adjust to. But i need your help.” He saying that because the father is educated and the teacher marked his son as a slow learner.…

    • 207 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Synthesis Paper Can you define your culture? Some may not have had time to think about this question because but if you do think about it you would understand that this is an aspect of your life and should be well thought over. Have you ever been in a situation where you were in a disagreement with someone because you think that their way of doing things is wrong? As you might know your culture affects the way that you view others in some aspects because your culture is who you are and can determine you state of mind,so being in a disagreement is natural and can also help you to learn more about different cultures and use that knowledge for comparison.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Standardized Testing in Schools Standardized testing has been an inevitable part of life for countless Americans, making them question the validity of their life choices since the third grade. When taking standardized tests, one encounters some obvious drawbacks. Any student who has been forced to take one of the hundreds that exist can recount the tales of stress and feelings of inadequacy that linger after every test taken. Standardized testing does not benefit students because it objectifies certain race/ethnic groups, it doesn’t measure the test taker’s mental capacity or progress, and it is not worth the unnecessary problems for students.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Hammurabi Code Analysis

    • 1509 Words
    • 7 Pages

    1) Culture is a group of community, who shares common belief and experiences which shape the world of their understanding, including political belief, race, religion, national, origin, and gender. Understanding of culture is important, because it can give person to analyze things from different prospective. It also provides opportunity to better understand each other and way of life, which will bring two together. 2) With the invention of writing, there was no need of memory, speech, and rely on person to person interaction to transmit information. The need of simple way of record keeping and organizing of agricultural and business information of the Sumerians to the pictograms, and phonograms.…

    • 1509 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    What Influences Culture Culture is a blend of beliefs, ideas, values, bloodlines, communication patterns, artistic expressions, and ways of life. In many ways, culture makes up every part of a human, it makes them unique and at the same time culture is capable of uniting people. Culture defines how people identify themselves, how people act, and it even defines how people think. People view the world and the things that compose it in different ways, these ways are composed of a variety of factors, and those factors compose one’s culture, factors such as, how one was raised, the environment that said person was raised in, and societal stigmas and norms.…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Doll Test

    • 2189 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The test was created to study the psychological effects of segregation on African-American children, for Mamie’s Howard University master’s thesis. Basically, study the development of the sense of self-esteem in Black children. The materials used for the test were four dolls. The dolls’ features, except for color, were the same to test children’s racial perceptions. The children who were apart of the study, were between the ages of three to seven.…

    • 2189 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Negative Effects Of Test Anxiety

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    • 14 Works Cited

    Contemporary society has been given the labels of “test-oriented” and “test-consuming” (Zeidner & Most, 1992) due to its extensive use of testing assessments as a primary agent in decisions that impact many areas of people’s lives.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    • 14 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Culture defines people’s values, beliefs, and personal interests. It allows myself and others to maintain an identity in society, which I believe is important. We are the people we are today because of our upbringings. Culture plays a huge role in shaping our identity. It also determines long term choices and sets you apart from everyone else.…

    • 960 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Identity Vs Role Confusion

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Erik Erikson was a well-known psychologist and is best known for developing the concept of identity crisis. His greatest innovation was when he set up the eight stages of development; that shape personality and experiences throughout childhood to adulthood. He believed that one must pass through one stage before entering the next stage. The eight stages are: Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Integrity vs. Despair.…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics