The Major Pitfalls (Historical and Current) Associated with Using Psychological Measures in the Multicultural South African Context

Below, I will discuss the results of a multicultural self-assessment that I took. I will describe a time in which I felt “other”. I will then proceed to explain my personal feelings regarding each. I will discuss a course of action I plan to take as a result of the multicultural assessment. I will develop a counseling identity statement. Finally, I will explain why multicultural awareness and cultural competency are important in the field of counseling.

Ever since standardized testing started being used as a way to evaluate the intelligence of students and the teachers’ ability to educate, the standard of actual education has been diminished immensely. Standardized testing is used in most public and private schools to analyze students’ knowledge. It has affected the way in which students learn and has corrupted the methods teachers use to educate. In some cases, English-Learning and disabled students face discrimination from teachers since teachers have more responsibility to have a high number of passing students. Some countries around the world don’t use standardized tests to rank their students or schools and yet they have been successful. Standardized tests are not efficient on making students learn, they should not be used to evaluate students’ knowledge.

Differences in social-class, family structure, and discrimination against blacks as a disgraced group are all proposed causes for the black-white gap in test scores. If the gap is caused by a difference in social-class or family structure, then when the

Labeling bias exists when a test claims to measure one thing but actually measures something else. Tests that claim to assess such traits as “aptitude” or “intelligence” imply that they are measuring something innate, given that many people assume that these traits are genetic. However, Jencks notes that “almost all psychologists now agree that while an individual’s score on an intelligence or aptitude test depends partly on his or her genetic makeup, it also reflects a multitude of environmental influences” (p. 56). Thus, such tests are racially biased estimates of the innate traits that most laypeople think these tests are purporting to evaluate. Fortunately, this bias can be eliminated by simply changing the names of what these tests claim to measure.

The two major ethical considerations that are important to address are 9.02 - Use of Assessments and 9.06 - Interpreting Assessment Results. 9.02 - Use of Assessments is particularly important because the psychologist must consider the individual’s language preference and competence. As was noted in the initial case description, Brandon’s parents are both Polish immigrants, and Brandon spoke Polish in home until he attended junior kindergarten. Although he may not have an accent, his language preference should be noted as English may not be the language he is more comfortable using. 9.06 - Interpreting Assessment Results should also be considered. Brandon’s test-taking abilities should be highlighted, as he is suspicious and ambivalent towards the psychological testing. These feelings may negatively affect his test scores, as he may try to either hide how he truly feels, or lie to make himself seem better or worse. It should also be noted that there could be other client characteristics that affect his scores as well, particularly cultural factors.

Additionally, participants were reminded that following the test they would receive feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. For participants who were assigned to the non-diagnostic-only and non-diagnostic-challenge condition, the purpose of the study did not reflect a reference to verbal ability (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Both non-diagnostic conditions were told that the true purpose of the study was to assess psychological factors related to verbal problem solving tasks (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Participant’s performance was measured using a modified GRE examination, which consisted to 30 verbal items (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Moreover, the total number of correct answers on the examination were analyzed. Following the examination, all participants were asked to complete an 18 item self-report measure of their thoughts related to personal worth and academic competence (Steele & Aronson, 1995). The data showed that African American participants underperformed Caucasian participants during the diagnostic test, but not the non-diagnostic test, showing that the effects of stereotype threat on performance were greater for African Americans (Steele & Aronson,

"Conversely, multicultural psychology is the study of multiple cultural groups in the same context. Cultural groups influence one another when they are in the same sociocultural context; the strength of this influence is largely dependent on the power and status that cultural groups have in society. All the cultural groups discussed in this textbook have ethnic minority status. Thus, multicultural psychology is the study not only of culture, but also of the sociopolitical issues that ethnic minority persons face in the United States. Although cross-national issues are of importance in psychology, issues of dealing with persons of multiple cultural backgrounds in the United States are more likely to affect the lives of most American students. There are several cross-cultural psychology textbooks that address multicultural psychology within a single national and sociopolitical context" (Hall & Barongan, 2002).

Also, in the early 1900’s there were different intelligence test conducted mainly to “justify racial and ethnic discrimination”. According to the understanding race website, “The results of these intelligence tests were influential in shaping U.S. immigration policy that limited immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, and in justifying race-based segregation in public education, and U.S. conscription during World War I. Previously, the scientific debate centered largely on perceived differences in racial intelligence based on cranial size”. (Science: 1900s-1930s Race and Intelligence)

Ultimately, with specific reference to the ideology of civil rights sociologist W.E.B. DuBois, bias in standardized testing appears auspiciously addressed through a cultural reformulation of historically debasing race and gender stereotypes, the adoption of standardized testing alternatives, and the emendation of western-centric curriculums and culturally-loaded test

If asked, most people would agree that our nation is an adaptable nation. Over the years, the United States has adjusted to account for groups of people with a lack of rights such as colored minorities, females , and homosexuals. This country has tailored laws and altered how to operate economically and globally. As I do more research, I become increasingly frustrated with the state of the United States. My frustration is a byproduct of the failure in the educational system to progress and acclimatize just as the other areas of the country has progressed. In fact, it has contradicted any sense of adaptability and progression, instead it has regressed. Testing as means of evaluation, from the first intelligent quotient to the stress of today's ACT, has been on a major upswing. The emphasis on measuring students mostly, almost exclusively, through testing cripples students and the country as a whole.

Psychology became popular after the psychological testing that was conducted after World War I. Unfortunately many unqualified individuals were claiming to be able to deliver psychological services. While the APA attempted to put a resolution in place stating that only trained professionals would be allowed to administer the psychological testing. There were no clear guidelines to what made a professional “qualified” and many individuals did not belong to

In the society of today, there are various educators who believe in assessment as proper method to measure the performance of a child in school as well as the overall achievement of a specific school system. The assessment may be presented in the form of verbal, written, or multiple choice, and it usually pertains to certain academic subjects in the school curriculum. Recently, many educators began to issue standardized tests to measure the intelligence of a common student body. (Rudner, 1989) These standardized tests were initially created to reveal the success in institutional school programs, and exhibit the abilities of students today. The standardized tests can reveal the strengths and weaknesses

The methods they were using to measure intelligence tests were a bit biased towards Western intelligence because Western culture value speed and other culture value perfection even if it means taking long to complete the tests. To address this anomaly, ‘culture free test` was used to take away the things that affected performance due to cultural differences. They also used ‘culture fair test` to measure common skills

Standardized tests were created during the First World War as a tool to measure the “intellect, ability, and potential” of the soldiers in the army (Turgut 64-65). From World War I to the launch of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union, standardized tests were used to enable development and have aided in progress of a country. Standardized tests have also been introduced into the education system to measure the student’s intelligence in a subject.

There comes a time when we all come across a specific test such as school tests, driving test, or even as simple as food tasting test. However, there is a difference between regular tests and testing’s when referring to psychological testing. There are several different psychological tests that many psychiatrists, psychologists, and school counselors use to determine certain abilities, however each of the tests are used for a specific purpose. It is vital for the individuals to contain high knowledge of the tests before applying it to others.