Pitfalls Associated with Psychometric Measures in the Multicultural SA Context
PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES
ESSAY QUESTION: pitfalls (historical/current) associated in relation with using psychometric measures in our multicultural SA context.
1. overview of psychometric properties (definition/history)
Psychometric properties are those aspects of a test or a measure that say how good the test or measure is. They deal with things like the reliability and validity of a measure. How accurate is it at measuring a construct and does it measure what it's supposed to measure.
2. Labour Force (human assessment and selection purposes)
Various factors in South African workplaces, ranging from unemployment and equity considerations to rapid occupational change driven by technological inputs, have placed greater emphasis on effective selection and development of human resources. This leads to greater demands on psychological assessment in the organisational setting with respect to ensuring responsible, ethical and equitable assessment. When investigating the cross-cultural application of tests, attention should be given to factors such as language, race, gender, socio-economic status, educational background, etc. (Bedell, et al.1999 ).
3. Development purposes
Psychological assessment tools are often used for selection and development purposes in South Africa. It is believed that these tools can contribute to the efficiency of selection, placement and management of human resources
4. Historical use
The use of psychological tests in South Africa has largely followed international trends. At the beginning of the 1900s tests were imported from abroad and applied in all sectors of the community. Psychological testing in South Africa was originally initiated with white test takers in mind. Psychological tests were initially developed separately for Afrikaans and English-speaking groups, but excluded the speakers of African languages, who comprise the largest population group. According to Abrahams and Mauer (1999, p. 76), members
ESSAY QUESTION: pitfalls (historical/current) associated in relation with using psychometric measures in our multicultural SA context.
1. overview of psychometric properties (definition/history)
Psychometric properties are those aspects of a test or a measure that say how good the test or measure is. They deal with things like the reliability and validity of a measure. How accurate is it at measuring a construct and does it measure what it's supposed to measure.
2. Labour Force (human assessment and selection purposes)
Various factors in South African workplaces, ranging from unemployment and equity considerations to rapid occupational change driven by technological inputs, have placed greater emphasis on effective selection and development of human resources. This leads to greater demands on psychological assessment in the organisational setting with respect to ensuring responsible, ethical and equitable assessment. When investigating the cross-cultural application of tests, attention should be given to factors such as language, race, gender, socio-economic status, educational background, etc. (Bedell, et al.1999 ).
3. Development purposes
Psychological assessment tools are often used for selection and development purposes in South Africa. It is believed that these tools can contribute to the efficiency of selection, placement and management of human resources
4. Historical use
The use of psychological tests in South Africa has largely followed international trends. At the beginning of the 1900s tests were imported from abroad and applied in all sectors of the community. Psychological testing in South Africa was originally initiated with white test takers in mind. Psychological tests were initially developed separately for Afrikaans and English-speaking groups, but excluded the speakers of African languages, who comprise the largest population group. According to Abrahams and Mauer (1999, p. 76), members