PSYC4022 Testing and Assessment Week Eight Cultural Considerations

Question 1

What is the problem with the citrus fruit sweetness scale?

Answer 1

1. The scale is not representative of the population of citrus fruit.
2. Lack of definition of “citrus fruits”
3. Norm is selected from 1 end of the distribution only.
4. How is sweetness measured?
5. Only measuring 1 attribute of citrus fruits than the test developer has assumed is valued.

Question 2

How can the problem with the citrus fruit be fixed?

Answer 2

1. Revisit the definition
2. Get a more accurate representation of all citrus fruits
3. Develop different sets of norms for each category of citrus fruits (costly)
4. Develop scales (different attributes) for each citrus fruit.

Question 3

Special Population

Answer 3

Populations where one or more of the assessment techniques cannot be used in the standard way.

Question 4

What is the relevance of the citrus fruit exercise to Psychological testing?

Answer 4

1. We disadvantage some cultures.
2. We feed into existing prejudices and create stereotypes
3. We can see the importance of identifying sub-level constructs within tests

Question 5

In the cultural iceberg, name 5 things which are easy to see

Answer 5

1. Food
2. Dress
3. Language
4. Folklore
5. Holidays and Festivals
6. Literature
7. Fine Arts

Question 6

In the cultural iceberg, name 5 things which are easy to see

Answer 6

1. Food
2. Dress
3. Language
4. Folklore
5. Holidays and Festivals
6. Literature
7. Fine Arts

Question 7

Culture

Answer 7

“Shared learned meanings and behaviours that are transmitted from within a social activity context for purposes of promoting individual/ societal adjustment, growth, and development” (Marsella & Yamada, 2000, p. 54)

Question 8

“All aspects of assessment are impacted by culture”

Answer 8

Sattler, 1992

Question 9

What % of immigrant populations did Goddard think were “feebleminded”?

Answer 9

• 79% Italians
• 80% Hungarians
• 83% Jews
• 87% Russians

Question 10

Intelligence is culturally defined. True or False

Answer 10

True

Question 11

Differences across race is due to test error. True or False?

Answer 11

True

Question 12

Intelligence is… “the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his [ or her] environment”

Answer 12

Wechsler

Question 13

Intelligence is… “adjustment or adaptation of the individual to his [or her] total environment, or to the limited aspects of it.”

Answer 13

Freeman

Question 14

Intelligence is… “mental activity involved in purposive adaptation to, shaping of, and selection of real-world environments relevant to one’s life.”

Answer 14

Sternberg

Question 15

How many minority children did Standford Binet (1937) include in its initial development?

Answer 15

Zero

Question 16

Wechsler’s Bellevue Intelligence Scale include how many minority groups in it’s norms?

Answer 16

None

Question 17

WISC included how many minority children?

Answer 17

None

Question 18

There are 5 measures of intelligence that minimise the impact of cultural bias. What are they?

Answer 18

1. Progressive Matrices (Paniagua, 1994)
2. Assessment Battery for Children (ABC)
3. Leiter international Performance Scale (LIPS)
4. Culture Fair Intelligence Scale (CFIS)
5. Kaufman

Question 19

Aboriginal Children perform significantly worse on verbal rather than performance measures of the WISC

Answer 19

Beiser & Gotowiec, 2000

Question 20

Culturally Informed Psychological Assessment

Answer 20

“… an approach to evaluation that is keenly perceptive of and responsive to issues of acculturation, values, identity, world view, language and other culture-related variables as they may impact the evaluation process or the interpretation of resulting data” (Cohen & Swerdlik, p. 482)

Question 21

Name 5 things to consider when doing a cultural assessment

Answer 21

1. Conduct a self-assessment of my old biases and prejudices (Paniagua, 1994)
2. Learn as much about the other culture (seek advice from a relevant consultant)
3. Acknowledge not all culturally diverse groups subscribe to traditional customs. (Sattler, 2001)
4. Refer to a professional from the client’s culture or refer to a translator (Hays, 2001)
5. Review the suitability of available assessment tools, and adapt their assessment processes to reflect accurately each client’s capabilities
6. Clients from different cultural backgrounds might not be familiar with concepts like informed consent and confidentiality
7. Research the social/historical background of the culture.
8. Use a multi-method approach
9. Gather information from the usual sources but also from community members (Dillard & Mason, 2000; Hays, 2001; Sattler, 2001)
10. Make Observations in multiple environments (e.g Home and School)

Question 22

Things to consider with cultural difference and special populations

Answer 22

1. Age
2. Disability
3. Religion
4. Ethnicity
5. Social Status
6. Sexual Orientation
7. Indigenous Heritage
8. National Origin
9. Gender

Question 23

Culture

Answer 23

The socially transmitted behaviour patterns, beliefs, and products of work of a particular population, community, or group of people