IOP4861 Exam Pack 2021.

IOP4861 Exam Pack 2021. Industrial Psychological Assessment. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOICAL ASSESSMENT Origin and development of psychological assessment in general and in the South African context Assessment is the process of measuring one or several variables of interest in order to make decisions about individuals or inferences about a population. It is the process of determining the presence of and/or the extent to which an object, person, group or system possesses a particular property, characteristic or attribute. Cognitive and personality tests were imported from Europe into South Africa in the early 1900s. These imported tests were applied to all sectors of the community. The OTIS mental ability test was, for example applied with US norms to white applicants in industry. Different tests were also applied for black people, for example, the GAB. From 1920 research on the assessment of black was conducted. Through these studies it was realised that imported tests were inappropriate because of the inappropriateness of the instruments which were used. This led to the rejection of imported tests as standards of measurement. In the 1940s and 1950s work in psychometric domain in South Africa focused on the educability and trainability of black South Africans. Through continuous studies it was realised that cultural differences influence testing outcomes, however, attempts to create culture free tests were fashionable (in vogue). Throughout the years to come the development of tests of adaptability dominated psychometric interest. No attempt was made to assess cognitive competence in a culturally relevant framework. Different tests were used for different races, or different Page 1 of 130 lOMoARcPSD| norm groups. Tests were developed to compared across races on the same test (e.g. the GSAT). However, black people were still compared against white norms. In the 1970s and 1980s there was growing recognition of the fact that culture exerts subtle and pervasive effects in the testing domain. It was also realised that it is not possible to remove culture from the equation. Culture affects behaviour and consequently the psychological constructs being measured. Therefore, culture was perceived as an important moderator of test performance. Psychometric tests started to consider the inherent cultural bias in tests. This idea strengthened the notion that culture may constitute a source of systemic error in test results. In the apartheid South Africa, psychometrics was developed and standardised for whites only. Psychometric testing was misused and applied in favour of white people in the workplace. In the changing sociopolitical context of the 1990s, new measures were developed for different racial groups. During this period (late 1980s to early 1990s) research in terms of bias was also initiated and bias was proved to exist. This resulted in growing skepticism about the value of psychological assessment in South Africa. DEVELOPMENT IN PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY/ RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT Developments pertains to competency-based assessment, misuse of tests and their results, professional practice standards, training guidelines for assessment practitioners, computerised testing and item response theory as well as the continued use of tests that are appropriate to the socio-economic and political context of the day. Competency based assessment A competency is what a person must be able (and willing) to do to achieve above- average performance in a specific role. Competence is needed for effective performance. Page 2 of 130 lOMoARcPSD| Competencies are the traits or characteristics, including an individual’s knowledge, skills, and thought patterns, aspects of self-esteem and social roles that are used to achieve successful or exemplary performance of any type. Competencies are: • Personal characteristics that are proven to drive superior job performance • Describe what makes people effective in a given role • Include behaviour patterns, including knowledge, skills and abilities a job holder is required to demonstrate in order to perform the relevant job tasks Assessment of competency This is done by direct observation and then by indirectly assessing whether the person knows what has to be done and is motivated to meet these requirements. Direct observation involves watching a person in a work and/or social situation as well as examining outputs generated by specific situations. Competencies are performance based and the assessment is behavioural. Indirect measures include discussions with people affected by the particular task (clients, patients, etc). as well with the person’s superior. Examples: A teacher or lecturer’s competence in teaching - feedback from the students becomes an indirect measure of competence; reports from the HOD or colleague can be considered. Levels of competence Five levels of competence can be identified: • Not yet competent: The person is basically unable to perform the task or to meet the minimum standards required. • Threshold competence: This means the person is able to carry out the task related to the job at a level that is acceptable to the organisation in terms of quality and efficiency. Page 3 of 130 lOMoARcPSD| • Experienced worker competence: This is attained when a person is able to carry out all the tasks required of the job at an acceptable level, with above average levels of efficiency and quality. • Highly competent: This person is able to meet and exceed the required work standards without having to rectify mistakes afterwards. • Masterly level competence: This person shows complete mastery of his task and is a true expert in the area, is able to solve difficult problems that have baffled others. Misuse of tests and their results Professional practice standards Training guidelines for assessment practitioners Computerised testing (p.284) • Computers are used in the administration and scoring of tests • Computer based assessments have the following psychometric properties; the tests are reliable and valid just like traditional paper-and-pencil measures • Have become the more preferred method in comparison to the traditional methods • Increased the value and accuracy of the assessment process The use of computers has affected the assessment in three ways: (1) computer- assisted administration (including scoring and report writing) (2) the assessment of additional parameters that cannot be achieved in paper-and-pencil versions (3) computer based adaptive testing. Computer-assisted administration Page 4 of 130 lOMoARcPSD| This is the application of computer technology to the application of existing techniques. The computer is used as an electronic administrator, scorer and interpreter of assessment results. The advantages are (1) a more uniform presentation of items (2) ease of scoring (3) instant feedback can be given to the test administrator and the test-taker (4) reports can be written or compiled by the computer (5) computerised testing can improve the quality of the items, with both the material and the instruction making use of three-dimensional graphics. Instead of presenting an idea verbally, the computer can also do so verbally (6) computer-based assessment provides the opportunity for multimedia test items such as those based on video (film) and audio (sound) to be included (7) Can be used for virtual assisted testing (VAT): It is a computer assisted or generated simulation of the three-dimensional environment in which the user is able to deal and manipulate the contents of that environment using his five senses. VAT present visual stimuli and a revolution in the handling of material involving other senses such as sound, touch, balance or smell (8) computer based assessment (CBA) allows testing and other forms of assessments to take place around the clock and at remote sites through Internet or web-based assessment. Advantages of CBA for the administrator • It frees the administrator from many of the chores of administering, scoring and interpreting the assessment • Because the tests are fully automated, they are more standardised in terms of test instructions and time keeping • CBA makes the administration and scoring error free and provides instant feedback • Precise or accurate scores can be calculated very quickly, eliminating unfortunate common human mistakes and saving much time Page 5 of 130 lOMoARcPSD| • The assessment can be easily costed as most programmes have a counting system that records the number of times the assessment is administered and user is charged accordingly. Disposable incomes are also saved. • Computer based systems enable the updating of norms as sufficiently large numbers of people are assessed. These scores can be automatically and easily added to a test database to adjust norms and can be used for research. • Computers can produce interpretive texts, with suitable graphics, pie charts, norm tables etc. Advantages of CBA to the test-taker • The convenience of the assessment being carried out at any time and place that suits them • Alleviates the inconvenience of having to travel somewhere for assessment • Tests can be individually administered in comfortable surroundings • Test items can be presented in a far more interesting and understandable way • Test-takers receive immediate, objective, expert-based narrative feedback Disadvantages of the CBA to test-takers • Computer phobia/ fear of technology. This could introduce a unique, irrelevant error variance into observed scores, thus impairing test-result validity. • The possibility of the system crashing as a result of computer, program or power failure Item response theory (ITR)/latent-trait theory . A measurement model that assumes that the characteristic being measured is a latent variable and that it causes the responses observed on a test or measure. For example a person who has an underlying fear of dogs responds positively to the item: “Dogs cannot be trusted.” The fear is the latent variable which “causes” him to respond as he Page 6 of 130 lOMoARcPSD| does. IRT relates to the performance of each item to a statistical estimate of the strength of the construct being measured. Latent trait model A set of assumptions about measurement, including the assumption that, a trait being assessed is uni-dimensional and that each item measures the strength of that trait. History of cognitive assessment Research conducted on cognitive testing noted bias as a result of culture and language differences. After considering more realistic measures and descriptions of cognitive development and reasoning ability dynamic assessment was developed. Dynamic assessment refers to the test-train-retest (learning –potential testing) method of assessing learning potential. The dynamic assessment or testing approach to assessing intelligence or intellectual ability and potential was put forward by psychologists. Reuven Feuerstein. Dynamic assessment was developed after realizing that traditional measures of intellectual ability are based on assumptions that people’s social and educational backgrounds are relatively similar and that differences in intelligence scores reflect differences in processing speed rather than in basic knowledge. Feuerstein disputed this line of thinking. According to him this is not true especially when assessing the ability of socially impoverished groups. Feuerstein takes a dynamic view of intelligence. He argues that intelligence is a person’s ability to learn rules quickly. Feuerstein takes a three step approach: