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1 - Contextualising psychological assessment in South Africa
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- By S. Laher, University of the Witwatersrand, K. Cockcroft, University of the Witwatersrand
- Edited by Sumaya Laher, Kate Cockcroft
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- Book:
- Psychological Assessment in South Africa
- Published by:
- Wits University Press
- Published online:
- 21 April 2018
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2013, pp 1-14
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Summary
Psychological assessment in South Africa is a controversial topic primarily, but not exclusively, because of its links to South Africa's troubled past. The history of South Africa is a chequered one, characterised by ethnic and racial interaction, integration and conflict (Heuchert, Parker, Stumpf & Myburgh, 2000). The tribal groups that occupied the country prior to the arrival of white settlers in 1650 followed patterns of merging and splitting that were similar to those in most other parts of the world. Some groups were formed voluntarily and others by conquest and subjugation. In 1652, the ancestors of present-day Afrikaansspeaking South Africans arrived. They were originally mainly of Dutch ancestry, and later also of German and French ancestry. Slaves from the former Dutch colonies in the East (mainly the territories now forming part of Malaysia) were also brought to the Cape at this time. In 1834 all slaves were emancipated. Around the same time a common language developed amongst the groups in the Cape consisting of a mixture of words from the Malay, Khoisan, Portuguese, French and Bantu languages, but with Dutch as a base. Towards the late 19th century this language was recognised as Afrikaans. Although the former slaves spoke the same language (Afrikaans) as the white settlers, after 1948 they were separated into two groups based on skin colour – namely, white Afrikaners and coloured Afrikaners. The other main white group in South Africa consisted of English-speaking South Africans who arrived in the early 1800s with the aim of ‘settling the frontier’ (Heuchert et al., 2000, p.113).
In the 1860s, British settlers recruited indentured labourers from India primarily to man the sugar, tea and coffee plantations in the Natal region. These labourers were promised good wages and the right to settle as free men after five years. The failure to implement the freedom policies for Indians led to Gandhi forming the Natal Indian Congress, the first mass political organisation in South Africa. At the same time, members of the Indian merchant class also came to South Africa and were instrumental in setting up trade in the then Transvaal region of the country.
21 - The Millon Inventories in South Africa
- from Section Two - Personality and projective tests: conceptual and practical applications
- Edited by Sumaya Laher, Kate Cockcroft
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- Book:
- Psychological Assessment in South Africa
- Published by:
- Wits University Press
- Published online:
- 21 April 2018
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2013, pp 292-306
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Summary
Theodore Millon (1969; 1991; 1994; 1996b; 2010) argues that predominant theories of personality tend to focus primarily on either the intrapsychic, interpersonal, environmental or biological aspects involved in personality development. Instruments, particularly objective, self-report questionnaires, are then developed in relation to these theories to assess personality. However, personality is more than just intrapsychic or interpersonal factors.
Millon attempts to combine the intrapsychic, cognitive and interpersonal spheres in his theory. He also acknowledges that an integrated approach needs to go beyond psychology if it is to be truly holistic (Millon, 1996b). In keeping with this argument, he borrows from evolutionary biology to develop his biopsychosocial evolutionary theory of personality, which underpins a number of instruments developed under the Millon umbrella.
The Millon family of instruments consists of pre-adolescent, adolescent, adult and medical patient inventories. The Millon Pre-Adolescent Clinical Inventory (M-PACI) is a comprehensive clinical tool that is designed to quickly and accurately identify psychological problems in children between the ages of 9 and 12. Unlike other instruments that focus on single clinical areas such as depression or anxiety, the M-PACI provides a synthesis of the child's emerging personality style and clinical syndrome, and can assist with early intervention (Millon, 2010). The Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI) is a measure that assesses eight personality style dimensions, expressed concerns and behavioural correlates in normal adolescents aged 13 to 18 years (Millon, 2010). The Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) was developed specifically for use in regard to diagnostic assistance, treatment formulation and outcome measure in the clinical setting, and is used primarily for the evaluation of adolescents with difficulties. The MACI supplements the MAPI in providing a more holistic picture of the adolescent's personality type and clinical difficulties that he or she may be experiencing (Millon, 2010).
The Millon Inventories also include the Millon College Counselling Inventory (MCCI), Millon Behavioural Medicine Diagnostic (MBMD) and Personality Adjective Check List (PACL). The MCCI is an assessment tool that can help address students’ concerns and student-specific issues such as depression, stress, anxiety, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and adjustment and relationship difficulties (Millon, 2010).
36 - Current and future trends in psychological assessment in South Africa: challenges and opportunities
- from Section Three - Assessment approaches and methodologies
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- By S. Laher, University of the Witwatersrand, K. Cockcroft, University of the Witwatersrand
- Edited by Sumaya Laher, Kate Cockcroft
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- Book:
- Psychological Assessment in South Africa
- Published by:
- Wits University Press
- Published online:
- 21 April 2018
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2013, pp 535-552
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Summary
In the last 20 years, with the advent of a new democratic political dispensation, the field of psychological assessment in South Africa has developed in many ways. Most notable have been the influx of international tests and the Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998). This Act was specifically promulgated to recognise that as a result of apartheid and other discriminatory laws and practices, there are disparities in employment, occupation and income in the labour market which have created such pronounced disadvantages for certain categories of people that they cannot be addressed by simply repealing discriminatory laws. Hence, the Employment Equity Act proposes a number of actions, the most prominent being that of affirmative action, to address the broader inequalities that exist in the workplace in South Africa. The Act also states that all psychological instruments used on South Africans should be reliable, valid, unbiased and fair for all groups in the country. This is a novel approach to legislation, since internationally the governance of psychological testing generally falls under the auspices of the psychological registration bodies. The promulgation of this legislation has led to increased ‘conscientisation’ of researchers, practitioners and the public. As a consequence, validation studies of the types discussed by Milner, Donald and Thatcher in chapter 33 of this volume have been undertaken. A number of private companies and institutions have also started using only those tests that are supported by a solid body of empirical research. However, a number of challenges remain. Rather than viewing each as an insurmountable obstacle, we attempt in this chapter to present them as challenges to be overcome, each giving rise to a unique set of opportunities.
Policy implications of the Employment Equity Act
Although the majority of practitioners are using tests ethically and responsibly, there is no active control mechanism to manage this effectively. The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has a Psychometrics Committee under the Professional Board for Psychology. The Psychometrics Committee has a mandate to evaluate tests to determine whether they are reliable, valid and fair before registering them for use in the country.
18 - The NEO-PI-R in South Africa
- from Section Two - Personality and projective tests: conceptual and practical applications
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- By S. Laher, University of the Witwatersrand
- Edited by Sumaya Laher, Kate Cockcroft
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- Book:
- Psychological Assessment in South Africa
- Published by:
- Wits University Press
- Published online:
- 21 April 2018
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2013, pp 257-269
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Summary
The first edition of the Neuroticism–Extraversion–Openness Inventory (NEO-I) was published in 1978. The NEO-I consisted of 3 domain scales (Neuroticism, Extraversion and Openness to Experience) and 18 facet scales. In 1983, 18 item domain scales measuring Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were added, and around 1985 a revised version was produced, the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI). The next revision occurred in the late 1980s and was published in 1990 as the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). In 1990, the facet scales for Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were completed and 10 items in the original NEO were modified. The 30 facet scales of the NEO-PI-R were chosen to represent constructs frequently identified in the psychological literature that embody important distinctions in each of the 5 domains (Costa & McCrae, 1992). At this time another instrument was created, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Most recently the NEO-Personality Inventory-ÿ3 (NEO-PI-3) has been released.
The NEO-PI-R is based on the idea that personality traits are arranged in hierarchies from very broad to very narrow, and that both highly general (domain) and relatively specific (facet) traits should be assessed. The constructs measured by the NEO-PI-R are not original discoveries and were not intended as such. Rather, the developers searched the available psychological literature to identify traits and dispositions that were important to personality theorists, that were represented as trait terms in the natural English language and that appeared in personality research literature. Items were then developed to tap those constructs. Costa and McCrae (1992) employed a modified rational approach to scale construction. Although item analyses began with a pool of items constructed rationally, final item selection was based on extensive item analyses using factor analytic techniques.
The NEO-PI-R
The NEO-PI-R is a self-report instrument consisting of 240 items and requiring approximately 45 minutes to complete. It is available in two forms: Form S, which is an instrument for self-rating, and Form R, which is used for rating someone else.