The standards and practices on test development and use vary among countries. Scarce literature exist on these topics on emerging countries. The purpose of this symposium is to inform and discuss the current practices on test use as well as the existing standards for psychological practice on four emerging countries: Brazil, China, India and South Africa. The implications for these standards on the quality of psychological services in different contexts will be presented. Cultural characteristics and socioeconomic characteristics influence the quantity of tests available and impact the training of those who need to utilize assessment to make scientific and reliable decisions

 

Influence of Environment on Innate Personality Type
Parakram Mishra, Surbhi Sarin, Synapsys Mentors Pvt Ltd.

Personality determination is normally done through psychometric tests based on various theories of personality. However, such a determination by psychometric means may be subjective and can reveal only the personality type shaped by experience. .Biometrics is the measurement and statistical analysis of people's physical and behavioral characteristics through the analysis of human body characteristics, such as DNA, fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, voice patterns, facial patterns. The basic premise of biometric authentication is that everyone is unique and an individual can be identified by his or her intrinsic physical or behavioral traits .Psychologists have long debated innatism versus nurture and a comparative study of personality types determined by biometry as well as psychometry reveals a correlation between results of both methodologies. Environmental factors can significantly change the innate personality type of an individual, but the innate personality remains at the core. Biometric and Psychometric tests have been used for this purpose. A number of studies have been conducted on different samples of individuals (from the student, teacher and corporate communities), observing the current personality type (obtained from the psychometric assessment) and the innate personality type (obtained from the biometric assessment). Thereafter, it has been concluded that the deviation from the innate personality type of an individual is due to environmental factors.

The Development of Personality Test in China
Mingjie Zhou, Jianxin Zhang, Chinese Academy of Sciences

In China, the idea of personality measurement scattered in dozens of ancient books, such as the Gentlemen Personality description of Confucius. The qualitative research in personality began in the late 1930s when one of Chinese psychologists, Chuanding Lin, analyzed personality traits of 34 historical figures.  After experiencing a long period of silence subsequently, it was since the 1980s did the personality measurement developed again. It has gone through three stages since then: (1) translation and introduction of western personality measurements. During this stage, Chinese personality psychologists translated some personality scales, such as EPQ and 16PF, and a lot of standardization work was done which make these scales still widely used in current China. (2) the stage of indigenous personality development.. Based on the Chinese traditional culture, some personality constructs as well as its measurements were developed to describe Chinese such as Relationship Orientation (Renqing), Face. Meanwhile, some more comprehensive personality measurements were originated to assess Chinese personality, e.g., Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI), QingNianZhongGuo Personality Assessment (QZPA). (3) the rise of cross-cultural personality measurement. With the increasingly discussion on cultural universal vs. cultural specific issues on personality test, some Chinese psychologist realized the importance of combining emic and etic approach in developing personality scale. It is expected that this kind of cross-cultural personality measurement will play a greater role in the context of globalization.

Standards and their impact on test development in Brazil
Solange Muglia Wechsler, Pontificial Catholic University of Campinas

The definition of standards for test use in Brazil is based on the guidelines established by the International Test Commission as well as the American Psychological Association. These standards were enforced by the Federal Council of Psychology which is the institution that controls the psychologists’ profession in Brazil. Since these standards were defined a national commission of experts examine if tests present validity and reliability evidences, as well as norms for the country. New tests were constructed in the country, and at the same time, foreign tests had to be validated to the Brazilian context. The parameters used in Brazil will be discussed against the growth of test construct and adaption as well as their implications for intellectual and personality assessment.

Emerging trends in the development, control and use of psychological tests in South Africa
Aletta Odendaal, University of Johannesburg

Occupational assessment in South Africa is strongly regulated by employment legislation that guides standards of practice, test use and test development.  In this regard the Employment Equity Act (EEA) prohibits psychological testing and other similar assessment unless it is proved to be valid, reliable and can be applied to all employees and is not biased against any person or group. Practitioners must therefore provide evidence of the quality of measures, the cross-cultural applicability of the measures as well as the appropriateness of norms used.  Recent amendments to the EEA further require that assessments must be certified that they meet minimum psychometric requirements placing additional demands on the test review and classification process. The implications of standards are discussed as well as notable trends and challenges in test development and testing practices within a multi-cultural and multi-lingual context. The paper will further address the transition from dependence on imported measures to test translation and adaptation in order to establish measurement equivalence and the current emphasis on a combined emic-etic approach to test development that integrate indigenous and universal dimensions of culture.