LEARNING GUIDE

HISTORY, CULTURAL, LEGAL ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND ISSUES

Prepared by:
Cabale, Nestley Luz L.
Calumba, Maria Bianca Ramona
Dael, VJ Laurice B.
Dela Cerna, Kate Mikhaela F.
Ecat, Queen Ann E.
Gargar, John Paul M.
Geniebla, Kyla Cabrini
Hitoro, Melude Heart
Jamandron, Kyn

Submitted to:
Annie Rose S. Taguba, RGC, RPm.
Instructor

In partial fulfillment for

PSYCH 300 Psychological Assessment
 HISTORY, CULTURAL, LEGAL ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND ISSUES
I. History

1. The Origins of Psychological Testing

a. Rudimentary Forms of Testing in China in 2200 b.c.

● Rudimentary forms of testing date back to at least 2200 b.c. The Chinese Emperor
initiates examinations to evaluate officials every third year, to determine their fitness for
office. These early examinations focused on various topics.
● 2nd Century BC - 2nd Century AD (Han Dynasty): Written exams were introduced
during the Han Dynasty, testing candidates on five major topics: civil law, military
affairs, agriculture, revenue, and geography.
● 1370 AD: The Chinese examination system underwent significant changes, emphasizing
proficiency in the Confucian classics.
● Preliminary Examination: Candidates were required to spend a day and night in
isolated booths, composing essays and poems on assigned topics. Only 1 to 7 percent of
candidates who passed moved on to the next stage.
● District Examinations: Those who passed the preliminary exams faced grueling district
examinations.
● Final Round in Peking: The top 1 to 10 percent of candidates from the district
examinations were allowed to proceed to Peking for the final round of examinations.
● 1906: the Chinese Imperial Examination System was abolished by royal decree.

b. Physiognomy, Phrenology, and the Psychograph

● Physiognomy is the practice of assessing a person's character, personality, or abilities
based on their facial features or physical appearance. While it has a long history, modern
science largely dismisses physiognomy as a pseudoscience with no empirical basis.
● Phrenology is a now-discredited theory that suggests a person's personality traits and
mental abilities can be determined by examining the bumps and contours of their skull.
● Johann Spurzheim (1776–1832), a disciple of Gall, popularized phrenology.
● In 1931, Henry C. Lavery, developed his machine known as the psychograph (McCoy,
2000). It consisted of hundreds of moving parts assembled in a large helmet-like device
fitted over the examinee’s head.

c. The Brass Instruments Era of Testing

● historical period (early to mid 20th century) during which standardized tests and
assessment tools primarily focused on using objective, quantifiable measures.
● used assorted brass instruments to measure sensory thresholds and reaction times,
thinking that such abilities were at the heart of intelligence.
d. Rating Scales and Their Origins

● Rating scales are widely used in psychology as a means of quantifying subjective

psychological variables of many kinds. An example for that is a Likert Scale.

● According to McReynolds and Ludwig (1984), the first person to devise and apply rating
scales for psychological variables was Christian Thomasius (1655–1728).

e. Changing Conceptions of Mental Retardation in the 1800s

● there was often little differentiation between individuals with intellectual disabilities and
those with mental illnesses. People with such conditions were often stigmatized and
isolated from society.
● 1800s – Two French doctors, J. E. D. Esquirol and O. E. Seguin played important roles in
changing how people viewed mental retardation.
● Around this time, a more compassionate attitude towards people with mental and
psychological disabilities emerged.

f. Influence of Binet’s Early Research on his Test

● Alfred Binet (1857–1911) invented the first modern intelligence test in 1905.
● Binet’s professional path paralleled that of Sigmund Freud, who also studied hysteria
under Charcot.
● His early research made an influence and laid the foundation for the modern
understanding and assessment of intelligence.

g. Binet and Testing for Higher Mental Processes

● 1896, Binet and Victor Henri, published a pivotal review of German and American work
on individual differences.
● They had attempted to improve the diagnosis of mental retardation by using a battery of
assessments in 20 areas such as spoken language; knowledge of parts of the body;
obedience to simple commands; naming common objects; and ability to read, write, and
do simple arithmetic.
 ● The 30 tests on the 1905 scale ranged from utterly simple sensory tests to quite complex
verbal abstractions. Thus, the scale was appropriate for assessing the entire gamut of
intelligence—from severe mental retardation to high levels of giftedness.

The 1905 Scale (Binet-Simon Scale)

The Binet-Simon Scale aimed to evaluate a child's intelligence and cognitive skills by using a set
of progressively challenging tasks and questions. Its primary purpose was to spot children
requiring additional educational assistance or those not progressing intellectually as expected for
their age.

h. The Revised Scales and the Advent of IQ

● The first IQ test, created by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon, measured a child's mental
age in relation to their chronological age.
● The introduction of the idea of mental level was the main innovation of the 1908 scale.
About 300 healthy kids between the ages of 3 and 13 have taken the standardised
examinations. As a result, Binet and Simon were able to arrange the examinations in the
sequence of age groups where they were generally passed.

2. Testing from the Early 1900s to the Present

a. Early Uses and Abuses of Tests in the United States

First Translation of the Binet-Simon Scale
● Goddard (1910b) evaluated 378 Vineland institution inhabitants and divided them into
groups according to their diagnoses and mental ages. He labeled 73 inhabitants as idiots
because they had a mental age of two years or less, 205 residents as imbeciles because
they had a mental age of three to seven, and 100 residents as feebleminded because they
had a mental age of eight to twelve.
● In fact, Goddard added to the field by developing the diagnostic term "moron."
 The Binet-Simon and Immigration
● In 1910 The immigration commissioner invited Goddard to Ellis Island in order to
improve the accuracy of the immigration test.
● According to him, there was insufficient information available, and beliefs regarding
excessive numbers of immigrants with mental impairments were "grossly overestimated"
(Goddard, 1912).
● He described the numbers of immigrants with mental impairments as "alarming," but he
dissented from the widespread clamor for immigration restrictions (Gelb, 1986).
● In small samples of immigrants (22 to 50), his assistants discovered that 83 percent of
Jews, 80 percent Hungarians, 79 percent Italians, and 87 percent Russians were
feebleminded, or scored below 12 on the Binet-Simon scales (Goddard, 1917).
● Goddard (1928) reversed his position after the harm was done and his publications had
contributed to immigration restrictions, claiming that the feeblemindedness did not
require segregation and that their condition was not incurable.

Testing for Giftedness: Leta Stetter Hollingworth

● Leta Stetter Hollingworth (1886– 1939) who spent her short career focusing on the
psychology of genius.
● Hollingworth (1928) demonstrated that children of high genius showed significantly
greater school achievement than those of mere ordinary genius.
● She dispelled the belief, common at the time, that gifted children should not be moved
ahead in school because they would lag behind older children in penmanship and other
motor skills (Hollingworth & Monahan, 1926).
● She found that highly gifted adolescents were judged by total strangers to be significantly
better looking than matched controls of the same age (Hollingworth, 1935).

The Stanford-Binet: The Early Mainstay of IQ

● Despite the fact that Goddard was the one who first translated the Binet scales into
English in the United States, Stanford professor Lewis M. Terman (1857–1956) is
credited with popularizing IQ testing through his version of the Binet.

a. Group Tests and the Classification of WWI Army Recruits

● Among the first to develop group tests was Pyle (1913), who published schoolchildren's
norms for a battery consisting of such well-worn measures as memory span, digit-symbol
substitution, and oral word association.
● Pintner (1917) revised and expanded Pyle’s battery, adding to it a timed cancellation test
in which the child crossed out the letter wherever it appeared in a body of text.
● The slow pace of developments in group testing picked up dramatically as the United
States entered World War I in 1917.
 ● Robert M. Yerkes, a well-known psychology professor at Harvard, convinced the U.S.
government and the Army that all of its 1.75 million recruits should be given intelligence
tests for purposes of classification and assignment (Yerkes, 1919).

b. Early Educational Testing

● The National Research Council, a government group of scientists, developed the National
Intelligence Test, which was ultimately administered to 7 million youngsters in the
United States throughout the 1920s, to name just one specific result of the Army testing.
● The College Board made the decision to create a test of scholastic aptitude for use in
college admissions in 1925 (Goslin, 1963).
● In the 1930s, the introduction of automated scoring increased the effectiveness of
objective group assessments. The Scholastic Assessment assessments, formerly known as
the Scholastic Aptitude Tests, were among the assessments that later developed into the
current College Board exams.
● A contemporary version of the Stanford Achievement Test (SAchT), which was first
released in 1923, is still widely used today.
Sample Items from the Army Alpha Examination

The Blackboard Demonstrations for All Eight Parts of the Beta Examination
c. The Development of Aptitude Tests
● The statistical issue was that a new method, factor analysis, was frequently required to
determine which aptitudes were primary and, consequently, unique from one another.
● Spearman (1904) had begun research on this issue, but it wasn't until the 1930s
(Spearman, 1927; Kelley, 1928; Thurstone, 1938) that it was further developed.
● Permitting Thurstone to draw the conclusion that there were certain components of
primary mental capacity, such as verbal comprehension, word fluency, number capability,
spatial ability, associative memory, perceptual quickness, and general reasoning
(Thurstone, 1938; Thurstone & Thurstone, 1941).

d. Personality and Vocational Testing after WWI

● Virtually all the modern personality inventories, schedules, and questionnaires owe a debt
to Woodworth’s Personal Data Sheet (1919).
● The next major development was an inventory of neurosis, the Thurstone Personality
Schedule (Thurstone & Thurstone, 1930).
● From the Thurstone test sprang the Bernreuter Personality Inventory (Bernreuter, 1931).
It was a little more refined than its Thurstone predecessor, measuring four personality
dimensions: neurotic tendency, self-sufficiency, introversion, extroversion, and
dominance-submission.

e. The Origins of Projective Testing

● The word association method developed by Francis Galton in the late 1800s served as the
inspiration for the projective approach.
● According to some historians, Galton's 1879 work in the journal Brain may have even
been the inspiration for Freud's use of free association as a therapeutic method in
psychoanalysis (Forrest, 1974).
● Galton's research was carried on in Germany by Wundt and Kraepelin before being
completed by Jung (1910).
● Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922), a young Swiss psychiatrist, was creating an entirely
new method for examining personality.
● The TAT, or Thematic Apperception Test, was created as a tool to analyze normal
personality. Rorschach's test was initially created to disclose the deepest thoughts of the
abnormal subject.
● Murray (1938) thought that the stories' contents would disclose fundamental personality
demands, such as the urge for achievement.
● Goodenough (1926), who used an analysis of children's paintings to gauge not just their
intellectual development but also their interests and personality qualities.
● A little more regimented and standardized, Tree-Person asked the participant to sketch a
house, a tree, and a person. The logical progression from Machover's earlier work was
Personality Projection in the Drawing of the Human Figure (1949).
 ● Swiss psychiatrist Lipot Szondi, who was of Hungarian descent, held that recessive genes
were to blame for the majority of psychiatric problems.
● The test was brought to the United States by Deri (1949), who altered the justification.

f. The Development of Interest Inventories

● Yoakum created a collection of 1,000 things in 1919–1920 that covered interests from
early childhood through early adulthood (DuBois, 1970).
● By adding more items, contrasting responses from three criterion groups (doctors,
engineers, and attorneys) with control groups of nonprofessionals, and creating a
weighting formula for items, Cowdery (1926–1927) improved and refined earlier work
on the Carnegie instrument.
● Cowdery's test was improved by Edward K. Strong (1884–1963), who also spent 36 years
creating empirical keys for the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB), the modified
test.
● One of the most frequently utilized exams ever is the SVIB (Strong, 1927).

g. The Emergence of Structured Personality Tests

Carnegie Interest Inventory
● 1912 Thorndike’s study of developmental trends in the interests of 100 college students.
● 1919–1920 Yoakum developed a pool of 1,000 items relating to interests from childhood
through early maturity.
● 1926–1927 Cowdery enhanced the Carnegie instrument by increasing item count,
comparing responses from professionals with nonprofessionals, and developing a
weighting formula for improved results. [professionals; doctors, engineers, lawyers
versus nonprofessionals]
○ He is the first psychometrician to realize the importance of cross validation.
○ He tested his new scales on medical professionals, engineers, and attorneys to
confirm legitimate group differences, rather than capitalizations on mistake
variance.
● 1884–1963 Edward K. Strong developed the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB), a
36-year-long modification of Cowdery's test, to create empirical keys for various
professions.
○ Its modern version, the Strong Interest Inventory, is still widely used by guidance
counselors.
SVIB competition:
● The Kuder Preference Record
Difference to SVIB;
1. forcing choices within triads of items.
 2. Ipsative test (compared the relative strength of interests within the
individual, rather than comparing his or her responses to various
professional groups)
Recent Revisions;
1. Kuder General Interest Survey
2. Kuder Occupational Interest Survey
h. The Expansion and Proliferation of Testing
● Increased both in one on one to group testing.
● Group testing such as;
○ educational assessment
○ entry to college and graduate school
○ certification in the professions also continues to expand.

i. Evidence-Based Practice and Outcomes Assessment

● Evidence-based practice is an important trend in health care, education, and other fields.
● Evidence-based movement to evidence-based psychological practice (EBPP)
● Outcome Rating Scale (ORS, Miller & Duncan, 2000), an index of a patient’s current
functioning.

3. History of Various Psychological Assessments

a. The Assessment Interview
Early Developments
Interview Styles:
● clinical interviewing (question-and-answer medical formats)
● psychoanalytic oriented interview (more open-ended, free-flowing style)
● mental status examination ( more structured and goal-oriented mental status
examination)
Assessed Areas;
1. general appearance,
2. behavior, thought processes,
3. thought content,
4. memory, attention,
5. speech,
6. insight,
7. judgment
Also in;
● the relationship between biographical data and the prediction of
occupational success or prognosis for specific disorders.
 Objectives Limitations

● to obtain a psychological portrait of unstructured interviews;

the person.
● to conceptualize what is causing the ● questionable reliability
person’s current difficulties. ● validity
● to make a diagnosis, and to formulate ● cost-effectiveness
a treatment plan.

Developments during the 1940s and 1950s

Critical Dimensions of Interviews:
1. Content versus process.
2. Goal orientation (problem solving) versus expressive elements.
3. Degree of directiveness.
4. Amount of structure.
5. The relative amount of activity expressed by the participants.

Nondirective versus Directive Approach

Nondirective
● Creates favorable changes and self exploration in clients.
Directive - by using persuasion, interpretation, and interviewer judgments
● Defensive and resistant to expressing difficulties.

Strupp’s (1958) investigation

● experienced interviewers expressed more warmth, a greater level of activity, and a
greater number of interpretations, empathy did not alter regardless of its experience.
Porter’s (1950) studies
● in-depth evaluation of the effects of different types of responses (evaluative, probing,
reassuring).
R. Wagner’s (1949) review
● questioned the reliability and validity of employment interviews.

Developments during the 1960s

Research stimulated by Rogers
● Carl Rogers (1961) - emphasized understanding the proper interpersonal ingredients
necessary for an optimal therapeutic relationship (warmth, positive regard, genuineness).
● Truax and Carkhuff (1967) - developed a five-point scale to measure interviewer
understanding of the client.
○ Used for research interviewing, therapist training, and as support for a
client-centered theoretical orientation.
 ● Matarazzo (1965), Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson (1966) - conceptualized interviewing
as an interactive system in which the participants simultaneously influenced each other.
○ Beier’s (1966) - conceptualization of unconscious processes being expressed
through nonverbal behaviors that could then be subject to covert social
reinforcement.

Developments during the 1970s

● More elaborate and developed of the 1960s trends
Assessment Categorization
Kanfer and Grimm (1977) Lazarus (1973) BASIC-ID

1. Behavioral deficiencies. ○ (B) behavior

2. Behavioral excesses. ○ (A) affect
3. Inappropriate environmental ○ (S) sensation
stimulus control. ○ (I) imagery
4. Inappropriate self-generated ○ ( C) cognition
stimulus. ○ (I) interpersonal relations
5. Problem reinforcement ○ (D) need for pharmacological
contingencies. intervention/drugs
● Biographical data to predict future behaviors and to interfere current traits.
● Online computer technology to collect biographical data and to integrate it with test
results (1977)
● DSM is considered irrelevant

Developments during the 1980s

● A lot of adaptations happened including DSM-III (1980) and DSM-III-R (1987)
● Computer based programs are used for interpretation (Groth-Marnat & Schumaker, 1989)
● Interviewing even replaced by computer, such as;
○ DIANO III (Spitzer, Endicott, & Cohen, 1974)
○ CATEGO (Wing, Cooper, & Sartorius, 1974)

The 1990s and Beyond

Two Defining Features of Psychology of the 1990s
1. Managed Health Care – emphasized the cost-effectiveness of providing health
services; and for interviewing, this means developing the required information in
the least amount of time.
2. The Controversy Over Repressed Memories – forced interviewers to clarify the
extent to which the information they derive from clients represents literal as
opposed to narrative truth.
 b. Behavioral Assessment
● 1928 – First formal use of behavioral assessment in industrial and organizational
settings.
● Mid to late 1960s – Popular in clinical context
● 1970s – The period where much greater emphasis and on a wider approach.
● 1980s and 1990s – It underwent a significant reevaluation of its fundamental premises
and the incorporation of ideas from other traditions and disciplines.

c.Wechsler Intelligence Scales

● David Wechsler, first Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale (1939)
● Made it into an adult scale
● Revised it up to 4th revision (1997)
● He made a scale for children, Wechsler-Bellevue Scale for Children (1949)
● Revised up to 3rd revision (1991)
● An extension of WISC, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI)
(1967)
● Revised up to 3rd revision (2002)

d. Wechsler Memory Scales

Contains 4 editions that shows increased incorporation of recent advancmenets in theoretical
understanding of memory:
1. (1945) Original Wexhsler Memory Scale [WMS]
Reflected the earlier nonspecific conceptualizations of memory, composed of brief procedures
for number sequences, recalling a story, simple visual designs, and paired words.
Limitations:
● Unsophisticated methods of scoring the various procedures;
● Algorithms to determine the Memory Quotient were overly simple; did not consider
suf!cient number of client variables;
● Did not reflect advances in knowledge related to memory processes.
 2. (1987) Wechsler Memory Scales-Revised [WMS-R]
Version by The Psychological Corporation Version by Russell

Improvement:
● Had age-related norms for nine (instead of
one) different age groups (16 to 17 years
youngest; 70 to 74 years oldest)
● Had 12 subtests from which five (5)
composite scores could be derived:
General Memory
Attention-Concentration
Verbal Memory
Visual Memory
Delayed Recall.
● Reliability: low - adequate
Validity: good - adequate
Improvement:
Supported the predicted difference between
left-hemisphere (relatively lowered auditory
recall based on Logical Memory) and
right-hemisphere (relatively lowered visual
reproduction based on Visual Reproduction).
Limitations:
Psychometrics were weak and the test was
poorly standardized.

Limitations:
● Relatively low reliabilities of subtests and
indexes significantly reducing the accuracy
of measurements.
● Does not use current theories of memory

3. (1997) Wechsler Memory Scale - Third Edition [WMS-III]

Developed together with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale [WAIS-III], allowing them to be
conormed.
Improvements:
● Had thirteen (instead of nine) groups
● Higher age range (89 instead of 74)
● Six primary and Five optional subtests
Limitations:
● Equivocal factor structure
● Long testing time for older adults
● Subtest overlap with the WAIS-III
● Specific problems with some of the subtests

4. (2009) Wechsler Memory Scale - Fourth Edition [WMS-IV] — current version

Improvements:
● Organized the indexes according to a clear factor structure
● Tried to reduce the administration time
● Eliminated the subtest overlap with the WAIS-IV
● Eliminated some of the problematic subtests
● Increasing the score ranges
● Focusing on visual working memory tasks

e. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (1939)

● The most important approach was empirical criterion keying.
● Began with an original item pool of more than 1,000 statements derived from a variety
of different sources, including previously developed scales of personal and social
attitudes, clinical reports, case histories, psychiatric interviewing manuals, and personal
clinical experience.
● After eliminations and modifications, the result was 504 statements considered to be
clear, readable, not duplicated, and balanced between positive and negative wording.

f. Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory

● Millon–Illinois Self-Report Inventory (1972
● Coordinated with disorders into DSM-II
● Of 3,500 items derived from Millon’s (1969) theories. These were then rationally
grouped into 20 different scales.

g. California Psychological Inventory

● To assess enduring interpersonal personality characteristics in a normal population.
● Initial 15 scales appeared in 1951.
● A completed set of 18 scales was published by Consulting Psychologists Press year 1957.
● It was further revised in 1987 and two new scales (Empathy and Independence) were
included, bringing the total number of scales to 20.

h. The Rorschach
● Inkblot-type tests and games had existed long before Rorschach published his original 10
cards in 1921.
● Rorschach died at age 37, shortly after the publication of his major work,
Psychodiagnostik (1921/1941).
● His work was continued to a limited extent by three of his colleagues—Emil Oberholzer,
George Roeurer, and Walter Morgenthaler.

i. Thematic Apperception Test

● 1935 article by Christina Morgan and Henry Murray but was more fully elaborated in
1938 and 1943 (Gieser & Stein, 1999).
 ● Administrators were instructed to give all 20 cards in a given sequence in two separate
sessions, which, in total, could last up to two hours.

I. Issues Regarding Culture and Assessment

a. Culture and Assessment
- Culture in psychology focuses on understanding how culture influences an
individual's mental structure and aims to increase cultural diversity to
develop psychological states and evaluate theories through observations.
Then, assessment in psychology uses various techniques to test theories ,
hypotheses and character traits to understand an individual’s core
psychology.

For example: an individual who speaks a language other than English and who
also believes in a different mainstream culture apart from English culture will
have different assessment.

b. Major Goal of Culture and Assessment

- The basic and primary goal of cultural psychology is to increase the
varieties of different cultures that help develop certain psychological
states of any person. It can also help in the evaluation of theories by
observation. In the case of Assessment in psychology, any individual's
weaknesses and strengths are considered with certain hypotheses and
theories. These traits, emotional reactivity, and cognitive issues are also
gathered.
For example :
-Laws
-Custom
-Social Standard
-Traditions
-Dress
-Architectural Style

c. Relationship between Culture and Assessment

- Studies and observations have shown that culture shapes and sizes a
person's thought processes, psychological well-being, and psychology.
Assessment is a tool for identifying human behavior hypotheses and their
strengths and weaknesses. The individual's response to the carried test
items is frequently influenced and biased by cultural factors (Assessment).
As a result, the reports and outcomes of the assessment are primarily
shaped and driven by psychological factors related to culture. With the
 help of culture and testing in the form of assessment, past experiences, and
background are gathered from the same individual culture.

d. Issues of Assessment and Communication

● Verbal Communication
- Language, the means by which information is communicated, is a
key yet sometimes overlooked variable in the assessment process.
Most obviously, the examiner and the examinee must speak the
same language. This is necessary not only for the assessment to
proceed but also for the assessor’s conclusions regarding the
assessment to be reasonably accurate. If a test is in written form
and includes written instructions, then the test taker must be able to
read and comprehend what is written.

For example is when the language in which the assessment is conducted is

not the assessee’s primary language, he or she may not fully comprehend
the instructions or the test items.

● Nonverbal Communication and Behavior

- Messages can be conveyed through facial expressions, finger and
hand signals, as well as by shifting one's position in space.
Naturally, such body language's messages may vary from culture to
culture. For instance, in American culture, speaking to someone
without making eye contact with them can be interpreted as
dishonest or having a secret. However, in some cultures, speaking
without looking someone in the eye is a sign of respect.

- In the field of mental health, some theories and systems go beyond

more conventional interpretations of body language. For instance,
many nonverbal acts are given symbolic meaning in
psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud's theory of personality, and
psychological therapy. A psychoanalytic viewpoint might suggest
that an interviewee's fidgeting with a wedding band during the
interview is a sign of an unstable marriage.

- There are many facets of nonverbal behaviour that are influenced

by culture. When verbally examined, a child might, for instance,
appear noncommunicative and have only basic language skills.
The child may have come from a society where elders are
respected and where children only speak to adults when they are
 spoken to—and even then, only in the briefest possible phrase. It
goes without saying that test takers must be familiar with the
cultural facets of an assessee that are important to the assessment.

e. The Cultural Test Bias Hypothesis

- Bias can occur when the content, format, or context of a test favors
one cultural group over another, leading to unfair and inaccurate
assessments. Cultural test bias can result from various factors
including language barriers, cultural references and societal norms
embedded in the test questions. Addressing cultural bias is
important to ensure equitable opportunities and outcomes whether
in employment, education, and or organization.

● Cultural Stereotypes - some assessments may unintentionally perpetuate

stereotypes about certain cultural groups.

● Cultural differences in Learning Styles - assessments that do not account

on the variation of the different learning styles within culture may not
accurately measure a person’s abilities.
● Cultural Difference in Knowledge - assessments may inadvertently
assume a certain level of cultural knowledge, disadvantaging those from a
different cultural backgrounds.

f. Standards of Evaluation
- Test designers strive to minimize cultural bias to ensure that
assessments are fair and can provide accuracy in the skills or
abilities intended to evaluate. Standardized IQ test may include
questions that may include questions that assume knowledge of
specific cultural references or experiences that are more familiar to
one cultural group to another. Language proficiency tests may
favor individuals who speak particular dialect or variety of
language over others. Reading comprehension tests may contain
content related to culturally specific topics. Aptitude tests may
indirectly reflect socioeconomic status. Even personality
assessments can exhibit bias if they include questions that are more
of a characteristic of one culture ‘s personality traits than another
and this could lead to misinterpretation of an individual’s
personality.

II. Legal and Ethical Considerations

1. Declaration of Principles
a. Principle 1- Respect for Dignity of Persons and Peoples
- respect for the customs and beliefs of cultures, to be limited
only when a custom or a belief seriously contravenes the
principle of respect for the dignity of persons or peoples or
causes serious harm to their well-being
b. Principle 2- Competent Caring for the Well- Being of Persons and
People
- Involves working for their benefit and, above all, doing no
harm.
- Maximizing benefits, minimizing potential harm.
c. Principle 3- Integrity
- It includes recognizing, monitoring, reporting, and
managing potential biases, multiple relationships, and other
conflicts of interest that could result in harm and
exploitation of persons or peoples.
d. Principle 4- Professional and Scientific
- The discipline’s responsibility to increase scientific and
professional knowledge in ways that allow the promotion
of the well-being of society and all its members
-
2. General Ethical Standards and Procedures
a. Resolving Ethical Issues
● Misuse of the Psychology Professional’sWorks
● Conflicts between Ethics and Law, Regulations or other
Governing Legal Authority
● Conflicts between Ethics and Organizational DemandsV
● Informal Resolution of Ethical Violations
● Improper Complaints
- Refrain from filing improper complaints

● Unfair Discrimination Against Complaints and Respondents

- Don’t discriminate by denying them employment,
advancement, admissions to academics, or promotion.
- Does not rule out taking appropriate actions based on
outcomes of proceedings

b. Competencies
● Boundaries of Competence
 - Republic Act 10029 (The Philippine Psychology Act of
2009) states that only licensed and registered psychologists
and psychometricians are legally allowed to practice their
profession.

-We shall provide services, teach, and conduct research with

persons/people in areas within the boundaries of our
competence.
● Providing Services in Emergencies
- We shall make available our services in emergency
situations to individuals for whom the necessary mental
health services are not available to ensure these individuals
are not deprived of the emergency services they require at
that time.

● Maintaining Competence
- We shall regularly engage in Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) activities to ensure our services
remain relevant and applicable.
- The accumulation of a prescribed number or CPD points
shall be necessary for the renewal of one’s professional
license

● Personal Problems and Conflict

- We shall refrain from initiating an activity when we know
or anticipate that our personal problems will prevent us
from performing work-related activities in a competent
manner.
- We shall take appropriate measures, such as obtaining
professional consultation or assistance to determine
whether we should limit,or suspend these work-related
duties.

c. Human Relations
● Unfair Discrimination
- No discrimination on any basis proscribed by law

● Sexual Harassment
● Avoiding Harm
● Multiple Relationships
 - Refrain from entering multiple relationships if it could
reasonably impair our effectiveness in performing our
functions.
- When we shall be required by law,to serve in more than one
role in administrative proceedings,we shall inform the
authorities about our Code of Ethics, to clarify role
expectations and extent of confidentiality and thereafter as
changes occur

● Conflict of Interest
● Informed Consent
- We shall obtain the informed consent of the individual or
group before conducting research or an assessment.

- To provide protection for vulnerable people who are legally

incapable of giving consent, we shall:
a. Provide and appropriate explanation
b. Seek the individual’s assent
c. Consider such person’s best interest
d. Obtain appropriate permission from a legally
authorized person.
-
d. Confidentiality
● Maintaining Confidentiality
● Recording
● Disclosures
- Ensure that confidential information to be disclosed will
not be misused whether intentionally or unintentionally.
- We may disclose confidential information only when the
client or legal representative gives consent.
- We may disclose confidential information only to the
source of referral and with a written permission from the
client if it is self-referral.

● Consultation
- We do not discuss with our colleagues or other
professionals confidential information that could lead to the
identification of the client, unless the client gave consent.
 - When we seek a second opinion from our colleagues or
other professionals, we make sure that the extent to which
we disclose information is limited to what is only needed.

● Use of Confidential Information for Other Purposes

e. Records and Fees
● Documentation and Maintenance of Records
- Facilitate provisions of services.
- Allow for replication and evaluation of research.
- Meet institutional requirements.
- Ensure accuracy of billing and payments.
- Ensure compliance with relevant laws.
● Confidentiality of Records
● Fees and Financial Arrangements
- We do not misrepresent our fees.

f. Assessment
● Bases for Assessment
- The expert opinions that we provide through our
recommendations, reports, and diagnostic or evaluative
statements are based on substantial information and
appropriate assessment techniques
- Test results obtained from tele assessment procedures can
be used as basis for making decisions about clients

● Informed Consent in Assessment

Except when:
a. It is mandated by the law
b. When it is implied such as educational, institutional and
organizational activity

● Assessment Tools
- We judiciously select and administer only those tests which
are pertinent to the reasons for referral and purpose of the
assessment
- We administer assessment tools that are appropriate to the
language, competence and other relevant characteristics of
our client
● Interpreting Assessment Results
 -
Under no circumstances should we report the test results
without taking into consideration the validity, reliability,
and appropriateness of the test.
● Test Security
- Shall be handled by qualified and licensed personnel.
● Test Construction
- Using current scientific findings and knowledge and
standardization procedures.
g. Therapy
● Client’s Well-Being
- We engage in systematic monitoring of our practice and
outcomes using the best available means in order to ensure
the well-being of our clients.
● Relationships
- We maintain a professional relationship with our clients,
avoiding emotional involvement that would be detrimental
for the client’s well-being.
● Record Keeping
● Competent Practice
- We carefully review our own need for continuing need for
professional development and engage in appropriate
educational activities
● Referrals
- In considering referrals, we carefully assess the
appropriateness of the referral, benefits of the referral to the
client and the adequacy of client’s consent for referral.
● Termination
- We terminate therapy when we are quite sure that our client
no longer needs the therapy, is not likely to benefit from
therapy, or would be harmed by continued therapy.

References
Culture and assessment. (n.d.).
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/culture-and-assessment?fbclid=IwAR1NmRLRoLzlV5Y
ViwJp5pIaUqjTVlVaIBtu9jETL04LtTnF8ZKJYat3Spk
Gregory, R. J. (2015). Psychological Testing: History, Principles and Applications, Global
Edition. Pearson Higher Ed.
Groth-Marnat, G., & Wright, A. J. (2016). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. John Wiley
& Sons.