Learning unit 1: Psychological assessment fundamentals

1.1 Introduction

Lesson 1 is about the fundamental knowledge to appreciate the nature and purpose of
psychological assessment, as well as to understand how it has evolved both globally and
within the South African context as a subdiscipline and as part of the applied practice of
Organisational Psychology.

In Lesson 1, you will find the following:

• the relevant learning outcome and assessment criteria that you must be able to
satisfy after having studied Lesson 1
• the reading material that you must study to achieve the learning outcome and
assessment criteria for Lesson 1
• the study guidance explaining the study content and the important topics that are
present in Lesson 1

1.2 Learning outcome and assessment criteria

Learning outcome 1:

Demonstrate knowledge of, and engagement in, industrial psychology-related concepts

and understanding of the development of psychological assessment practice.

Assessment criteria:

o Explain psychological assessment concepts.

o Describe the evolvement of psychological assessment.
o Discuss new trends and developments in industrial psychological
assessment.

1.3 Reading material

Prescribed book: Moerdyk (2022)

o Glossary
o Chapter 1 Introduction to why and how we assess
o Chapter 2 Observation
o Chapter 19 New developments in assessment

Recommended book: Laher and Cockroft (2013)

o Chapter 1 Contextualising psychological assessment in South Africa

o Chapter 9 Dynamic assessment in South Africa

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 o Chapter 35 Large-scale assessment studies in South Africa: trends in
reporting results to schools
o Chapter 36 Current and future trends in psychological assessment in
South Africa: challenges and opportunities

Recommended book: Foxcroft and Roodt (2018)

o Chapter 1 (Overview)

Recommended articles

o Laher, S. & Cockroft, K. (2014). Psychological assessment in post-

apartheid South Africa: the way forward. SA Journal of Psychology, 44(3),
303–314.
o Paterson, H. & Uys, K. (2005). Critical issues in psychological test use in
the South African workplace. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 31(3),
12–22.
o Theron, C. (2007). Confessions, scapegoats and flying pigs: psychometric
testing and the law. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 33(1), 102–117.
o Tippins, N.T. (2009). Internet alternatives to traditional proctored testing:
where are we now? Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2, 2–10.

Industrial and Organisational Psychology glossary (Tutorial Letter 101)

1.4 Study guidance for the contents of Lesson 1

1.4.1 Demonstrate an understanding of psychological assessment concepts.

The basic concepts of psychological assessment were covered in the undergraduate

Psychology modules, including, for example, what psychological assessment entails, and
why it is administered in a work context. As the study field of psychological assessment
is complex, we need to ensure that you have a comprehensive conceptual understanding
of the nature of psychological assessment before you continue with the module. Your
conceptual understanding should include the ability to conceptualise psychological
assessment and to distinguish its meaning from that of related terms. If you can
understand the nature of psychological assessment and the related core concepts in the
field, you will also be able to substantiate the use of assessments (WHY we conduct
assessments) and discuss WHAT we assess. Lastly, when forming a perception of the
nature of psychological assessment, it is important to perceive the process underlying
any assessment (HOW the process is undertaken), since it also highlights various
concepts, like assessment criteria, which you will need to understand when designing an
assessment battery.

1.4.1.1 Important concepts

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 Sources to consult: Study chapter 1 of Moerdyk (2022) and read chapter 1 of Laher
and Cockroft (2013) to gain additional insights into important concepts.

When reflecting on the nature of psychological assessment, Moerdyk (2022) defines

assessment and other related concepts, like psychometrics, assessment, measurement
and evaluation. For example, you should be able to distinguish between psychometric
instruments and psychological assessment as a process.

Sources to consult: Read the articles by Paterson and Uys (2005) and by Laher and
Cockroft (2014) for further clarification.

Numerous concepts that are integral to psychological assessment theory and practice
are often present in the discussions that we hold in IOP4861. Ensure that you understand
each of the concepts concerned, including the levels of measurement in terms of nominal,
ordinal, interval and ratio data. Note that various challenges are associated with
psychological assessment.

1.4.1.2 The purpose of psychological assessment

Sources to consult: Study chapter 1 of Moerdyk (2022) and read chapter 1 of Laher
and Cockroft (2013) to gain additional insights into important concepts.

Psychological assessment consists of more than just the administration of psychological

instruments. Such assessment involves several ways of assessing and evaluating human
behaviour and of identifying potential, to enhance the understanding, description and
prediction of people's work behaviour. Section 1.3 of chapter 1 in Moerdyk (2022)
provides a general overview of the purposes of assessment.

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1.4.1.3 The process of psychological assessment

Source to consult: Chapter 1 of Moerdyk (2022)

Psychological assessment, which entails more than just administering a couple of

psychometric instruments, is a process that entails choosing what competencies (i.e.
inherent requirements) to assess, and then identifying the psychological instruments used
to assess the competencies involved. Choosing what to assess and which instruments to
use is determined by the purpose and the context of the assessment concerned.
Psychological assessment is applied for a specific purpose, within a specific context. We
usually decide to assess people for a specific reason within an organisational or personal
situation. For example, we may want to assess candidates in relation to the specific job
requirements set for selection purposes.

Assessment can be done for career counselling purposes, to determine which career may
best suit a person. Depending on the application purpose of the assessment (e.g. whether
for selection/development/performance appraisal), you’ll need to decide which
instruments to include in the assessment battery. A selection battery may, for example,
include instruments that assess personality, cognitive ability and behaviour. You would
then use the job description to determine the specific criteria that are necessary for
achieving success in a specific post, with the criterion then being measured with the
specific assessment battery chosen. As such, the development of job analysis techniques
is geared towards learning how to describe the contextual purpose of an assessment, by
means of defining the relevant assessment/selection criteria involved. The selection
criteria concerned tend to be based on the job requirements recently referred to as the
job competencies against which people are assessed.

The job requirements or assessment criteria provide the link between WHAT is being
assessed (i.e. the measurement constructs) by means of a psychological instrument and
what is required for a specific (type of) job. Job requirements are determined by means
of doing a job analysis. In terms of the Employment Equity Act (Act 55 of 1998, amended
2014) (EEA), job analysis has become a legal requirement for psychological assessment
in the work context. In IOP4861, you don’t need to know the nature and methods of job
analysis, as such topics fall within the subfield of Personnel Psychology. What is of
importance in this module, however, is understanding the process that underlies
psychological assessment in the work context, with job analysis being an essential step
in the process. Chapter 1 in Moerdyk (2022) provides enough information for you to gain
a clear grasp of the steps to follow in any assessment process, which is of importance in
terms of the material covered in IOP4861.

1.4.1.4 The approaches taken in psychological assessment

Sources to consult: Study chapter 2 of Moerdyk (2022) and read chapter 1 in Foxcroft
and Roodt (2018) and Laher and Cockroft (2013) for additional insights into the issue.

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Most instruments or techniques that we use in psychological assessment are based on a
theoretical rationale that determines: (1) which measurement concepts to emphasise; (2)
how to conduct an assessment; (3) which methods to use for assessment; and (4) how
to interpret our findings. In the psychological disciplines, the assessment of cognition,
personality and behaviour is based on the assumptions of the primary theoretical
paradigms in Psychology, which are generally derived from the main schools of
Psychology and Personality Psychology.

Approaches to, and assumptions made in, assessing cognition

The theories that are used to conceptualise intelligence can be grouped under two
approaches, namely the structural (factor analytic) approach and the cognitive approach.
The structural approach, which is also known as the psychometric approach, merely
describes the structure of intelligence, without explaining the process involved in thinking.
The approach has resulted in the development of the cognitive or information-processing
approach to understanding what the component processes of thinking, problem-solving
and information processing are. The cognitive approach includes several theories,
including Hunt’s cognitive correlates approach; Sternberg’s componential theory;
Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence; and Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences,
as well as emotional intelligence, as proposed by Mayer and Salovey and popularised by
Goleman. Moerdyk (2022) discusses different cognitive theories. For the different
cognitive theories, a thorough discussion of the historical development of cognitive
theories leads to how each theory gave rise to a way of measuring cognition and to the
development of such specific cognitive measures as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale. Moerdyk (2022), however, focuses on specific types of items that are usually
included in measures of intellectual or cognitive ability.

The cognitive approach has broadened our understanding of intelligence to include the
abilities that are evident in daily life, with its emphasis falling on the definition of intelligent
behaviour within personal, cultural and historical contexts. The approach highlights the
importance of assessing potential when people have access to different – and even to
unequal – social and educational opportunities. It also, in turn, has given rise to more
dynamic cognitive theories still, like that of Feuerstein, with the result being the
development of dynamic assessment and of potential assessment. Potential is defined
as the readiness to demonstrate, or to acquire, a competency, with such competency
being assessed through dynamic assessment. South African research has highlighted
the importance of moderating factors that might bias cognitive results. Non-verbal
approaches to cognitive measurement development can be employed to deal with the
effects of language, for example.

Approaches to, and assumptions made in, assessing personality

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Personality leads people to behave in certain ways under different circumstances.
Various theories have been developed over the years to explain what personality entails,
how it develops, and how it explains our behaviour. Currently, we use personality
measures to predict behaviour in the workplace. Different perspectives of personality
have also given rise to the development of a variety of personality theories and measures.
Two different perspectives, namely ideographic and nomothetic, can generally be
identified in all the approaches and theories of personality. The former view emphasises
the uniqueness of the individual, with it focusing on describing a person’s unique
behaviour and preferences, without attempting to compare people to one another or to a
generalised set of personality categories.

The ideographic perspective uses primarily case studies to form an in-depth

understanding of human behaviour, whereas the nomothetic view focuses on describing
people in relation to the assumption that personality characteristics can be classified or
structured into well-defined categories of behaviour, with such characteristics or traits
being common to all people. The nomothetic approach assumes that people behave on
a continuum of behavioural characteristics (for example, between extroversion and
introversion), displaying tendency towards behaviour reflecting either of the poles on the
continuum. Nomothetic approaches, therefore, compare people using self-report
personality questionnaires, factor analysis and other trait-based methods, to determine
the general norms of human behaviour.

Source to consult: Moerdyk (2022) provides a thorough review of different theories of

personality.

The primary psychological approaches/theories, like the psychoanalytic, the humanistic

(including the phenomenological and the existential), need theory and the dimensional,
trait or factor theory/approaches, all use markedly different personality assessment
techniques. Personality measures used in the South African work context are particularly
nomothetic in nature, including the sixteen personality factor (16PF) questionnaire, the
fifteen factor questionnaire plus (15FQ+), the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®)
personality inventory, the basic traits inventory (BTI) and the occupational personality
questionnaire (OPQ). Ideographic measures, which pertain to projective techniques, tend
to be used in clinical and diagnostic settings, so that you do not need to know how to
apply such measures, but just to know about them.

Approaches to, and assumptions made in, behavioural assessment

The competency-based approach to psychological assessment has developed as a

primary method of assessment in organisational settings. Competency-based
assessment is underpinned by the assumption that noticeable behaviour can be
measured, with it being a good predictor of future work performance and of success in
other nonwork social situations. People’s competencies are linked to their ability to
demonstrate behaviour – in the form of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values (KSAV) –
that is required to perform a task successfully in both work and nonwork settings.

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1.4.2 Establish the evolvement of psychological assessment.

Psychological assessment, and particularly cognitive ability assessment, has always

been a contentious issue, less as regards the assessment per se than in terms of the way
that the results obtained have been interpreted and often misused. Several of the
recommended articles provide good background information on the development of
assessment within the South African context.

Foxcroft and Roodt (2018) specifically discuss the evolving developments in the ethical
standards for psychological assessment in South Africa.

Theron (2007) outlines the legal context of, and the nature of the work done by, the
professional bodies responsible for developing psychological studies in South Africa. The
articles mentioned also refer to both current and future matters that require attention
within the South African context.

The recommended book by Laher and Cockroft (2013) covers the development of
psychological instruments in South Africa in depth. In psychological assessment, we
assess different psychological attributes, like personality and cognitive and behavioural
attributes. Such attributes are also known as measurement constructs since they relate
to the various aspects of human behaviour that we can assess. The history of industrial
psychological assessment is further explained in terms of cognitive, personality and
behaviour assessment.

1.4.2.1 The history of cognitive assessment

Historical events have shaped industrial psychological assessment development, with

South Africa having been particularly eventful politically, educationally and socially.
Moerdyk (2022) discusses the history of cognitive assessment in terms of the historical
development of the concept of intelligence. Laher and Cockroft (2013; chapters 9 to 11)
explain how the contribution of early scientists and researchers can be appreciated
largely in the light of some of the more recent trends in cognitive assessment.

1.4.2.2 The history of personality assessment

Moerdyk (2022) discusses the historical development of personality assessment under

the different theories that give rise to personality assessment. Note the challenges
encountered regarding importing psychological instruments (mostly from Europe and the
USA) and with administering them in South Africa without adaptation to the country’s
unique circumstances.

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Laher and Cockroft (2013; chapters 14 to 20 and 24) provide an overview of the historical
development of different personality measures in South Africa.

1.4.2.3 The history of behavioural assessment

Assessment centres are used to assess behaviour and to identify those candidates that
suit the inherent requirements of a job. Such centres are mostly used for middle and top
management assessments for selection and/or development purposes. The evolvement
of competency-based assessment and the assessment centre approach are important
developments in behavioural assessment.

1.4.3 Comprehend new trends and developments in industrial psychological

assessment.

Many challenges will, no doubt, surface as you work through the content of IOP4861, in
terms of legislation, moderators and other issues. Moerdyk (2022; chapter 19) examines
a variety of evolving issues, including the computerisation of the assessment process,
gamification and assessment via the internet. Computer-based assessment and report
generation are increasingly used in many different assessment scenarios. However, there
are both advantages and disadvantages to technology-based assessment. We must
appreciate the interplay between psychological assessment and globalised technological
advancement, along with other changes that have been brought about by the Fourth
Industrial Revolution. We should, rather, find ways in which to capitalise on the
advantages that can be gained from their association, by continuing to undertake
research and explore the related challenges, to avoid disruption of the assessment
process.

Laher and Cockroft (2013; chapter 29) clarify the evolvement of computerised and online
assessment and the benefits and disadvantages thereof.

1.4.3.1 Current and future challenges

Sources to consult: Study chapter 19 of Moerdyk (2022) and read chapters 34 to 36 of

Laher and Cockroft (2013) for additional information on the issue.

Development in the field of psychological assessment depends upon its application value
and upon the different areas of application. Moerdyk (2022) discusses the issues
concerned throughout his work, contending that several factors affect the role of
assessment in organisations. The factors concerned can be divided into general issues
and other issues, which tend to be more specifically associated with pre- or post-hire
assessment.
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