Thus minority children do not receive credit for answers that may be correct within their own cultures but do not conform to Anglocentric expectationsthis occurs in personality tests wherein minorities may respond to various questions in ways seen as adaptive in their own subculture but as indicative of psychopathology in the mind of the test developer. Test bias in cross-cultural assessment involves having an extraneous source of variance unrelated to the valid variance held by the construct of interest; . Gould (1995, 1996) has acknowledged that tests are not statistically biased and do not show differential predictive validity. In C. R. Reynolds & T. B. Gutkin (Eds. Abstract Cultural test bias is well-documented in standardized testing (Health, 1989; Helms, 1992; Veale & Foreman, 1983). Bias in psychological assessment: An empirical review and recommendations. Sex differences in intelligence: Implications for education. IRT is concerned fundamentally with creating a mathematical model of item difficulty or more technically, the probability of occurrence of a particular response to a test item as a function of an examinees relative position on a latent trait. Psychologists strive to conduct culturally appropriate and informed research, teaching, supervision, consultation, assessment, interpretation, diagnosis, dissemination, and evaluation of efficacy as they address the first four levels of the Layered Ecological Model of the Multicultural Guidelines. Cultural Biases in Interpretation and Meaning of Words in Assessment What is considered wise in one society may not be considered wise in another; the value and meaning of intelligence depends on cultural norms. The extent to which these factors influence individual as opposed to group performance is difficult to determine. Describe the results of research on the presence of bias in the content of educational and psychological tests. Disputes among different camps in learning were controversial and of long duration. 306, 1972; 495 F. Supp. (2004). However, this also makes the partial correlation method more sensitive to potentially biased items. Gender Issues in Psychological Testing of Personality and Abilities Very little similarity among items determined to be biased has been found. , M. Ramos , C. Delgadillo Add to Mendeley https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-9338 (09)70302-5 Get rights and content Psychiatric and psychological testing are used extensively in both clinical and research contexts, with the goal of providing an objective indication of the construct being measured. The many definitions of test bias. Reynolds, C. R. (1980). If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Helms suggests that these different styles significantly impact the way examinees respond on intelligence tests, which would then require different item sets or at least different correct answers from individuals of different ethnic backgrounds. Certainly, the greater the cultural specificity of a test item, the greater the likelihood of the item being biased when used with individuals from other cultures. Standardized test materials, instructions, administration, and scoring also promote fairness, although there are some exceptions. Although IQ and other aptitude test score differences undoubtedly occur, the differences do not indicate deficits or superiority by any group, especially in relation to the personal worth of any individual member of a given group or culture. Schoenfeld, W. N. (1974). In the last few decades, the issue of cultural bias has come forth as a major contemporary problem far exceeding the bounds of purely academic debate and professional rhetoric. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 6, 144150. This characteristic of tests has been investigated for a number of popular aptitude tests for Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics with results similar to those already noted. If regression equations are equal, this condition is met. Source . In M. Zanna (Ed. As presented in the Standards (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education, 2014), bias is discussed within the overall context of fairness, a multi-faceted and complex concept that can include both subjective and objective arguments across a variety of both professional and casual discussions. Accuracy judgments of WISC-R item difficulty for minority groups. In the case of intelligence test scores, the variance attributable to individual differences far exceeds the variance related to group membership. The greater complexity that can be modeled with the 3P model comes with a price: one generally requires a much larger sample to develop a valid and reliable 3P model. are generally inadequate from a statistical or psychometric perspective (e.g., Anastasi & Urbina, 1997). There is perhaps no more controversial finding in the field of psychology than the persistent one standard deviation difference between the intelligence test performance of Black and White students taken as a group, which is 15 standard score points on most IQ tests. Cole, N. S., & Moss, P. A. Bias in psychological assessment: An empirical review and recommendations. The model emphasizing the interactive effect of genes and environment (category c, commonly referred to as the EnvironmentGenetic Interaction Model) is dominant among contemporary professionals who reject the argument that group differences are artifacts of test bias; however, there is much debate over the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors (Reynolds, 2000; Suzuki & Valencia, 1997). While treating all individuals as similarly as possible is an important aspect of fairness, it is also important to take into account the individual characteristics of the test taker and understand how these characteristics may interfere with contextual factors of the testing situation and the interpretation of test scores. With regard to a resolution of bias, we believe that were a scholarly trial to be held, with a charge of cultural bias brought against mental tests, the jury would likely return the verdict other than guilty or not guilty that is allowed in British lawnot proven. Until such time as a true resolution of the issues can take place, we believe the evidence and positions taken in this chapter accurately reflect the state of our empirical knowledge concerning bias in mental tests. In the statistical sense, this is bias. Cultural Validity as Foundational to Assessment Development: An Essentially then, clinicians are establishing prediction equations about mental aptitude that are assumed to be equivalent across race, sex, and so on. Group differences are believed then to stem from characteristics of the tests and to be totally unrelated to any actual differences in the psychological trait, skill, or ability in question. A considerable body of literature currently exists failing to substantiate cultural bias against native-born American ethnic minorities with regard to the use of well-constructed, adequately standardized intelligence and aptitude tests. As is befitting the concept of construct measurement, many different methods have been employed to examine existing psychological tests and batteries of tests for potential bias. (1989). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Abstract This chapter discusses the debate regarding cultural bias and psychological testing. Both Hispanics and Native Americans tend to perform better on visual-spatial tasks relative to verbal tasks. There are simply too many examples of specific abilities and even sensory capacities that have been shown to differ unmistakably across human populations. Thus, unfortunately, the question of bias must eventually be answered on a virtually test-by-test basis. However, culture-free tests We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Two computer programs widely used to estimate item and latent parameters are LOGIST and BILOG, which use the joint maximum likelihood (JML) and marginal maximum likelihood (MML) methods, respectively. Describe the results of research on bias in prediction and in relation to variables that are external to the test. That a disproportionate number of Black children were in special education was conceded in all caseswhat was litigated was the reason. Neisser et al. The question of cultural bias in testing arises from and is continuously fueled by the very nature of psychological and educational processes and how we measure those processes. Test bias in the assessment of intelligence and personality. Bias in mental testing. To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org Although the search for common biased item characteristics will continue, cultural bias in aptitude tests has found no consistent empirical support in a large number of actuarial studies contrasting the performance of a variety of ethnic and gender groups on items of the most widely employed intelligence scales in the United States. The final explanation (i.e., Category 4) is embodied in the CTBH introduced earlier in this chapter. Since the early 1900s, near the time of Binet's first offering, intelligence tests have been scrutinized for cultural biases in a variety of forms. Concern about cultural bias in mental testing has been a recurring issue since the beginning of the use of assessment in education. The structure of ability tests for other groups has been researched less extensively, but evidence thus far with Chinese, Japanese, and Native Americans does not show substantially different factor structures for these groups. New York, NY: Wiley This chapter also provides an excellent review of the literature. Raising intelligence: Clever Hans, Candides, and the Miracle in Milwaukee. Then enter the name part Related to inappropriate test content mentioned earlier, this position asserts that the tests measure different constructs when used with children from other than the middle-class culture on which the tests are largely based, and thus do not measure minority intelligence validly. "coreDisableEcommerce": false, Feature Flags: { Attempts to resolve the controversy over IQ testing in the public schools via the courtroom have not been particularly successful. Because most psychologists are White and speak only standard English, they may intimidate Black and other ethnic minorities and so examiner and language bias result. from Part I - General Issues in Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis, Published online by Cambridge University Press: ), Handbook of psychology: Assessment psychology (pp. The CTBH seems far more palatable than the alternative, as it argues that racial and ethnic group differences on mental tests result from problems with the tests themselvestests also being something for which we all have some, though varying degrees of dislike anyway. (2002). It also makes quantitative sense. of Georgia, 1984). In: Mastering Modern Psychological Testing. The three parameters in the three-parameter (3P) model are (a) discrimination power of the item, or slope of the ICC, (b) item difficulty, located at the point on the difficulty level of the latent trait at which the examinee has a 50% chance of correctly answering the item, and (c) guessing parameter. (The degree of relation between a predictor and a criterion is restricted as a function of the square root of the product of the reliabilities of the two variables.) The debate over the CTBH has become entangled and sometimes confused within the larger issues of individual liberties, civil rights, and social justice, becoming a focal point for psychologists, sociologists, educators, politicians, minority activists, and the lay public. Obviously, the fact that such different views are still held indicates resolution lies in the future. Test professionals are tasked with developing an understanding of when standardized testing procedures can and should be modified to obtaining more accurate measurement for certain groups of test takers, and when modifications can lead to an unfair advantage over other test takers. One major, carefully studied explanation is that the tests are biased in some way against certain groups. Embretson and Reise (2000) present an excellent overview of the theory and applications of item-response theory, including a highly readable chapter on detecting DIF. Thirty years of research on group differences in cognitive ability. The ABPsi carried its call for a moratorium to other professional organizations in psychology and education. Diana was resolved through multiple consent decrees (agreements by the adverse parties ordered into effect by the federal judge). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Bias in mental tests has many implications for individuals including the misplacement of students in educational programs, errors in assigning grades, unfair denial of admission to college, graduate, and professional degree programs, and the inappropriate denial of employment. Given our definition of bias in prediction validity, nonbias requires errors in prediction to be independent of group membership, and the regression line formed for any pair of variables must be the same for each group for whom predictions are to be made. The parent is an English-language learner who has a reasonable mastery of the language, but is unable to read effectively. Hunter, J. E., Schmidt, F. L., & Rauschenberger, L. (1984). When this equation is graphed (forming a regression line), a is the Y-intercept and b the slope of the regression line. For example, Richardson (1993) holds that researchers have not satisfactorily settled the debate over whether intelligence tests measure general intelligence or a European cognitive style. 4, internal-consistency reliability is determined by the degree to which the items are all measuring a similar construct. As noted by Brown, Reynolds, and Whitaker (1999), fairness is a moral, philosophical, or legal issue on which reasonable people can disagree. Once mean group differences are identified, it is natural to attempt to explain them. Similarly, it is individuals who are assigned to classes and accepted or rejected for employment or college admission. Todays most recommended There is no question concerning the validity of measures of height or weight of anyone in any culture. When homogeneity of regression does not occur, three basic conditions can result: (1) Intercept constants differ, (2) regression coefficients (slopes) differ, or (3) slopes and intercepts differ. Race-ethnicity and measured intelligence: Educational implications. Steele, C. M., Spencer, S. J., & Aronson, J. No consistent evidence of bias in construct measurement has been found in the many prominent standardized tests investigated. The task of science and rational inquiry is to understand the source of these differences, to pit alternative theories boldly against one another, to analyze and consider our data and its complexities again and again, and to do so without the emotional overpull of our compassion and our beliefs. Systematic group differences Understand what cultural bias is in testing, learn different types of assessment bias, and see examples of test bias. Focus on Exceptional Children, 9, 114. Reynolds intellectual assessment scales. Test bias: In God we trust; all others must have data. Differences across settings can lead to inadvertent advantages for some test takers over others. This would in turn create major upheavals in professional psychology, because the foundations of clinical, counseling, educational, industrial, and school psychology are all strongly tied to the basic academic field of individual differences. Richardson, T. Q. Hunter, J. E., Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, R. (1979). Intelligence and how to get it: Why schools and cultures count. 5. So, we search for reasons for why these differences are not true. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Another method used by test publishers is a partial correlation approach. Most major test publishing companies do an adequate job of reviewing their assessments for the presence of content bias. of your Kindle email address below. ), International handbook of personality and intelligence (pp. Reynolds, C. R. (1995). For example, in terms of clinical diagnosis, the Cultural Formulation approach in DSM-5 represents the current major framework for conducting diagnosis with culturally diverse patients. In other words, test usage might result in valid predictions for one group, but invalid predictions in another. Abstract. Factor analysis across groups is the most common method in use by various commercial test developers to assess for bias in construct measurement. Without question, scholars have not conducted all the research that needs to be done to test the CTBH and its alternatives. At the same time, we also highlight the importance of cultural threats to validity. Clinical personality assessment: Practical approaches, Influence of race and symptom expression on clinicians depressive disorder identification in African American men, Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, Initial validation of the Personality Assessment Inventory Spanish version with clients from Mexican American communities, Measurement invariance and the five-factor model of personality: Asian international and Euro American cultural groups, Do spouses matter? A test or test item can be culturally loaded without being culturally biased. However, much of what has been learned is summarized in book chapters and entire books easily accessible to mainstream psychologists and some of the empirical and methodological research has appeared in the most widely subscribed journals of the American Psychological Association. Williams, R. L. (1970). There is a tendency for critics and defenders alike to overgeneralize across tests, lumping virtually all tests together under the heading mental tests or intelligence tests. Three cases involving intelligence testing of Black children related to special education placement went to trial: Larry P. v. Riles (343 F. Supp. on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Contending with group image: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat. A reading of Peckhams decision reveals a clear condemnation of special education, which is critical to Peckhams logic. We find it anathema that ethnic differences in aptitude or ability might be real; we simply do not want it to be so. Note: Differing slopes and intercepts result in a complex situation where the amount and the direction of the bias are a function of the distance of an individuals score from the origin. Test developers often use a minority review panel to examine each item for content that may be offensive or demeaning to one or more groups (e.g., see Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2003, for a practical example). 06 December 2019. American Psychologist, 33(7), 671679. The early actions of the ABPsi were most instrumental in bringing forward these objections into greater public and professional awareness and subsequently prompted a considerable amount of research. The Standards defines bias asa systematic error in a test score (AERA et al., 2014). Closing the gap: cultural bias in psychological assessment. on standardized intelligence and aptitude tests may occur as a function of socioeconomic level, race or ethnic background, and other demographic variables. The items require the child to use information in arriving at an answer that minority or disadvantaged individuals have not had equal opportunity to learn. Progress is being made in all of these areas. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative, The Problem of Bias in Psychological Assessment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59455-8_15, Source: This table was adapted from Halpern (. At the core of cultural test bias is Eurocentrism, which situates. Many of the same witnesses testified about many of the same issues. Fairness is required during the testing process so that all examinees are given a similar opportunity to demonstrate their true ability on the construct being assessed. In T. B. Gutkin & C. R. Reynolds (Eds. Several researchers, using a variety of psychological and educational tests, have identified items as being disproportionately more difficult for minority group members than for members of the majority culture and subsequently compared their results with a panel of expert judges.
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