Cultural Traditions and Diversity.html

Cultural Traditions and Diversity

Psychological Tests and Cultural Diversity

When discussing cultural diversity, the question that arises is, What is the difference between studying cultural traditions and diversity and studying the stereotypes about individuals and groups from different ethnic or racial backgrounds? From a social

psychological perspective, one of the most significant challenges in studying cultural diversity is to effectively conduct and evaluate psychological testing.

Let's take a look at some of the psychological tests used to understand this challenge.

Intelligence tests, such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, and Slosson Intelligence Test, relied heavily on verbal responses to situational questions that used terms familiar to some groups, such as white middle-class U.S. citizens, but unfamiliar to some groups belonging to different cultures.

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was designed to test verbal abilities in children and adults. The challenge in PPVT was that the test items included pictures of objects familiar to white middle-class U.S. citizens but unfamiliar to groups or individuals belonging to different cultures.

Restrepo, Schwanenflugel, Blake, Neuharth-Pritchet, Cramer, and Ruston (2006) compared the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III) and the Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT) to analyze which was more effective in measuring the vocabulary skills of preschool children.

The study found that African American children tended to score lower on the tests than European American children. The results showed that the differences were not due to the children’s actual vocabulary skills but due to the differences in how the tests measured those skills. The researchers concluded that the misinterpretation of results can lead to misdiagnosing a language disorder. Therefore, they suggested that when interpreting the results of such tests, alternative measures that take the dynamics of cultural and ethnic diversity into account should be used.

Restrepo, M., Schwanenflugel, P., Blake, J., Neuharth-Pritchet, S., Cramer, S., & Ruston, H. (2006). Performance on the PPVT-III and the EVT: Applicability of the measures with African American and European American preschool children. Language, Speech, & Hearing Services in Schools, 37(1), 17–27.