A review of psychological assessment techniques in Africa

Abstract

Psychological assessments determine cognitive, emotional, personality, behavioural and psychopathological functioning. In Africa, the practices can be best understood in terms of the continent’s colonial heritage and democratisation of the education system adopted by the Black majority rule. Regulations for psychological practice and Western-oriented psychology guidelines inherited from the colonial era, are elements of continuity in the continent’s many psychological assessment settings. This paper aimed to assess the use and relevance of psychological assessment techniques employed in Africa. A desk review of existing literature from a number of search engines was conducted. Emerging themes included that Westernised tools have been introduced in Africa overruling indigenous ways of psychological assessment; Africa inherited Western psychological assessment techniques from post-colonial African psychological assessment; the Eurocentric nature of many psychological assessment techniques compromises their relevance in Africa and Westernisation of Africa makes it difficult to utilise indigenous psychological assessments. Relevance of psychological assessments in Africa comes through adaptation of Western psychological assessment views in developing African-oriented techniques. Africa’s multiculturalism and multi-lingual nature must be considered to develop contextualised techniques. African practitioners need further training in cross-cultural use, adaptation and interpretation. Henceforth, psychological assessment techniques can only become relevant in African if they become Afro-centric.