Graduation Year
2004
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Granting Department
Psychology
Major Professor
Vicky Phares, PhD
Committee Member
Cynthia Cimino, PhD
Committee Member
Carnot Nelson, PhD
Keywords
standardized test, examiner, matching, intelligence, ethnicity
Abstract
There have been many theories about cultural differences found between groups on intelligence test scores. The main debate has been between those in favor of a genetic explanation versus those in favor of a more environmental one. When considering environmental influences, one explanation has been that there could be differential effects due to the assessor. Although there have been several studies that have considered this possibility, the results are inconclusive. The current study attempted to tease apart the assessor effects by focusing on biases in the assessor alone and by eliminating effects from the test taker. The study is an experimental design where participants were randomly assigned a WISC-III protocol of members of different ethnic groups. It was hypothesized that different groups may score these IQ tests differentially depending on the race/ethnicity of the person who was assessed. Results showed that when given identical protocols, participants scored African American protocols lower than Caucasian American protocols in both high and average IQ conditions. Clinical implications of these results are discussed.
Scholar Commons Citation
Fields, Sherecce A., "Assessor Effects On The Evaluation Of The WISC-III" (2004). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/1033
