This letter is in response to a recent petition regarding the test administration rights of registered psychological professionals.

In our context, psychometrists do not only do test administration.  They provide consulting and advisory services, develop psychometric tests, give feedback, design and facilitate training and workshops, plan and execute research, and manage teams of people. Although test administration is a core component of their skill set it would be misleading to suggest that this is the only skill they have.

That being said, JvR, as a test publisher, confirms a stance of compliance with the regulations stipulated by the HPCSA. Our company supports the discipline of psychology and the role of the psychological professional in the assessment process and as such our operating and training policies are aligned with the HPCSA regulations.  We will act against any misuse of the psychological tests we distribute.

We have always valued a process of collaboration. To that extent, we invite you to share your concerns and suggestions on this blog site or contact Jopie at jopie@jvrafrica.co.za.

Kind Regards

Dr. Jopie de Beer
MD Jopie van Rooyen and Partners SA (Pty)Ltd.

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JvR is pleased to offer a new range of products to South Africans, from Schuhfried in Austria, namely the Vienna Test System, CogniPlus, RehaCom, and an excellent Biofeedback system. These systems are internationally recognised and respected for their quality, and we are excited about their potential in the South African context. The four systems are suitable in a variety of application areas, such as clinics, personnel, aviation, sport, military, and traffic psychology, and research. Read more about the Vienna Test System in this week’s article:

** A Demo of the VTS will be on display at SIOPSA 09 **

Vienna Test System

The Vienna Test System (VTS) is a computerised psychological assessment that consists of various personality, intelligence, and special ability assessments. The VTS was developed by the SCHUHFRIED Company in the early 1980s and has years of research backing the test system. The company was founded in 1947 in Austria and is now available in 65 countries, on all 5 continents.

Areas of Application

The Vienna Test System and associated products can be used in a number of applied fields in psychology, namely: Clinical and Health Psychology, Neuropsychology, Personnel Psychology, Traffic Psychology, Aviation Psychology, Sport Psychology as well as Educational Psychology.

What makes the VTS a unique system is that besides the personality and intelligence tests that it offers, it provides one the opportunity to capture abilities such as: …

• Senso-motor coordination
• Reactive stress tolerance
• Reaction time and motor speed
• Visual perception speed
• Field of vision and peripheral perception
• Time, motion, distance, speed estimation and anticipation
• All forms of attention
• Ability to deal with stress
• Fine motor abilities
• Activation and arousal as well as audiometer.

Administration

The test system consists of administration software, tests and special input or peripheral devices (hardware) which some of the tests require. The VTS consists of more than 80 tests which consist of electronic versions of paper-and-pencil tests, objective personality tests, multimedia tests, adaptive tests, and interactive tests. Once the system has been installed and set up on the computer, one is able to select the tests that one wants to use or, alternatively, can select from special standard test batteries.

Each test begins with an instruction phase and then allows the candidate to complete some practice items before the test begins.

Reporting

Once the candidate has completed the test, the results are immediately available in a short report which provides the percentile ranks of the raw scores for each test variable. The report also includes other important information such as the test protocol, which gives details about the candidate’s responses and the time taken to work each item. A longer diagnostic report is also available. There is also a “ranking function” that allows the test user to rank the candidates’ test results, once the weightings have been entered by the test user. The evaluation system then determines the fit between the candidate and position based on the weightings supplied.

Expert Systems

The Expert Systems consist of standardised validated test batteries that take all the test results into account when providing a report. The VTS presently contains two expert systems, namely the Expert System Aviation and the Expert System Traffic. The Expert System Aviation provides an overall assessment of the candidate’s cognitive ability and safety-related personality traits, related specifically to that field. The Expert System Traffic on the other hand, can be used to assess driving-specific abilities. There is also a Neuropsychological Test Battery for neuropsychological screening.

For more information on or a demonstration on the Vienna Test System; and how it can improve your selection/development and retention of employees, please contact us on info@jvrafrica.co.za or capeinfo@jvafrica.co.za

You can also find more info on some of the other Schuhfried Assessments in our website’s catalogue section.