Psychological assessment: a study of perceptions of personnel undergoing assessment for occupational purposes in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Abstract

Background and aim: This study sought to examine how personnel who work within the SANDF perceive psychological assessment measures in their workplace. In the South African military, psychological tests were seen by the organisation’s leadership as invaluable decision aids for recruiting efficient servicemen, procuring promotion recommendations and guiding personnel development. It was this official view of the value of psychological assessment measures in the SANDF, which was put to test in this research. In this regard, the crucial question was: Do the people from ‘below’, the personnel that work in the Defence Force and had undergone psychological testing, share this official view of the role of test measures in their organisation? Exploring this question was considered important given historic issues of negativity and contestation that surrounded psychological test use in the pre-democracy era of the SANDF’s history. Against this background, understanding how military personnel presently view psychological tests in their workplace would help to determine whether efforts by the field of psychological assessment in the South African military to redeem its past contested reputation are yielding the expected dividends. Method: To implement the study, perceptions of purposively selected SANDF military members were explored through qualitative enquiry that followed IQA methodology. Data were collected during two focus group, consisting of constituents from both senior and junior military ranks (N=29), followed by individual interviews (N=18) that were aimed at unpacking themes that emerged from the discussions. The study sample was diverse in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and years of service. Findings: Findings of the study were mixed. While some aspects of the data showed that some SANDF personnel entertained a positive view and were beginning to appreciate the value of the use of psychological tests in the Defence Force, not all constituents of the study sample shared this positive perspective. Conclusion and implications: The study concluded that considered against the background of the pervasive negative perceptions associated with psychological assessment measures in the South African military during the apartheid period, as reported in the literature, there was cause for optimism that transformative measures introduced to improve the quality and practice of psychological assessment in the SANDF were making the expected impact of changing people’s perceptions about psychological tests in the military. Based on this, a number of recommendations were made about how positive perceptions on psychological tests in the SANDF could be further enhanced and sustained.