In Singapore, Hong Kong and across Asia we notice an increasing stream of companies who are joining the ‘bandwagon’ of selling psychometric assessment tools. They see these tools as another commodity to be sold and promise all kinds of gains. Some of them have no idea about what lies behind a psychometric test. Some of them have been on short training courses and see themselves as experts and even have a stab at designing their own tests on that basis!! We know because we have seen these people in action!! However, they have not have the more than 6 years of training in psychology that our psychologists have had. They were not subject to 2 or more years of supervised practice like us (yes, very similar to the requirements for medical degrees and practice!). They are not members of professional psychological associations like us. They are not bound to register with professional bodies like us, and they do not have the same focus on and passion for science in their solutions. Rather we see them as motivated by both money and a passion to be consultants but without appropriate training (and typically they would not get away with this in many other places!).
Choose PsyAsia International rather than non-Psychologist consultancies for Psychometric Tests because:
-We are REAL PSYCHOLOGISTS.
-When using tests you’ll have lots of questions about their proper and effective use. Only real psychologists can competently and reliably provide this expert advice. Try asking some technical questions of a non-Psychologist provider and watch them stumble!
-We have undergone a minimum of 6 years of training in Psychology followed by supervised practice – this has made us experts. Those who undertake short 1-6 day courses in psychology or psychometrics are not experts.
-Due to our high level qualifications and experience, we are able to be members of professional bodies such as the British Psychological Society and to register as Psychologists. We are therefore answerable to these bodies and undertake to abide by their code of ethics.
-As fully registered psychologists (we register internationally where rules and registration requirements are more strict than in Asia), we must undertake continuous professional development – we must attend conferences, training and presentations, and read our professional journals constantly. Many non-Psychologist “consultants” rely on small snippets of knowledge that they collect over time, rather than the above.
-A number of our psychologists are actually lecturers in Asian universities.
-We are Scientists. Most modern Psychology degrees are degrees in Science (i.e., BSc, MSc). As scientists, we value evidence-driven solutions. We’ve seen many of our competition designing non-scientific assessment tools in order to make money but without sufficient attention to evidence and science to ensure the system works as it should. We know how to not only scientifically design assessments, but also how to scientifically assess their continued effectiveness. If you were to place most of our competition in front of our statistical analysis software they would have no idea where to start – meaning that you can never be confident that the tools you purchase from them are valid!!
-Our director (a doctor of psychology) was awarded the British Psychological Society Prize for Scientific Contribution to Occupational Psychology for his Psychometric Assessment work multiculturally.
-Finally, because we know our stuff, we’ve had the honour of publishing in international peer reviewed journals. Sure, our non-psychologist competition can write their daily blogs with information often taken from other parts of the web. We rarely, if ever, see their own original work published in top-tier international journals though.
We trust that you will see from the above how PsyAsia International’s Psychologists have a wealth of experience, education and expertise in Psychology and Psychometrics as well as other forms of assessment. Usually our expertise is in far greater measure than those companies whose main focus is not in applying Psychology to the workplace or employing psychologists.
