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Chapter 12 - History of Psychological Assessment in Southern Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

By
Suresh Sundaram ,
Suresh Arumugam  and
Asoke Kumar Saha
Edited by
Sumaya Laher
Sumaya Laher
Affiliation:
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
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Summary

The chapter narrates the history of psychological assessment both in ancient and modern times highlighting how assessment is done in various settings in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. The region has unity in terms of sociocultural, political, historical, economic, and educational factors. In terms of diversity, South Asia is one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world. However, English is used as a language for communication and education. Being developing nations, South Asian countries are influenced dominantly by Western culture. Though the region has its own tradition the Western thoughts and theories have significantly influenced South Asian academic and professional disciplines. Likewise, the psychology of the Western world has significantly dominated the region’s views and understanding of human behavior. This chapter begins by providing a brief account of assessment in the region during pre-colonialism. Following this the history of assessment in India is presented, followed by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan is presented.

Keywords

AsiaassessmentBangladeshBhutanIndiahistoryNepalpsychologypsychological assessment
Type
Chapter
Information
International Histories of Psychological Assessment , pp. 210 - 235
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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