The process of developing a novel proverbs task. Is it possible to create a 'culture-fair' test of verbal abstract reasoning?

Within an increasingly multicultural society the largely 'Western' enterprise of
Clinical Neuropsychology must endeavour to make assessments relevant to
clients who do not speak English and who originate from different cultures.
Previous attempts at such assessments have resulted in a largely non-verbal
focus to assessments of abstraction, problem solving etc. This study investigates
the possibility of developing a verbal 'culture-fair' test, with specific focus on
verbal abstract reasoning. An understanding of the universal nature of proverbs
has highlighted the utility of proverbs in constructing such a test.
The initial aim was to develop the proverbs task, requiring the formation of novel
proverbs unfamiliar to participants but containing universal themes. The novel
proverbs task and existing measures of abstract reasoning and verbal ability
were completed by participants who spoke English as either a first or second
language and who originated from a variety of cultures.
The scores on the measures were subjected to multivariate analysis. Analysis
determined that within language and cultural analyses the proverb task was
related to scores on other culturally bound verbal abstract reasoning tests. In
addition, both the established 'culture-fair' abstract reasoning task and the
proverb task did not differentiate between language or cultural groups.
These and further analyses are placed within the literature of 'culture-fair'
assessments with reference to clinical practice.

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