SUMMARY AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE SUITABILITY OF A PICTURE PERSONALITY TEST FOR INDIAN SOUTH AFRICANS In this investigation it is assumed that Indians, who constitute a minority group in this country, are definitely confronted with more complex problems than their White counterparts and furthermore, that their problems are at least as complex of those experienced by Blacks in South Africa. Apart from his race, the Indian in South Africa also differs from his White and Black fellow-citizens in respect of his culture, traditions, customs and sometimes even of his language. This fact means that the TAT tests, which were adapted for Blacks in South Africa, cannot be applied without further ado to the Indian population group. The point of departure in this investigation is to develop a projective technique, similar to that of the TAT-Z, that can be adjusted to suit Indians and to deal with the problems experienced as a result of the new cultural demands that are imposed on this group. A further aim is to determine, by means of a newly constructed picture personality test, the degree of acculturation that still appears to be present among Indian South Africans, as well as to identify some personality characteristics. The latter can be used as a guideline in the choice of an occupation or job. Since Indian women are entering the labour market to an increasing extent, it was considered desirable to involve them in the test programme as well. With this aim in mind, 213 men and 195 women who are representative of the Indian population, were tested with the newly constructed Picture Personality Test for Indian South Africans (PPT-ISA). For the purposes of this experiment, the two survey groups were divided into five biographical variables, viz marital status, age, religion, qualifications and socio-economic status. A frequency distribution of positive, negative and ambivalent responses of all respondents, to all the constructs was determined, according to which the findings were analysed with the aid of various statistical techniques. The investigation reveals, in particular, that older people, as opposed to younger ones of both sexes, perform better in the test. It was also found that married people have a greater sense of duty and responsibility than unmarried persons; that an Indian woman's religion has a considerable influence on her response to certain constructs, whereas this phenomenon is not found in the case of Indian men. A factor analysis which was carried out indicates that three identifiable factors could be found, viz: ? *Men:- Factor I - Attitude towards authority, Factor II - Self-concept, Factor III - Self-assertiveness, ? *Women:- Factor I - Self-concept, Factor II - Submissiveness, Factor III - Attitude towards authority. It was furthermore shown that most constructs possess specificity, with the result that justifiable conclusions can be drawn from constructs. Construct validity investigations that were carried out indicate that the measuring instrument possesses a considerable degree of validity. A rater reliability investigation also revealed that high reliability coefficients were obtained, which implies that the test can be used with confidence. It would therefore appear that the PPT-ISA is a useful instrument that can be applied in the selection and placement of persons applying for vacancies in the labour market.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Durban-Westville, 1980.