| Abstract: | Verbal memory tests—although important to the neuropsychological assessment of memory—are biased to many cultures. In the
present article, we highlighted the limitations associated with the direct translation of tests and word matching, as well
as the lack of ecological validity and cultural appropriateness when tests developed in one culture are used in another. To
overcome these limitations, a verbal memory paradigm was developed that framed the memory assessment with a shopping-list
format, but that developed culturally specific stimuli for the different language groups. The aim of the present study was
to determine the equivalence of this shopping list memory test in different cultural and language groups. Eighty-three adults
from English-, French-, Malay-, and Chinese-speaking cultures participated in four experiments. The results of all the experiments
indicated that performance of verbal list learning is equivalent, irrespective of the language used. These results support
the use of this methodology for minimizing cross-cultural test bias, and have important implications for testing culturally
and linguistically diverse individuals. |
