The so-called crisis of psychological assessment: Looking back at the seventies of the 20th century

In 2004, the Diagnostica as the journal of psychological assessment and differential psychology with the longest tradition worldwide celebrates its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion, we will look back at the seventies of the 26(th) century. In those years, psychological assessment found itself confronted by critique from many different sources, and the notion of a crisis of psychological assessment made its rounds in the German-speaking countries, with the exception of the GDR. Some reasons for the feeling of crisis in those years are dealt with, e.g., the rise of behavioral assessment, the critique of the medical model of psychological disorders, the rejection of an assessment, which serves selection purposes, from a theory of society point of view, and doubts concerning the psychometric foundations of the traditional, trait-oriented assessment. The critical discourse on psychological assessment did not remain without implications for the Diagnostica. This contribution will keep track of the development of the Diagnostica from the middle of the seventies to the middle of the nineties of the 20(th) century.