Richard D. Roberts

Richard Roberts
PSYC - 3211 Psychological Assessment

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Web MCQ component

Coordinator:
Dr. R. D. Roberts (Rich)
Office: 753 Mungo MacCallum
Phone: 9351 5696
E-mail: richardr@psych.usyd.edu.au

Other Teaching Staff:
Dr. Fiona Hibberd
Mr. James Dalziel
Ms. Sabina Kleitman (Tutor)
Mr. J. Gerald Pallier (Tutor)
Format of Unit:
1 hour x 2 lectures/week x 13 weeks
1 hour x 1 tutorial/week x 13 weeks

Value of Unit (% of Year):
8.33%
Special Requirements:
Extended Access to Sydney University Test Library
Computers (preferably PC or Macs that can run PC software)
Audio-visual equipment

Prerequisites:
12 credit points of Second Year Psychology including PSYC 2111 and PSYC 2112

Assessment:
40% Tutorial Evaluation (Report)
60% Examination
Learning Outcomes:
We are actually going to discuss these with you (the ‘client’) before giving you a formal document outlining these outcomes. It is actually a very good assessment exercise that we will discuss in class.

WWW Notes:
These will be ‘posted’ at the completion of the course (Lecture 13.2).

SYLLABUS
Introduction. It has been claimed that psychological tests represent the most important practical contribution that psychology has made to modern society. Indeed, knowledge of the principles underlying psychological tests is pertinent to the vast majority of professional careers in psychology. The student participating in this course: (a) will gain ‘hands-on’ experience with the administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological tests, and (b) obtain an understanding of the many conceptual and methodological issues comprising the domain of psychological assessment.
Course Outline. The lecture (and tutorial) program will cover topics listed below.
1. Introduction to Psychological Assessment
a. The Many Uses (and Abuses) of Psychological Tests.
b. Conceptual Definitions. The meaning of ‘psychological test’, ‘assessment’, and the like.
c. Principles for Administering a Psychological Test.
d. Understanding the Experimenter-Participant ‘Relationship’.
2. Introduction to Psychometrics (and other Technical Criteria)
a. Psychometrics. The concepts of reliability and validity, and how these are crucial in psychological assessment. (The approach adopted here will be a more ‘hands-on’ approach to psychometric issues than that covered in PSYC 3201).
b. Comparability of Test Scores. Scaling, norming, and equating procedures.
c. Factor Analysis. An important technical tool (i.e., statistical method) in test appraisal and test construction.
3. The Varieties of Psychological Assessment I: Ability Testing
a. Core Concepts underlying Ability Testing. A brief review of theoretical and empirical issues pertinent to the concept of intelligence.
b. Individual Tests. (i) Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales. (ii) Wechsler Scales. [Note that because both (i) and (ii) have been covered in previous years discussion of these instruments will center largely on revision, although depending on availability to the Australian ‘market’, some time may be spent introducing (and discussing) the ‘new’ WAIS-III]. (iii) Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability – this scale will be discussed in relation to the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence, upon which it is based. (iv) Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System.
c. Tests for Special Populations. (i) Infant and preschool testing – (examples will include the Bayley Scales of Infant Development). (ii) Multicultural testing – is it possible to develop ‘culture-free’ measures of cognitive ability? (iii) Testing people with various disabilities.
d. Group Testing. (i) Advantages and disadvantages associated with group testing. (ii) Computer-administered tests: A frontier for current and future (group) ability testing. (iii) An exposition (and critique) of multiple aptitude batteries.
4. The Varieties of Psychological Assessment II: Personality Testing
a. Core Concepts underlying Personality Testing. The re-emergence of trait models in the study of personality. ‘Objective’ vs. ‘projective’ techniques: Review and expansion.
b. Self-Report Personality Inventories. (i) The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories. (ii) California Psychological Inventory. (iii) Measures of the ‘Big Five’ factors of personality. (iv) Eysenck Personality Measures. (v) Test-taking attitudes and response bias: Information that every user of self-report personality inventories should be aware!
c. Measures of Interests and Attitudes. (i) Strong Interest Inventory (with special reference to Holland’s Hexagonal Model of General Occupational Themes). (ii) Attitude Scales – recent examples.
d. Projective Techniques. The nature of projective techniques – more than meets the eye?! (i) The Rorschach. (ii) Thematic Apperception Test. (iii) Word Association Tests. (iv) Performance Techniques (e.g., Draw-a-Person Test).
e. Other Techniques. (i) Measures of cognitive style. (ii) Interviews (structured or otherwise). (iii) Biodata.5. Applied Psychology: The Importance of Psychological Tests
a. Educational Testing. (i) Achievement, (ii) Competency, and (iii) ‘Tertiary-Level’ tests (e.g., Scholastic Assessment Tests). In discussing this latter type of test, relative strengths (and weaknesses) in selecting students to universities in the US (relative to Australia) are brought to attention.
b. Organizational Psychology and Testing. (i) General Aptitude Test Battery. (iii) Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. (iii) Personality testing in the workplace. (iv) Recent trends in assessment within organizational psychology.
c. Clinical and Counseling Psychology.
d. Neuropsychological Assessment.
6. Psychological Tests: Future Trends, Prospects, and Limitations
a. Ethical Considerations in Psychological Testing.
b. A Critique of Psychological Tests.
c. Advances I: Computer (and Web) Based Testing.
d. Advances II: Introduction to ‘New’ Statistical Techniques. (i) Confirmatory Factor Analysis. (ii) Item Response Theory.
e. Summary and Conclusions.

TUTORIAL PROSPECTUS
Weeks 1 to 6: You will be taught (essentially) how to validate a psychological test. You will learn about a test’s statistical properties, standardization principles, ethical considerations (and so forth) before administering it to a small group of people (perhaps your family, friends, or other students). This test will be scored and analyzed (providing you with ‘hands-on’ experience in both data management and data analysis). These results will discussed in the classroom with your tutor, introducing a critical approach to this assessment process. This project is to be written up (in accordance with APA standards) -- serving as the ‘tutorial evaluation component’ of your assessment in this course.
Weeks 7 to 13: A detailed look at psychological tests discussed in the lectures (e.g., Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability) will be undertaken in the remaining tutorials. Critical discussion of items, scales, psychometric properties, etc will be encouraged in these sessions.

TIMETABLE
N.B. There may be some special guest lecturers from time to time that will be announced in class.
Week/Lecture # Topic Lecturer
1.1 Introduction to Assessment Dr. Roberts
1.2 Introduction to Assessment Dr. Roberts
2.1 Introduction to Assessment Dr. Roberts
2.2 Introduction to Psychometric Issues Dr. Roberts
3.1 Introduction to Psychometric Issues Dr. Roberts
3.2 Introduction to Psychometric Issues Dr. Roberts
4.1 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts
4.2 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts
5.1 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts
5.2 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts
6.1 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts
6.2 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts
7.1 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts
7.2 Personality Testing Dr. Roberts
8.1 Personality Testing Dr. Roberts
8.2 Personality Testing Dr. Roberts
9.1 Personality Testing Dr. Hibberd
9.2 Personality Testing Dr. Hibberd
10.1 Personality Testing Dr. Hibberd
10.2 Personality Testing Dr. Hibberd
11.1 Applied Psychology and Testing Dr. Roberts
11.2 Applied Psychology and Testing Dr. Roberts
12.1 Applied Psychology and Testing Dr. Roberts
12.2 Applied Psychology and Testing Dr. Roberts
13.1 Future Trends, Prospects and Limitations Mr. Dalziel
13.2 Future Trends, Prospects and Limitations Dr. Roberts

TEXT
There is no set text, although the following comes highly recommended:
Anastasi, A., & Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological Testing (7th Edition). NJ: Prentice-Hall.

WWW LINKS OF INTEREST TO ASSESSMENT STUDENTS
http://www.unl.edu/buros/ – Site of Buros Institute of Mental Measurements
gopher://gopher.ets.org/ – Gopher address of the Educational Testing Service
www.gre.org – Information service detailing aspects of the Graduate Record Examination
www.collegeboard.org – Information service detailing aspects of the SAT
http://www.goarmy.com/asvab/testa.htm – One of many sites giving information on the ASVAB
http://www.iqtest.com/ - claims to give an accurate IQ score … hmmm, why don't you take a look?

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Richard Roberts PSYC - 3211 Psychological Assessment
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Web MCQ component Coordinator: Dr. R. D. Roberts (Rich) Office: 753 Mungo MacCallum Phone: 9351 5696 E-mail: richardr@psych.usyd.edu.au Other Teaching Staff: Dr. Fiona Hibberd Mr. James Dalziel Ms. Sabina Kleitman (Tutor) Mr. J. Gerald Pallier (Tutor) Format of Unit: 1 hour x 2 lectures/week x 13 weeks 1 hour x 1 tutorial/week x 13 weeks Value of Unit (% of Year): 8.33% Special Requirements: Extended Access to Sydney University Test Library Computers (preferably PC or Macs that can run PC software) Audio-visual equipment Prerequisites: 12 credit points of Second Year Psychology including PSYC 2111 and PSYC 2112 Assessment: 40% Tutorial Evaluation (Report) 60% Examination Learning Outcomes: We are actually going to discuss these with you (the ‘client’) before giving you a formal document outlining these outcomes. It is actually a very good assessment exercise that we will discuss in class. WWW Notes: These will be ‘posted’ at the completion of the course (Lecture 13.2). SYLLABUS Introduction. It has been claimed that psychological tests represent the most important practical contribution that psychology has made to modern society. Indeed, knowledge of the principles underlying psychological tests is pertinent to the vast majority of professional careers in psychology. The student participating in this course: (a) will gain ‘hands-on’ experience with the administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological tests, and (b) obtain an understanding of the many conceptual and methodological issues comprising the domain of psychological assessment. Course Outline. The lecture (and tutorial) program will cover topics listed below. 1. Introduction to Psychological Assessment a. The Many Uses (and Abuses) of Psychological Tests. b. Conceptual Definitions. The meaning of ‘psychological test’, ‘assessment’, and the like. c. Principles for Administering a Psychological Test. d. Understanding the Experimenter-Participant ‘Relationship’. 2. Introduction to Psychometrics (and other Technical Criteria) a. Psychometrics. The concepts of reliability and validity, and how these are crucial in psychological assessment. (The approach adopted here will be a more ‘hands-on’ approach to psychometric issues than that covered in PSYC 3201). b. Comparability of Test Scores. Scaling, norming, and equating procedures. c. Factor Analysis. An important technical tool (i.e., statistical method) in test appraisal and test construction. 3. The Varieties of Psychological Assessment I: Ability Testing a. Core Concepts underlying Ability Testing. A brief review of theoretical and empirical issues pertinent to the concept of intelligence. b. Individual Tests. (i) Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales. (ii) Wechsler Scales. [Note that because both (i) and (ii) have been covered in previous years discussion of these instruments will center largely on revision, although depending on availability to the Australian ‘market’, some time may be spent introducing (and discussing) the ‘new’ WAIS-III]. (iii) Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability – this scale will be discussed in relation to the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence, upon which it is based. (iv) Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System. c. Tests for Special Populations. (i) Infant and preschool testing – (examples will include the Bayley Scales of Infant Development). (ii) Multicultural testing – is it possible to develop ‘culture-free’ measures of cognitive ability? (iii) Testing people with various disabilities. d. Group Testing. (i) Advantages and disadvantages associated with group testing. (ii) Computer-administered tests: A frontier for current and future (group) ability testing. (iii) An exposition (and critique) of multiple aptitude batteries. 4. The Varieties of Psychological Assessment II: Personality Testing a. Core Concepts underlying Personality Testing. The re-emergence of trait models in the study of personality. ‘Objective’ vs. ‘projective’ techniques: Review and expansion. b. Self-Report Personality Inventories. (i) The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories. (ii) California Psychological Inventory. (iii) Measures of the ‘Big Five’ factors of personality. (iv) Eysenck Personality Measures. (v) Test-taking attitudes and response bias: Information that every user of self-report personality inventories should be aware! c. Measures of Interests and Attitudes. (i) Strong Interest Inventory (with special reference to Holland’s Hexagonal Model of General Occupational Themes). (ii) Attitude Scales – recent examples. d. Projective Techniques. The nature of projective techniques – more than meets the eye?! (i) The Rorschach. (ii) Thematic Apperception Test. (iii) Word Association Tests. (iv) Performance Techniques (e.g., Draw-a-Person Test). e. Other Techniques. (i) Measures of cognitive style. (ii) Interviews (structured or otherwise). (iii) Biodata.5. Applied Psychology: The Importance of Psychological Tests a. Educational Testing. (i) Achievement, (ii) Competency, and (iii) ‘Tertiary-Level’ tests (e.g., Scholastic Assessment Tests). In discussing this latter type of test, relative strengths (and weaknesses) in selecting students to universities in the US (relative to Australia) are brought to attention. b. Organizational Psychology and Testing. (i) General Aptitude Test Battery. (iii) Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. (iii) Personality testing in the workplace. (iv) Recent trends in assessment within organizational psychology. c. Clinical and Counseling Psychology. d. Neuropsychological Assessment. 6. Psychological Tests: Future Trends, Prospects, and Limitations a. Ethical Considerations in Psychological Testing. b. A Critique of Psychological Tests. c. Advances I: Computer (and Web) Based Testing. d. Advances II: Introduction to ‘New’ Statistical Techniques. (i) Confirmatory Factor Analysis. (ii) Item Response Theory. e. Summary and Conclusions. TUTORIAL PROSPECTUS Weeks 1 to 6: You will be taught (essentially) how to validate a psychological test. You will learn about a test’s statistical properties, standardization principles, ethical considerations (and so forth) before administering it to a small group of people (perhaps your family, friends, or other students). This test will be scored and analyzed (providing you with ‘hands-on’ experience in both data management and data analysis). These results will discussed in the classroom with your tutor, introducing a critical approach to this assessment process. This project is to be written up (in accordance with APA standards) -- serving as the ‘tutorial evaluation component’ of your assessment in this course. Weeks 7 to 13: A detailed look at psychological tests discussed in the lectures (e.g., Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability) will be undertaken in the remaining tutorials. Critical discussion of items, scales, psychometric properties, etc will be encouraged in these sessions. TIMETABLE N.B. There may be some special guest lecturers from time to time that will be announced in class. Week/Lecture # Topic Lecturer 1.1 Introduction to Assessment Dr. Roberts 1.2 Introduction to Assessment Dr. Roberts 2.1 Introduction to Assessment Dr. Roberts 2.2 Introduction to Psychometric Issues Dr. Roberts 3.1 Introduction to Psychometric Issues Dr. Roberts 3.2 Introduction to Psychometric Issues Dr. Roberts 4.1 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts 4.2 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts 5.1 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts 5.2 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts 6.1 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts 6.2 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts 7.1 Ability Testing Dr. Roberts 7.2 Personality Testing Dr. Roberts 8.1 Personality Testing Dr. Roberts 8.2 Personality Testing Dr. Roberts 9.1 Personality Testing Dr. Hibberd 9.2 Personality Testing Dr. Hibberd 10.1 Personality Testing Dr. Hibberd 10.2 Personality Testing Dr. Hibberd 11.1 Applied Psychology and Testing Dr. Roberts 11.2 Applied Psychology and Testing Dr. Roberts 12.1 Applied Psychology and Testing Dr. Roberts 12.2 Applied Psychology and Testing Dr. Roberts 13.1 Future Trends, Prospects and Limitations Mr. Dalziel 13.2 Future Trends, Prospects and Limitations Dr. Roberts TEXT There is no set text, although the following comes highly recommended: Anastasi, A., & Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological Testing (7th Edition). NJ: Prentice-Hall. WWW LINKS OF INTEREST TO ASSESSMENT STUDENTS http://www.unl.edu/buros/ – Site of Buros Institute of Mental Measurements gopher://gopher.ets.org/ – Gopher address of the Educational Testing Service www.gre.org – Information service detailing aspects of the Graduate Record Examination www.collegeboard.org – Information service detailing aspects of the SAT http://www.goarmy.com/asvab/testa.htm – One of many sites giving information on the ASVAB http://www.iqtest.com/ - claims to give an accurate IQ score … hmmm, why don't you take a look?


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