State University of New York @ New Paltz

PSY 458, Spring 2014, Lecture Center 113

Introduction to

Psychological Testing and Assessment

Instructor:Lenore Strocchia-Rivera, Ph. D.

Office Hours:By Appointment

Email:

Office Hours:By Appointment

Class Time:Tuesdays and Fridays, 9:25 am to 10:40 am

Course Objectives:

Professionals working in the mental health field often are called upon to conduct evaluations and assessments of individuals for a variety of reasons. Students in this class will be afforded the following learning opportunities, with the expectation that they will meet these learning objectives.

  1. To become familiar with the general model of psychological assessment, including how it differs from evaluations and testing, in general;
  1. To understand the standards and guidelines as they relate to specific kinds of assessments and evaluations and to be familiar with what they include;
  1. To understand the psychometric and statistical issues involved in assessment and how to find out about a particular test’s benefits and limitations (e.g. reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity);
  1. To become familiar with the administration, scoring, and interpretation of a few of the commonly used cognitive and personality instruments; and,
  1. To learn about the ethical and multicultural issues involved in all stages of an evaluation or assessment.

The goal of this course is to provide basic and applied knowledge with regard to each of the above.

Required Readings:

  1. Cohen, Ronald Jay, Swerdlik, Mark E., and Sturman, Edward (2013). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement, Eighth Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
  1. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (anticipated publication Spring 2014).
  1. Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology, American Psychologist, v. 68, number 1.
  1. Guidelines for Psychological Evaluations in Child Protection Matters, American Psychologist, v. 68, number 1.
  1. Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan (2013). Clinical interviewing, Fifth Edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.
  2. Sattler, Jerome M. (2008). Assessment of children: Cognitive Foundations, Fifth Edition. San Diego, CA: Jerome M. Sattler, Publisher, Inc. Following chapters only:
  • Chapter 1: Challenges in Assessing Children: The Process
  • Chapter 2: Challenges in Assessing Children: The Context
  1. Heilbrun, K., Grisso, T., and Goldstein, A. M. (2009). Foundations of forensic mental health assessment. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
  1. Finn, Stephen E. (2007). In our clients’ shoes: Theory and techniques of therapeutic assessment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  1. Phelps, Richard P. (Ed.) (2009), Correcting fallacies about educational and psychological testing. Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association. Following chapter only:
  • Chapter 1: Logical Fallacies Used to Dismiss the Evidence on Intelligence Testing.

Recommended Readings:

  1. Sattler, Jerome M. (2008). Assessment of children: Cognitive Foundations, Fifth Edition. San Diego, CA: Jerome M. Sattler, Publisher, Inc. Following chapters:
  • Chapter 3: Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues
  • Chapter 4: A Primer on Statistics and Psychometrics
  1. Strocchia-Rivera, Lenore (2009). A Strength-Based Approach to Assessment, In D. Crenshaw (Ed.), Reverence in healing: Honoring strengths without trivializing suffering. (New York, NY: Jason Aronson).
  1. Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., Slobogin, C. (2007). Psychological evaluations for the courts: A handbook for mental health professionals and lawyers, Third Edition. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Course Requirements & Grading

Out-of-class Assignments – 30% total

Please type, double space, and proofread all your work. If you will miss class on the day the assignment is due, your partner must submit it. If you andyour partner will miss class on the day that an assignment is due, I must receive a hard copy of your assignment in my mailbox in the psychology department or an electronic attachment of your assignment in my email inbox before 9 am on the due date. If you submit your assignment electronically, you also must submit a hard copy of your assignment by the next class. Communication between you and your partner is critical, but you each will be getting the exact same grade. Except in the case of extreme, university-approved, and documented circumstances of which I am notified prior to the deadline (when possible), late assignments generally will not be accepted.

Clinical Interview/Mental Status Exam-20%

  1. Pair up with classmate and conduct a clinical interview and mental status exam (MSE) on that individual, assessing all the areas discussed in class. Write up the clinical interview by section; then write a brief Mental Status Exam. This paper will comprise 10% of your grade.
  1. Write a reaction paper, reflecting on your experience of conducting the clinical interview and MSE. While the first paper (the interview and MSE) will focus exclusively on the other person, this paper should focus on you (your thoughts and feelings during the interview), including how much information you think you received, how confident you are about the veracity and completeness of the information, and how well you think you know the person you interviewed (based on the one interview). Include how confident you would be to conceptualize what is going on for that person from the interview. This paper should be no more than five pages. This paper will comprise 10% of your grade.

Test Selection Exercise – 10 %

  1. Team up with a classmate. Select two tests that could be used to screen or diagnose for one of the following (or other pre-approved) DSM-V disorders. Describe the standardization sample for each test. State and discuss the reliability and validity of each test. State and discuss the utility (i.e. specificity and sensitivity) of these tests. Taking into account all of these issues (reliability, validity, standardization sample, and utility), discuss and decide with your partner which test of these two tests you would recommend for a Black individual living in an urban Northeastern area. Each team member gets the same grade. The collaboratively written paper should not exceed 5 pages.

Major Depressive Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Attendance – 5%

In this class, we learn from each other. I have just as much to learn from you as you do from me. You help me learn by speaking up when a topic or idea is not fully clear, question the material, respond thoughtfully to the issues raised, share your new insights, etc. In return, I will do my best to help you learn about the exciting world of evaluations and assessments, based on my 25 years of experience in the field. We become a learning community when we show up regularly and participate with our full minds, hearts, and souls. Out of fairness and consideration for one another, not showing up for class will be penalized. One point will be deducted from the final grade (for a maximum of 5 points) for each absence beyond the fifth that is not due to extreme, university-approved circumstances or officially documented (e.g. a signed doctor’s note).

Quizzes – 25%

  • Quizzes will be administered at the beginning of virtually every class. They will cover the readings that are due to be completed on or before that day.
  • I expect you to read actively using a two-step process. Step one: Use different colored highlighters for main topic headings, subtopic headings, and key words/definitions. Alternatively, rewrite the chapter(s) in outline form. These systems allow you to organize the new information in your mind. Then, Step two: Use a pen to write in the margin of your textbook or on a sticky note. You should be writing down information that relates to what you already know. A real-life example is best. Using a mnemonic is second best. These writings help you elaborate on the new information you are learning. Organization and Elaboration are the two ways you can learn new declarative knowledge (i.e. knowing about something). When you come to class and hear a lecture or participate in an exercise, you now will know where that information fits into your pre-existing schema and you will have the opportunity to further elaborate on what you already know.
  • Your responsibility is to buy or rent the 4 textbooks: Cohen et. al., Sommers-Flanagan, Heilbrun, and Finn. I will arrange to have the chapters and articles posted on Blackboard.
  • Beginning on 2/21/14, please bring a calculator to class that is capable of performing a square root function. You also will need to bring a calculator to class for the Mid-Term Exam.

Exams-40% total

You will have a Mid-Term and Final Exam, administered in class. Make-up exams generally will not be permitted except in extreme, university-approved, and documented circumstances of which I am notified prior to the scheduled exam (when possible). The final exam time may not be moved for any student without university approval.

  • Mid-Term Exam – 20% total.

This exam will be held in class and will cover both assigned readings and in-class material.

  • Final Exam – 20% total

This exam will be held in class and will cover both assigned readings and in-class material. It will be cumulative in nature. Items will include short-answer (e.g. definitions), multiple-choice, calculation and interpretation of data/statistical test scores, and essay questions. A list of possible exam items from which a number of actual exam questions will be selected will be handed out one week prior to the exam.

Extra Credit Opportunities

My hope is that you will want to learn more about testing and assessments outside the classroom. Several exciting opportunities are listed in this syllabus, and completion of these opportunities will be rewarded. One point will be added to your final grade (for a maximum of 5 points) for each completed activity that has been signed off on by a pre-approved authority and a 500-word reaction paper. In lieu of the reaction paper, you may share your experience via an oral presentation to the class during the last week of the semester.

  1. A pre-approved volunteer experience related to testing and assessment;
  2. Attendance at the 2014 Society for Personality Assessment Conference (held in Arlington, VA, March 19-23, 2014)*
  3. A pre-approved APA Continuing Education Program in the area of assessment;
  4. A pre-approved assessment-related webinar hosted by a commercial test publisher (e.g. Pearson, PAR)
  5. Aptitude testing experience at the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation, 39 Broadway, New York, New York ($750; need-based scholarships may be available; contact ).

* Student volunteers must pay a $55 registration fee. If interested, contact Bonnie E. Rice at . If you become an undergraduate student affiliate of SPA and are a member of an underrepresented group, you may apply for a Diversity Support Grant ($500). Deadline to apply is January 31, 2014.

A94-100C74-76

A-90-93C-70-73

B+87-89D+67-69

B83-86D64-66

B-80-83D-60-63

C+77-79F< or = 59

Statement of Academic Integrity

From the Student Handbook:

“Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty in their College work. Cheating, forgery, and plagiarism are serious offenses, and students found guilty of any form of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action” (page 14).

The minimum consequence for violating this policy will be a score of 0 on that exam, paper, or assignment. Suspected violations also will be reported to the Psychology Department Chairperson and the Dean. Please consult the Sojourner Truth Library’s website which offers an excellent overview of how to avoid plagiarism:

Students with Disabilities

Students with documented disabilities are encouraged to contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) in the Student Union Building, Room 205 (phone # 845-257-3020) to discuss receiving appropriate test and classroom accommodations. The DRC will provide you with a form that verifies your need for accommodations. Bring this form to me as early in the semester as possible, preferably by our first class meeting. Once I receive this form, I can put appropriate accommodations in place.

Dropping/Withdrawing from the Course

Please be aware of two very important deadlines:

  1. February 3 for dropping the course, contingent on receiving my approval. Dropping the course on or before this date means that no record of enrollment in the course will appear on your transcript.
  1. March 31 for withdrawing from the course. Withdrawing from the course between February 4th and March 31st means that a grade of “W” will appear on your transcript.

Student Evaluation of Instruction

I would appreciate receiving feedback with regard to my teaching, for teaching is a skill that can improve with practice and feedback. I encourage you to share positive and negative feedback with me throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, you will have an opportunity to put it in writing.

Week / Date / Topic / Reading/Assignments Due
1 / 1/21/14 / Course Overview
Presented by Dr. Geher
1/24/14 / Intro to Psychological Testing, Evaluations and Assessments / Cohen, et. al. (2013), Chapters 1, 2 & 4
2 / 1/28/14 / NO CLASS
1/31/14 / Clinical Interviewing/Mental Status Exam / Sommers-Flanagan (2013) – First 1/2
3 / 2/4/14 / Clinical Interviewing / Sommers-Flanagan (2013) – Second 1/2
Sattler (2008), Chapters 1 & 2
2/7/14 / Personality Testing: Objective
Measures / Cohen et. al. (2013), Chapters 12
4 / 2/11/14 / Personality Testing: Projective Measures / Cohen et. al. (2013), Chapter 13
2/14/14 / CLINICAL INTERVIEW/MSE PAPER – PART I DUE
5 / 2/18/14 / CLINICAL INTERVIEW/MSE PAPER – PART II DUE
2/21/14 / Statistical and Measurement Concepts in Assessment / Cohen et. al. (2013) Chapters 3 & 5
6 / 2/25/14 / Cohen et. al. (2013), Chapters 6 & 7;
Sattler (2008), Chap 4
2/28/14 / Cohen et. al. (2013), Chapter 8
Submit Written Questions for Speaker
7 / 3/4/14 / (Guest Speaker)
3/7/14 / Intelligence Testing / Cohen, et. al. (2013), Chap 9 & 10
8 / 3/11/14 / Cognitive Assessments / Phelps (2009), Chapter 1
3/14/14 / MIDTERM
9 / SPRING BREAK
10 / 3/25/14 / Assessments for Education / Cohen, et. al. (2013), Chapter 11
3/28/14 / Neuropsychological Assessments / Cohen, et. al. (2013), Chapter 15
11 / 4/1/14 / Forensic Assessments / Heilbrun, et. al. (2009);
Submit Questions for Guest Speaker
4/4/14 / (Guest Speaker)
12 / 4/8/14 / Career Assessments / Cohen, et. al. (2013), Chapter 16
4/11/14 / (Guest Speaker)
13 / 4/15/14 / NO CLASS
4/18/14 / Therapeutic Assessment / Finn (2007)
TEST SELECTION EXERCISE DUE
14 / 4/22/14 / Date Integration/Presentation / Strocchia-Rivera (2008)
4/25/14 / Report Writing / Standards & Guidelines
15 / 4/29/14 / Sample Report (TBD)
5/ / 5/2/14 / (Oral Presentations)
16 / 5/6/14 / (Oral Presentations)
5/9/14 / Review for Final Exam / Extra Credit Documentation Due
17 / 5/13/14 / FINAL EXAM