Course Outline: Psychology 324

Course Information

• Department: Psychology
• Prepared By: Dr. Michael Goodstone
• Prepared Date: Fall 2017
• Course Title: Psychological Measurement and Assessment
• Course Code: PSY 324
• Credits: 3
• Contact Hours: 45

Catalog Description

An analysis of the theory and practice of psychological measurement and assessment including the implications of psychological measurement in society and institutions such as schools, the workplace, clinical populations and other groups with special needs. Topics will include overview and history of the field, foundations of psychological testing and psychometrics, the assessment of ability, the assessment of personality, the assessment of interest and vocational choice, and ethical /social/cultural issues of psychological assessment.  Prerequisite(s): PSY 101. Credits: 3 (3,0)

• Prerequisites: PSY 101, PSY 130 OR PSY 131, or permission of the department Chairperson                 
• Required For: Applied Psychology Program, All curricula with upper level social science elective. 
• Elective For: All curricula with upper level social science electives.
• Required Text: Psychological Testing, A. Anastasia, Macmillan, 1997.

Course Description

Students will learn the theory and practice of psychological measurement and assessment.  Students will be prepared to appreciate the importance and implications of psychological measurement in society including schools, the workplace, clinical populations and other groups with special needs.  Students will possess the knowledge to assist professionals in the administration of assessment instruments and collection of assessment data.  Students will possess the knowledge to understand  the meaning of assessment results. Topics will include relevant history, psychometric principles, testing/measurement procedures, specific measures of aptitude, achievement, personality and psychopathology, test interpretation and limitations, and issues in psychological assessment.  Special emphasis will be placed on the ethical, cultural and social issues inherent in psychological measurement.

Course Outline

The following represents an overview of the topics to be covered in this course.

Unit 1: Overview and history of the field of psychological assessment and testing:

A brief history of the field will be presented.  The nature and use of psychological measurement will be described.  The major types of psychological measures (cognitive, personality, vocational preferences, etc.) will be introduced.  The impact of psychological testing on social issues will be discussed.

Unit 2: Foundations of psychological testing:

Psychometric principles of tests and measures will be described. The concepts of reliability, validity and norms will be covered.  Score interpretation will be presented in terms of validation evidence and the psychometric properties of a measure.  Psychometric analyses such as item analysis and validation procedures such as criterion related and construct validation will be presented.

Unit 3: The assessment of ability:

The purpose, development, validation and interpretation of measures of ability will be presented.  Measures of cognitive ability, psycho-motor ability, aptitude, achievement and specialized abilities will be covered.

Unit 4: The assessment of personality:

The purpose, development, validation and interpretation of personality measures will be presented. 

Development strategies such as empirical-criterion keying and content will be discussed.  Techniques such as self-report and projective techniques will be covered.  Specific measures such as the MMPI-2, 16PF, CPI, etc. will be explored in terms of their development, use and interpretation.

Unit 5: The assessment of interest and vocational choice:

The purpose, development, validation and interpretation of interest inventories and preference measures will be presented.  Models of person-vocation match such as Holland and Strong will be described and discussed in terms of individual assessment.

Unit 6: Ethical, social and cultural issues of psychological assessment:

The ethical principles regarding psychological assessment and testing published by the American Psychological Association will be presented.  Social issues raised by use of assessment devices to make decisions such as academic placement, hiring, forensic and availability of social services will be presented and discussed.  The cultural influences of measurement and assessment will be discussed.

Behavioral Objectives

After successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of psychometric principles and implications for selection and interpretation of psychological measurement instruments.
2. Demonstrate understanding of appropriate instrument selection given specific assessment goals.
3. Demonstrate understanding of ethical and social issues involved in the use of assessment instruments of cognitive ability, personality and vocational interest.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the history of psychological assessment.