Muhlenberg College - Department of Psychology

PSY-309:  Psychological Assessment (a.k.a. Tests & Measurement)

Course Outline (S'2008) 

Instructor:

 Mark J. Sciutto, Ph.D.

Class Meetings:

Lecture: WF 11:30 - 12:45
Moyer Hall: Room 026

 

Office Hours:             TR  2:00 – 3:00

                                   WF  10:00 – 11:00 or by appointment

 

Room 217 Moyer (Phone: Ext. 3649)

 

e-mail: sciutto@muhlenberg.edu

 

 

Required Texts:

Gregory, R. J. (2007). Psychological Testing: History, Principles, and Applications (5th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Gould, S. J. (1996). The mismeasure of man. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.

 Additional Readings:

Herrnstein, R.J. & Murray, C. (1994). Ethnic differences in cognitive ability. The Bell Curve: The Reshaping of American Life by Difference in Intelligence. (pp. 269-315) New York: Free Press.

Sternberg, R.J. (1996). What should we ask about intelligence? American Scholar, 65, 205-218.

Course Objectives and Grading Policy

Upon completion of this course, you will demonstrate: 

  • a mastery of the principles of reliability and validity of assessment tools

  • a mastery of accepted practices for test construction and guidelines for responsible test use and interpretation.

  • the ability to critically evaluate assessment procedures and recommend appropriate alternatives when warranted

  • an understanding and appreciation for the influence of personal beliefs, emotion, and cultural differences on the use and interpretation of assessment data.  

The final course grade will be determined as follows:

Exam 1:

20%

Exam 2:

20%

Exam 3:

20%

Group Research Project:

20%

Class Assignments

15%

Leading Discussion

5%

 Individual exam and assignment grades will be assigned according to the following numerical equivalents:

93 - 100

A

 

77 - 79

C+

90 - 92

A-

 

73 - 76

C

87 - 89

B+

 

70 - 72

C-

83 - 86

B

 

67 - 69

D+

80 - 82

B-

 

65 - 66

D

 

 

 

Below 65

F

Description of Course Components

In-Class Examinations: (60%) Three in-class examinations will be administered. The exam format will include a mixture of multiple choice, true/false, fill-in and application or essay problems. There are no make-up exams!! If you have a conflict with any exam, you must notify me at least 24 hours in advance. If an exam is missed, and I am not notified ahead of time, you will receive a zero for that exam.

Group Research Project (20%): Groups of 2-3 students will either a) construct and evaluate an original psychological test or assessment method or b) modify and empirically evaluate the reliability and validity of an existing instrument. The completed project will include a written report in APA format. Preliminary drafts of each section of the paper will be due throughout the semester. These preliminary drafts will not be graded, but are meant to provide valuable feedback. You are strongly encouraged to seek feedback frequently throughout the semester.  Click here for details on the final paper.

Class Assignments (15%) At various points in the semester, you will be given brief assignments designed to reinforce class content (e.g., critique of online tests, personality profile of a famous person).  Details of these assignments will be available via the Blackboard website and will be discussed in class. 

Leading Discussions (5%) Throughout the semester, we will be reading selections from Stephen Jay Gould’s The Mismeasure of Man.  Gould presents a critical analysis of various aspects of intelligence testing and its impact on society.  Groups of students will be assigned to lead a discussion of a particular reading from Gould.  More specific guidelines and suggestions will be distributed later in the semester

Late Assignments: Late assignments will be penalized 5% for each day late (including weekend days).

Attendance: Although attendance is not mandatory, it is highly suggested and will be noted.  Attendance records will be used in determining borderline courses grades (e.g., Johnny has a 92.9 average and has only missed one class--he gets an A; Jimmy also has a 92.9 average and he has missed 10 classes--he gets an A-).

Academic Integrity:  You are expected to conduct yourself in accordance with the Academic Behavior Code of Muhlenberg College (www.muhlenberg.edu/mgt/deans/abc_statement.html).  Honesty is an essential aspect of academic integrity. Individual students are responsible for doing their own work and for not taking credit for the effort and ideas of others. This includes plagiarism, cheating and not contributing to group projects. This obligation is based on mutual trust and is essential to meeting the goals of this course.  Academic dishonesty of any type on exams, quizzes or other graded work will not be tolerated. 

Some important points about academic integrity:

  1. Unless collaboration is explicitly permitted, you should assume that every course assignment or assessment (i.e., exams) is to be completed individually. This means that you are to work on course assignments by yourself – not with your friend or roommate. Any violation of this restriction will be considered a violation of the Academic Behavior Code and will result in an automatic failure for the assignment. If you are struggling with an assignment, you should consult with me during office hours.
     
  2. You are responsible for keeping drafts, references/sources, disk copies, and backup copies of all of your written assignments, to turn in upon my request until final grades are completed.
     
  3. You should begin your work early.  An unforeseen event arising the night before a paper is due is not a legitimate reason for a paper extension.  When submitting assignments electronically, you should request confirmation that your assignment has been received or you should save some form of confirmation that your e-mail was sent (each e-mail program differs in how to do this).
     
  4. You are responsible for taking precautions that your work (especially written work that paraphrases another written source). If I determine that you have copied all or part of an exam or paper from another source (including another student, a web page, a textbook, or other published source), you will receive a failing grade in this course.   If your written work includes material that is paraphrased unacceptably from the original source, I will ask you to re-submit the written work and I will lower the assignment grade by 10%.
     
  5. On all work submitted for a grade, you must write and sign the following pledge: “I pledge that I have complied with the Academic Behavior Code in this work.”

Topic Outline

Date

Topic

Readings

1/16 (W)

Intro to Assessment; Historical Aspects of Assessment

Gregory: Chpt. 1A 

1/18 (F)

Ethical and Social Implications of Assessment; Norms and Standardization; Basic Statistics for Testing;

Gregory: Chpt. 1B; Chpt. 3A

1/23 (W)

Scales, Transformations and Norms (cont.); Group Project Introduction

Gregory: 3A (cont.)

1/25 (F)

The Context of "The Mismeasure of Man": Setting the Stage; Testing and Society

Gould pp. 19 – 36, 50 – 61 (pp. 37 – 50, optional)

1/30 (W)

Reliability 

Gregory: 3B

2/1 (F)

Group Project Time 

 

2/6 (W)

Validity

Gregory: 4A

 

2/8 (F)

American Polygeny & Craniometry (Agassiz & Morton); Group project time

Gould pp. 62 -104

2/13 (W)

Measuring Heads (Paul Broca) ; Group project time

Gould pp. 105 - 141

2/15 (F)

Exam 1

 

2/20 (W)

Test Development: Scale Construction

Online Critique Assignment

Gregory: 4B

2/22 (F)

Test Development: Item Analysis

 

Gregory: 4B; Handouts

2/27 (W)

Hereditarian Theory of IQ (Goddard & Terman) ; Group project time

Gould pp. 176 - 222

2/29 (F)

Hereditarian Theory of IQ (Yerkes) ; Group project time

Gould pp. 222 - 263

3/1 – 3/9

Spring Break

 

3/12 (W)

Group Project Time

 

3/14 (F)

Factor Analysis and the Reification of Intelligence

Gould pp. 264 – 302

3/19 (W)

The Reification of Intelligence (Spearman & Jensen) cont.

Gould pp. 303 -350

3/21 (F)

NO CLASS

 

3/26 (W)

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory of Intelligence; Group Project Time

 Gregory: 5A (pp. 178 –181); http://www.iapsych.com/CHCPP/CHCPP.HTML

3/28 (F)

The Bell Curve: Ethnic Differences in Cognitive Ability; Reflection on Gould ; Issues in Ability Testing

Herrnstein & Murray (1994); Gould pp. 351 – 364;  Sternberg (1996)

4/2 (W)

Exam 2

 

 

4/4 (F)

Industrial and Organizational Assessment

Gregory: 11A

4/9 (W)

Industrial and Organizational Assessment (cont.); Group Project Time

 

4/11 (F)

Clinical and Counseling Assessment ; Introduction to Personality Testing; Group Project Time

Gregory: 8A 

4/16 (W)

Objective Personality Tests

Gregory: 9A

4/18 (F)

Objective Personality Tests; Introduction to Projective Tests

Handouts

4/23 (W)

Group Project Time

 

4/25 (F)

Projective Personality Tests

Gregory: 8B 

4/30 (W)

Projective Personality Tests ; Other Methods of Clinical Assessment  Final Paper Due by 5 p.m.

 

5/5 – 5/9

Final Exam (TBD)