Students

PSY 978 – Psychological Assessment

2017 – S1 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Lorna Peters
Contact via lorna.peters@mq.edu.au
C3A 712
Teaching staff
Sharon Watt
Contact via sharon.watt@mq.edu.au
Teaching Staff
Viviana Wuthrich
Contact via viviana.withrich@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
4
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MClinPsych or DClinPsych
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit covers the principles and methods of psychological assessment in the clinical context. The unit covers general topics related to psychological assessment: selection of appropriate assessment techniques; administration, scoring, and interpretation of assessment devices; communication of information about assessments (report-writing and feedback to clients); and ethical principles relating to assessment. The assessment tools covered in the course include tests of ability, achievement, memory, personality, and psychopathology.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Administer, score, and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement and memory; measures of normal personality; and general measures of psychopathology
  • Report on the results of assessments in written and oral form and demonstrate knowledge of the ethical principles guiding use of assessment techniques
  • Justify the choice of assessment techniques on the basis of scientific evidence

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Pass-out Exams for the WAIS-IV 0% Yes Week 9 & Week 10
WISC-V Scoring Task 40% No Week 6
WISC-V report 60% No Week 11

Pass-out Exams for the WAIS-IV

Due: Week 9 & Week 10
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

Students will be required to reach a satisfactory level of competence in administering the WAIS-IV. In order to assess level of competence, students will participate in “pass-out” exams. Students will be required to administer the WAIS-IV to a supervisor who will role-play as the examinee and also rate performance using a standard checklist, which will be made available to students via iLearn. The pass-out exam will last for 1 hour on a Saturday. All subtests will be tested in that time.

The WAIS-IV pass out exam is a hurdle requirement of this unit (see the definition of a hurdle requirement at http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/schedule_2.html). Consistent with the Assessment Policy of the University, students who make a serious attempt at the pass-out exam but fail to meet the required standards, will be provided with one additional opportunity to pass the exam. Failure of the second attempt will result in a Fail grade for the entire unit (even if the raw mark for the Unit is over 50) and this, in turn, will result in a delay in starting the Clinic placement or further placements.

Note that it is important that you practice administration of the tests to reach a satisfactory level of competence, but it is unwise and unethical to give the results of any practice administrations to the people you test – given the restricted nature of the tests, it is most sensible to practice on fellow classmates who role-play different scenarios. There is space in the Test Library for students to practice in small groups. 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Administer, score, and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement and memory; measures of normal personality; and general measures of psychopathology

WISC-V Scoring Task

Due: Week 6
Weighting: 40%

You will be provided with WISC-V scores for a hypothetical case. Your task will be to score the test according to the methods outlined during lectures.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Administer, score, and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement and memory; measures of normal personality; and general measures of psychopathology

WISC-V report

Due: Week 11
Weighting: 60%

Your task will be to write a psychological report for the hypothetical case scored in the WISC-V scoring task. You will be given further details of the case and the method for writing a psychological report during lectures.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Administer, score, and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement and memory; measures of normal personality; and general measures of psychopathology
  • Report on the results of assessments in written and oral form and demonstrate knowledge of the ethical principles guiding use of assessment techniques
  • Justify the choice of assessment techniques on the basis of scientific evidence

Delivery and Resources

There will be one 2-hour seminar per week, on Wednesday 3-5pm in E5A 140 each week of the session. The two-hour seminar involves theoretical coverage of topics as well as practical skills training. Students will also be required prepare for seminars by completing required readings or listening to recorded material (available via iLearn). Students will have access to the Department of Psychology Test Library (C3A 326).

Unit Schedule

 

The schedule of lectures is listed below. There may be slight variations in the schedule due to staff availability.

Week

Date

(Wednesday 3-5pm)

Topic

Lecturer

1

1 March

Introduction to the unit: Assessment in clinical practice & revision of basic psychometrics; Test library orientation

Lorna Peters

2

8 March

Assessment of Intelligence: WISC-V – introduction and administration 

Lorna Peters

3

15 March

Assessment of Intelligence: WISC-V scoring and interpretation

Lorna Peters

4

22 March

Ethics of assessment; Report writing and client feedback

Lorna Peters

5

29 March

Assessment of Achievement: WIAT

Sharon Watt

6

5 April

WISC-V scoring due in class

Assessment of Intelligence: WAIS-IV introduction and administration; pick up WAIS-IV kits from the test library today before the lecture

Lorna Peters

7

12 April

Assessment of Intelligence: WAIS-IV scoring and interpretation

Lorna Peters

 

Midsession Break

8

3 May

Assessment of Memory: WMS-IV

Sharon Watt

9

10 May

Assessment of dementia

Viviana Wuthrich

 

Saturday 13 May

WAIS-IV Pass-out Exams

10

17 May

Assessment of Personality: Self-report personality inventories: 16PF, NEO-PI, MMPI - Introduction

Lorna Peters

 

Saturday 20 May

 WAIS-IV Pass-out Exams

11

24 May

WISC-V report due in class

Assessment of Personality: Self-report personality inventories: 16PF, NEO-PI, MMPI – Scoring and Interpretation

Lorna Peters

12

31 May

Evidence based assessment in clinical practice

Lorna Peters

13

7 June

General measures of diagnosis and psychological distress

Lorna Peters

 

 

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

PG - Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative

Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Administer, score, and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement and memory; measures of normal personality; and general measures of psychopathology
  • Report on the results of assessments in written and oral form and demonstrate knowledge of the ethical principles guiding use of assessment techniques
  • Justify the choice of assessment techniques on the basis of scientific evidence

Assessment tasks

  • Pass-out Exams for the WAIS-IV
  • WISC-V Scoring Task
  • WISC-V report

PG - Discipline Knowledge and Skills

Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Administer, score, and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement and memory; measures of normal personality; and general measures of psychopathology
  • Report on the results of assessments in written and oral form and demonstrate knowledge of the ethical principles guiding use of assessment techniques
  • Justify the choice of assessment techniques on the basis of scientific evidence

Assessment tasks

  • Pass-out Exams for the WAIS-IV
  • WISC-V Scoring Task
  • WISC-V report

PG - Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Administer, score, and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement and memory; measures of normal personality; and general measures of psychopathology
  • Report on the results of assessments in written and oral form and demonstrate knowledge of the ethical principles guiding use of assessment techniques
  • Justify the choice of assessment techniques on the basis of scientific evidence

Assessment tasks

  • WISC-V Scoring Task
  • WISC-V report

PG - Research and Problem Solving Capability

Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Administer, score, and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement and memory; measures of normal personality; and general measures of psychopathology
  • Report on the results of assessments in written and oral form and demonstrate knowledge of the ethical principles guiding use of assessment techniques
  • Justify the choice of assessment techniques on the basis of scientific evidence

Assessment tasks

  • WISC-V Scoring Task
  • WISC-V report

PG - Effective Communication

Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Report on the results of assessments in written and oral form and demonstrate knowledge of the ethical principles guiding use of assessment techniques

Assessment task

  • WISC-V report

PG - Engaged and Responsible, Active and Ethical Citizens

Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Administer, score, and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement and memory; measures of normal personality; and general measures of psychopathology
  • Report on the results of assessments in written and oral form and demonstrate knowledge of the ethical principles guiding use of assessment techniques