Psychology 2080A-001
Introduction to Tests and Measurement
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
This course examines principles of psychological assessment in applied contexts through lectures and demonstrations. Topics include test theory, reliability and validity, methods of test construction, ethical issues and the use of tests in describing human behaviour. Selected areas relating to the measurement of major psychological constructs such as intelligence and personality will be considered. In turn this will lead to discussion of how psychological tests and measures can be used in both research and assessment practices in applied psychology.
Antirequisite: Psychology 3840F/G
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Don Saklofske
Office: SSC 7314
Office Hours: by appointment
Email: dsaklofs@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Claire Wilson
Office: SSC 7316
Office Hours: By appointment
Email: cwils26@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Monday 2:30 – 5:30 PM SH 3345
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Kaplan, R.M. & Saccuzzo, D.P. (2018) Psychological Testing: Principles, Applications, and Issues. 9th Edition. (Belmont, CA.: Wadsworth). (Note: this is a special edition of the text printed for this course, and should have the words “Psychology 2080 A/B” on the front cover). ISBN: 9780176784591. PLEASE do not use older versions of this book.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this course are:
• to provide students with basic knowledge about psychological tests and testing in applied areas, including clinical, counseling, school/educational psychology, that draw from major psychological intelligence constructs including personality and intelligence.
• to ensure students understand important terms and concepts related to psychological measurement, with particular attention to the concepts of reliability and validity
• to acquaint students with important pitfalls in the testing and assessment process, by describing problems with particular tests, particular testing procedures, and inappropriate uses of test results
• to ensure students understand ethical and legal implications of psychological testing.
Students should note that lectures are complements to text chapters, not substitutes. Some material appearing in the text will not be covered in lectures. Equally, some material covered in lectures will not be found in the text.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
Outcome |
Evaluation |
|
Identify various forms of assessment (e.g., interviewing, administering various tests, psychological and behavioral examinations) |
Multiple-choice exam questions |
|
Distinguish between reliability and validity and other key characteristics of tests; identify procedures for assessing each characteristic, and compare methods and issues arising in those procedures |
Multiple-choice exam questions |
|
Compare competing approaches to the assessment of intelligence and identify strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches |
Multiple-choice exam questions |
|
Discuss the value and limitations of psychological testing used in various areas of psychological practice and beyond. |
Multiple-choice exam questions |
|
Distinguish between, and identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of, various standardized tests used to assess human behavior |
Multiple-choice exam questions |
|
Understand the problems of bias and unfairness in the use of psychological tests and compare procedures for assessing whether use of a given test is susceptible to each problem |
Multiple-choice exam questions |
|
Identify and distinguish between important ethical and legal issues in the use of psychological tests |
Multiple-choice exam questions |
5.0 EVALUATION
Grades in this course will be based on three multiple-choice exams with the possibility of some short answer questions and other objective formats (e.g. matching): two in-class midterms plus a final exam to be scheduled by the Registrar (December 8-19). All material in the lectures and the assigned readings is fair game for an exam question. Exams are not cumulative.
Midterm #1: 25%
Midterm #2: 35%
Final exam: 40%
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
6.0 ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE
Midterm #1 – September 30 (in class)
Midterm #2 – November 11 (in class)
Final exam – scheduled by Registrar’s Office for a time and date during the mid-year exam period, December 8 – 19
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
|
|
Date |
Topic |
Readings |
|
1 |
Sept 9 |
Course introduction; History & Basic Statistics |
Ch. 1 & 2 |
|
2 |
Sept 16 |
Reliability |
Ch. 3 |
|
3 |
Sept 23 |
Validity |
Ch. 4 |
|
4 |
Sept 30 |
Midterm 1 |
Ch. 1 – 4 & lectures |
|
5 |
Oct 7 |
Creating Tests & Interviewing |
Ch.5 - 6 |
|
6 |
Oct 14 |
Thanksgiving |
|
|
7 |
Oct 21 |
Intelligence |
Ch. 7 |
|
8 |
Oct 28 |
Intelligence cont. / Emotional intelligence |
Ch 7. and Lectures |
|
9 |
Nov 4 |
Reading Week. |
|
|
10 |
Nov 11 |
Midterm 2/ Special topics: resiliency |
Ch. 5 – 7; lectures |
|
11 |
Nov 18 |
Special topics: dark/light triad, perfectionism, ,etc |
Lectures, |
|
12 |
Nov 25 |
Testing in Practice |
Ch. 8-10 |
|
13 |
Dec 2 |
Test Bias, Ethics, & Legal Issues |
Ch. 11 - 12 |
|
14 |
TBA |
Final exam (scheduled by Registrar Dec 8-19) |
Ch. 8 – 12 & lectures |
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:
- Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
- For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;
For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
Students seeking academic consideration:
- are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;
- are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;
must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2019-2020 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent.
