Dr. Michael Diehr

mdiehr@csusm.edu

Phone: see below

Office: UH322A

Hours: M 1100-1200

PSYC 402 : Psychological Testing

Fall 2007 Syllabus

 

CRN 42059

Meeting Times :  M W 0900-1050 SCI2 243

 

Required Texts:   Kaplan & Saccuzzo (2005) Psychological Testing : Principles, Applications, and Issues. 6th Edition.  Thompson. ISBN 0534633064

 

 

Overview of the Course

Psychological Testing and Assessment are the sub-fields of psychology concerned with accurate measurement and quantification of the human psyche.   This course will cover in depth the fundamentals of statistics, reliability, validity, norms, and test development, and will briefly survey most of the major forms of tests in use today, such as personality, cognitive, neuropsychological, educational, and vocational tests, and conclude by discussing issues such as bias and multicultural assessment.

 

Prerequisites: 

PSYC 100, 220, and 230.  Please note: This course is best taken after you have completed at least one advanced laboratory class.

 

Components

The class will include these major components:

         • Lecture

• Assigned readings from the text and online reserves

         • In-class exercises

• Exams (multiple choice)

         • Research Paper (2500 words, about 10 pages)

 

Grading

There are 200 possible points in this course:

1. Exams (100 points).   There will be three multiple-choice exams.   Two mid-term exams (20 points each) will be on recently covered material; the final exam will be cumulative (60 points)

2. Research Paper (60 points):   Every student will complete a 2500 word (approximately 10 page) paper in which you will design, develop and evaluate a novel psychological test or instrument.    The paper will be in APA style, and must include a literature review.   It will be due in three stages: outline/proposal draft (10 points), rough draft (10 points), and final draft (40 points).  You will have ample opportunity to get feedback and improve your writing.

4. Class participation (up to 40 points).   Earned by attendance and participating in discussions and in-class exercises.

The course will be graded on a curve.

 

Resources

Class Website:  http://courses.csusm.edu/psyc402md

      Contains class notes, syllabus, and links to resources.

Office Hours:  See above. No need to make an appointment, just stop by!

Email: I will be sending out emails to all students from time to time.  Checking your email regularly is a requirement of the class.

Phone: This is a shared phone line among several lecturers.  If you call during my office hours I’ll answer it.  If I don’t answer, it’s best to just send email rather than leaving a voice message.   760-750-4191

Textbook Website:  The website for the textbook is on the class website (above)

Includes learning objectives, practice tests, flash cards and links to other resources.

 

Policy

Students with Disabilities

In compliance with federal ADA laws:  If you have a need for any in-class accommodations, special test-taking arrangements, or help accessing any class materials because of a verified physical, cognitive, or perceptual limitation, please talk to the disabled students office first then contact me during the first two weeks of class.

 

Academic Honesty

Cheating or plagiarism (presenting the words or ideas of others as your own) or falsification of data will result in failure of the assignment, possible failure of the course, and notification of the offense to the University.  Please note that copying material from your sources without proper citation is plagiarism (see the APA manual for instructions on how to cite your sources).

 

 

PSYC 402 COURSE SCHEDULE, Fall 2007. 

 

Dates

Topic

Reading

Exam/Assignment

M 8/27

Introduction

Ch 1

 

W 8/29

Introduction

Ch 1

 

M 9/03

NO CLASS – LABOR DAY

 

 

W 9/05

Statistics & Norms

Ch 2

 

M 9/10

Statistics & Norms

Ch 2

 

W 9/12

Statistics & Norms

Ch 2

 

M 9/17

Correlation & Linear Regression

Ch 3

Exam 1 (covers chapters 1-2)

W 9/19

Correlation & Linear Regression

Ch 3

 

M 9/24

Reliability

Ch 4

 

W 9/26

Reliability

Ch 4

 

M 10/01

Validity

Ch 5

 

W 10/03

Validity

Ch 5

 

M 10/08

Test Development

Ch 6

Exam 2 (covers chapters 3-5)

W 10/10

Test Development

Ch 6

 

M 10/15

Test Administration

Ch 7

 

W 10/17

Test Administration

Ch 7

 

M 10/22

 

 

(no class due to fires)

W 10/24

 

 

(no class due to fires)

M 10/29

Intelligence

Ch 9 *

 

W 10/31

Intelligence

Ch 9 *

Research Paper Proposal (Due Nov 2)

M 11/05

Intelligence – SB5

Ch 9 *

 

W 11/07

Intelligence - WAIS

Ch 10

Research Paper: In-class testing

M 11/12

NO CLASS – VETERANS DAY

 

 

W 11/14

Neuropsychological Assessment

Ch 17 *

Research Paper Rough Draft (Optional)

M 11/19

Neuropsychological Assessment

Ch 17 *

Guest Speaker: cross-cultural NP

W 11/21

Intelligence - Controversy

Ch 19

 

M 11/26

Intelligence - Controversy

Ch 19

 

W 11/28

Clinical Assessment

Ch 13

Research Paper Due 11:59pm

M 12/03

Computerized Assessment

Ch 15

 

W 12/05

REVIEW FOR FINAL

 

 

M 12/10

NO CLASS

 

 

W 12/12

FINAL EXAM

Wed Dec 12th

9:15AM to 11:15am

 

Final Exam

*Note.  Articles are on electronic resource. http://eres.csusm.edu/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=599&page=docs   Password = think

 

(*) Notes about Reading Assignments

Unless otherwise specified, read the entire chapter

Ch 9 : Read 231-236, Skip early Binet Scales (236-244),  Read 244-251

Ch 17 : Read 476-492