Psychological Assessment lecture

obligatory courses

The course provides basic knowledge about the psychological assessment

domain. It covers main issues, current models and controversies of the

contemporary psychological assessment as well as presents strategies of

psychological assessment conducted in various contexts.

As an introductory course on psychological assessment, the lecture will

focus on the theoretical foundations of contemporary psychological

assessment, covering its basic goals, principles, strategies, methods and

controversies, and will provide an overview of key areas in diverse

contexts of application: clinical, forensic, business and educational. An

integrative, “scientist-practitioner” model will be emphasized.

Professional competences of a psychologist-diagnostician will be

discussed – from theoretical and methodological knowledge through

technical skills to “soft” competencies such as relational,

communicational and cultural competence. The lecture is based on

European models of assessment, mainly GAP and a model of

psychological competences by Robert Roe, both approved by EFPA

(European Federation of Psychologists' Associations).

The course is meant to provide a basic understanding of current and

also to some degree historical psychological assessment practices and

increase students’ relevant research, and critical thinking skills. Particular

attention will be put on presenting empirically grounded approaches and

a classical controversy of clinical vs. mechanical (actuarial) prediction and

diagnostic judgment. An important part of the lecture is to promote a

critical approach to diagnostic methods and a reflection on the conditions

of their use, including potentials and limitations of the employment of

different methods such as interviews, particular questionnaires and

projective tests. The course introduces students to selected assessment

measures – those, which are the most commonly used and are of the

utmost importance in the psychological assessment domain.

Lecture 1: Course Overview & Introduction.

Psychological assessment as a professional competence. The structure

of assessment process.

Obligatory literature:

Fernández-Ballesteros, R. et al. (2001). Guidelines for the Assessment

Process (GAP): A Proposal for Discussion. European Journal of

Psychological Assessment, 17(3), 187–200.

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp. 1-5, 31-36 (Chapter

1 subsections: Introduction, Role of the Clinician, Phases in Clinical

Assessment).

Additional literature:

Roe, R. (2002). What makes a competent psychologist? European

Psychologist, 7(3), 192-202.

Lecture 2: Psychological assessment as a scientific investigation.

Diagnostic inference. Clinical vs. mechanical prediction. Evidence based

assessment (EBA). Scientific vs. unscientific methods of psychological

assessment.

Obligatory literature:

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2010). The Psychology of

Personnel Selection. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., pp. 3-29

(Chapter 1: Early unscientific methods).

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp. 10-31 (Chapter 1

subsection: Evaluating Psychological Tests, Validity in Clinical Practice,

Clinical Judgment).

Grove W. M., Zald D. H., Lebow B., & Nelson C. (2000). Clinical versus

Mechanical Prediction: A meta-Analysis. Psychological Assessment,12,

19-30.

Additional literature:

Cochran, S. V. (2005). Evidence-Based Assessment with Men. Journal of

Clinical Psychology, 61, 649-660.

Norcross, J. P., Kocher, G. P., Garofalo, A. (2006). Discredited

psychological treatments and tests. A Delphi Pool. Professional

Psychology: Research and Practice, 37, 515-522.

Lecture 3: Assessment methods 1: Interview.

Obligatory literature:

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2010). The Psychology of

Personnel Selection. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., pp. 30-

52 (Chapter 2: The Interview).

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp.69-101 (Chapter 3:

The Assessment Interview).

Additional literature:

Craig, R. J. (2005). Clinical and Diagnostic Interviewing. 2nd Edition.

Lanham: Jason Aronson, pp. 21-41 (Chapter 2: The Clinical Process of

Interviewing).

Lecture 4: Assessment methods 2: Observation

Obligatory literature:

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp.114-119 (Chapter 4

subsection: Behavioral Observation).

Hintze, J. M., Volpe, R. J., & Shapiro, E. S. (2002). Best Practices in the

Systematic Direct Observation of Student Behaviour. Best practices in

school psychology, 4, 993-1006.

Lecture 5: “Soft” skills of diagnostician 1.

A social role of an “expert” and its consequences. Relational

competence. Ethical aspects of assessment. Cultural competence.

Obligatory literature:

Braun, F. K., Fine, E. S., Greif, D. C., & Devenny, J. M. (2010). Guidelines

for Multicultural Assessment: An Asian Indian American Case Study.

Journal of Multicultural Counselling and Development, 38, 130-141.

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp. 48-61 (Chapter 2

subsections: Ethical Practice of Assessment Interview and Test Bias

and Use with Minority Groups).

Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as Qualitative research. A Guide for

Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences. 3rd Edition. New

York, London: Teachers College Press., pp. 60-77 & 95-111 (Informed

Consent, Interviewing as a Relationship).

Additional literature:

Craig, R. J. (2005). Clinical and Diagnostic Interviewing. 2nd Edition.

Lanham: Jason Aronson, pp. 42-53 (Chapter 3: Phenomenological

Orientation to the Interview).

Lecture 6: “Soft” skills of diagnostician 2. Communicational

competence.

Obligatory literature:

Hargie, O., & Dickson, D. (2004). Skilled Interpersonal Communication.

Research, Theory and Practice. Hove, England: Routledge. pp. 156-

167, 120-127, 175-177, 192-194 (Chapter 5 fragment: Questioning,

Chapter 6 fragment: Paraphrasing and Reflecting, Chapter 7

fragment: Listening).

Sommers-Flanagan, J., & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2009). Clinical

Interviewing. 4th Edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp.

53- 97 (Chapter 3: Basic Attending, Listening, and Action Skills &

Chapter 4 fragment: Directives: Questions).

Additional literature:

Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as Qualitative research. A Guide for

Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences. 3rd Edition. New

York, London: Teachers College Press., pp. 78-94 (Technique Isn’t

Everything, But It Is a Lot).

Lecture 7: Assessment methods 3: Questionnaires.

Obligatory literature:

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp. 129-145, 160-191,

213-231, (Chapter 5 fragments: Wechsler Intelligence Scales,

Chapter 7 fragments: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory).

Additional literature:

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp. 311-354, 517-593

(Chapter 8: Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, Chapter 12: Screening

and Assessing for Neuropsychological Impairment, Chapter 13: Brief

Instruments).

Lecture 8: Assessment methods 4: Projective techniques.

Obligatory literature:

Aiken, L.R. (2003). Psychological Testing and Assessment. 11th edition.

Pearson Education Group Inc., pp. 412-427 (Projective Techniques).

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp. 407-423, 477-491

(Chapter 10 fragment: Roschach & Chapter 11 fragment: Thematic

Apperception Test).

Additional literature:

Lillienfeld, S. O., Wood, J. M., Garb, H. N. (2000). The scientific status of

projective techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 1,

27-67.

Lecture 9: Assessment strategies in diverse contexts.

Obligatory literature:

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2010). The Psychology of

Personnel Selection. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., pp. 53-

91 (Chapter 3-5: Letters of Recommendation, Biodata & Situational

Judgment Tests and GPA).

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp. 5-10, 37-48, 62-66

(Chapter 1 fragment: Patterns of test usage in Clinical assessment,

Chapter 2 subsections: Types of Referral Settings & Selecting

Psychological Tests).

Lecture 10: Termination of diagnostic process: case conceptualization,

report writing, delivering feedback.

Obligatory literature:

Groth-Marnat, G. (2005). Handbook of Psychological Assessment. 4th

Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., pp. 621-671 (Chapter 15:

Psychological Report).

Additional literature:

Carey, M. P., Flasher, L. V., Maisto, S. A. & Turkat I. D. (1984). The A priori

Approach to Psychological Assessment. Professional Psychology:

Research and Practice, 15, 515-527.

Knowledge:

 student knows models of psychological assessment in different areas

of psychological work;

 student understands diagnostic investigation as a process of decisionmaking

(creating and testing hypotheses) and understands how

different cognitive and emotional phenomena influence this process;

 student knows the methodological and ethical standards of using

assessment tools, both qualitative (interview, projective tests) and

quantitative (tests and questionnaires);

 student knows and understands the meaning of professional

psychological competencies.

Values:

 student is aware of the different socio-cultural contexts of maintaining

the process of psychological assessment and the impact of final

diagnosis on the participants wellbeing;

 student understands the social role of diagnostician and its

implications.

The course ends with a final exam. The exam will be in the multiple choice

format and the questions will cover the material from lectures and the

assigned obligatory literature. There will be 40 questions, each worth 1

point.

Grades are based on the individual scores in the exam.

Positively evaluated, active participation during the lectures (that is

preparation - reading assigned literature on time, answering lecturer’s

questions, critical thinking, participation in group discussions) will be

rewarded with up to three bonus points, which will be added to the

points scored on the exam.

Attendance rules

Students are expected to attend the lecture regularly and come on time.

Two unexcused absences are possible. Exceeding this limit results in

failing the course.

In specific cases in which a student could not attend lectures due to some