PSYC 320
1
Psychological Tests and Measurements (PSYC 320-001)
Spring 2015
Instructor
J. Peter Leeds, Ph.D.
E-Mail: iamjleeds@gmail.com
Phone: 202-321-8938
Time and Place Tuesdays, 7:20 to 10: PM, Krug Hall 5
Credits 3 + 1 lab
Duration 1/20/2015 to 4/28/2015
Catalogue Description
Examination and application of principles underlying the theory, interpretation, and
administration of psychological tests, including a study of tests of intelligence, achievement,
and ability. The class also has 1 hour and 50 minute lab in which you will apply principles
from class and engage in the process of developing your own measure, write up a research
paper describing your measure, and present it to class.
Course Text
Psychological Testing and Assessment: An Introduction to Tests and Measurement (2012). Ronald Jay
Cohen, RJ Cohen Consulting, Mark E. Swerdlik, Illinois State University, Edward Sturman, State
University of New York. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN: 978-0078035302
Prerequisite PSYC 300 Statistics in Psychology, or permission of instructor.
Office Hours: Mondays from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM in Aquia 337
Teaching Assistant & Lab Instructor for PSYC320 will be Ally Patterson
(apatte17@masonlive.gmu.edu).
Lab Instructor Office Hours: Wednesday 4:30-5:30pm DKH 1031 (enter through DKH 1021)
Course Overview and Objectives
At its core, the course is a celebration of the individual differences that underlie human behavior. The
primary objective of this course is to enable the student to critically evaluate psychological tests that
assess these individual differences, and thus gain a greater appreciation of the usefulness and limitations
of testing in explaining human behavior. This will be done by providing:
(a) a fuller understanding of the statistical concepts that underlie tests and test scores.
(b) an in-depth treatment of selected "landmark" tests.
(c) a survey of a number of other tests covering the full spectrum of testing.
(d) sources of professional criticism.
The course as a “LEARNING COMMUNITY”
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This course is an opportunity for us to establish a genuine learning community where both
faculty and students learn from each other’s knowledge and experience. Such communities
imply a “social contract” between faculty and students. My view of this contract is as follows:
WHAT I OWE THE CLASS
I promise to treat you with respect, carefully listening to your questions and comments
I promise to come to class prepared, provide structure to the course and convey a willingness to
work with you in helping you master the material
I promise to develop tests that are fair (not necessarily “easy”!) and that reflect the material
covered in class.
I promise to try to relate the material to your own experience
I promise to make the lectures available to you prior to class meetings
WHAT THE CLASS OWES EACH OTHER AND THEMSELVES
To treat the instructor and each other with respect
To come to class prepared to discuss/reflect on the material
o Stay current in the readings
To extend reasonable effort to learn the material
o Turn in assignments on time
o Read and be familiar with the assigned book chapters (don’t let downloading the
PowerPoint slides substitute for attending class!!)
Course Requirements
1. BPAD Activity:
High fidelity (video event presentation) situational judgment tests (SJTs) are becoming
increasingly popular as a means of measuring how people make decisions on the job under
highly stressful circumstances. One job that involves particularly stressful events is that of law
enforcement officer. I have been working with an organization called BPAD (Behavioral
Personnel Assessment Device http://www.bpad.com/) in developing and validating these tests
for nurses and police. The BPAD test development group (http://bpad.com/) will send you an
invitation to take the BPAD for police. Review the BPAD literature, take the on-line BPAD
police officer assessment, and write a two (2) page (single spaced) reaction to your experience
being sure to discuss advantages and disadvantages, user experience, test security, and face
validity considerations. There are 8 scenes in the BPAD high fidelity, constructed response SJT
and you will view the critical incident events on-line and respond "as if you are in the situation".
You should respond by "stating what you would do" rather than "should do". Be on the lookout
for the BPAD invitation via e-mail (check your e-mail). Review the BPAD literature, take the
on-line BPAD assessment, and write a three (3) page (single spaced) reaction to your
experience being sure to discuss advantages and disadvantages, possible applicant experiencereactions, test security, and face validity considerations.
2. Counterpart Match Activity:
I would like all of you to participate in an organizational-personality fit assessment. As
personality measures are important assessment procedures I want the class to be familiar with
cutting edge applications of these methods and use them as vehicles for applying the
assessment content from class. The personality assessment I have arranged for the class to take
is produced by Counterpart Match (http://www.counterpartmatch.com ) and is based on
PSYC 320
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measuring first the organization’s characteristics and then the applicant’s characteristics and
looks for correspondence and hence more effective person-organization fit and subsequently
reduced turnover and higher productivity. The cost to an organization for this assessment is
$1,100.00 value per applicant. I have arranged that you to participate as students in my class for
free. Here is the sequence of events.
1. Counterpart Match will send each of you a link inviting you to take the organizational
assessment (Culture Survey) as if you were job incumbents. For the sake of this exercise think
of your last employer and its organizational culture when responding to organizational
questions.
2. You will next receive an invitation as if you were an applicant to this organization and
complete the workplace characteristics assessment. Then you should email Derek Chapman at
dchapman@ucalgary.ca after completing your personality and values survey and let him know
the name of the organization to match you with. This is the organization you used in Step 1
above .
3. Based on your responses the system will send you a large PDF report based on your
characteristics, the organization’s characteristics and the degree of fit between them.
4. We will discuss results in class and look at the organization-person fit literature including
the attraction-selection-attrition model of assessment. The process of administration and the
utility of results will be discussed.
Review the Counterpart Match literature, take the on-line Counterpart Match assessment, and
write a three (3) page (double-spaced) reaction to your experience being sure to discuss
advantages and disadvantages, possible applicant experience-reactions, test security, and face
validity considerations.
This is a great opportunity to experience a cutting edge personnel assessment tools. Enjoy!
As an alternative to taking these assessments you may complete a 12-page (double-spaced)
report on the BPAD (6-pages) and Counterpart Match (6-pages) including an assessment of …
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Identify the purpose of the assessment(s)
What is/are the tool(s) purporting to measure?
On what theory/theories are they based.
Who is the intended population for whom the tool was designed?
What is the rationale and logic of the measure, sub-scales, and items?
Are there any data to support its psychometric properties (validity, reliability,
geralizability)?
g. Adverse Impact, applicant reaction, socially desirable responding
The BAPD and the CounterPart Match exercises are worth 5 points (2.5 points each) toward
your grade. If you elect the alternative assignment it will be worth 5 points.
3. Exams: Both exams will have multiple choice and short-answer questions based on readings
and class discussions. The final exam will be in a comprehensive format and worth 40 points
toward your grade. The mid-term examination will be on week 7 (3/3) and will be worth 35
points toward your grade. The final exam will be on week 16 (5/5).
4. In-class presentation (5 points): I ask each of you to present a portion of the scheduled chapter
readings each week - starting on week 2. You will pick an important concept from the chapter,
confirm your selection with me via e-mail, and then prepare a brief (5-10 minute) presentation
that summarizes the point(s) of the concept and how it is important, relevant and useful to
applied researchers. Eeach student will have to do this only once. During class, you will
PSYC 320
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present your point(s) in a clear and concise manner. I expect a good effort that begins with a
good hook that gets us all interested in the topic. Then, tell us why and how we can retain that
important point(s) (knowledge). Be concise and perform knowing that there is little pressure to
be perfect. You only have 5 minutes so use the time wisely (performance). I anticipate 3
student presentations per class session so 15-30 minute or so minutes of student presentations
per class. You may sign up for your spot at http://vols.pt/sNquLi using the VolunteerSpot
signup sheet I initiated. You may have to search for your date since they are out of order. First
come first serve! You are of course welcome to switch with each other and change dates as
desired.
5. Class Participation and Attendance worth 5 points
6. Lab Participation 10 points - Attend lab, do the assignments during lab, and you will get all
10% of the credit. These assignments are designed to afford you a deeper understanding of the
material we discuss in class. Attendance is mandatory. Discuss any problems or conflicts with
your lab instructor but most importantly, do the work. Lab work is effortful and remember I
reward effort.
Grading Policy
Categories
Points
Your Points % of the Final Grade
Final Exam
40
40%
Mid-term Exam
35
35%
Lab Participation
10
10%
Class Participation & Attendance
5
5%
In-class presentation
5
5%
BAPD and the Counterpart Match
5
5%
100
100%
exercises
TOTAL
Grading Scale:
Grade
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
C-
Grade Scale %
97.5 -100
92.5 - 97.4
90.0 - 92.4
87.5 - 89.9
82.5 - 87.4
80.0 - 82.4
77.5 - 79.9
72.5 - 77.4
70.0 - 72.4
Your %
PSYC 320
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F
5
60.0 - 69.9
00.0 - 59.9
COURSE SCHEDULE
Date
Week 1 (1/20)
Week 2 (1/27)
Topic
CHAPTER 1 Psychological Testing and
Assessment
CHAPTER 2 Historical, Cultural, and
Legal/Ethical Considerations
Week 3 (2/3)
CHAPTER 3 A Statistics Refresher
Week 4 (2/10)
CHAPTER 4 Of Tests and Testing
Week 5 (2/17)
Week 6 (2/24)
Week 7 (3/3)
Week 8 (3/10)
CHAPTER 5 Reliability
CHAPTER 6 Validity
Mid-Term
Spring Break
Week 9 (3/17)
Week 10 (3/24)
CHAPTER 7 Utility
CHAPTER 8 Test Development
Week 11 (3/31)
CHAPTER 9 & 10 Intelligence and Its
Measurement
CHAPTER 12/13 Personality
Assessment: An Overview &
Personality Assessment Methods
CHAPTER 11 & 14 Clinical and
Counseling/Educational Assessment
CHAPTER 16 Assessment, Careers, and
Business
Item Response Theory, True Score
Theory, Acuity Theory
Week 12 (4/7)
Week 13 (4/14)
Week 14 (4/21)
Week 15 (4/28)
Week 16 (5/5)
Notes
Last day to add classes—all
individualized section forms due
Last day to drop with no tuition penalty
Last day to drop with a 33% tuition
penalty
Spring Break Mon
Mar 9 – Sun
Mar 15
Final Exam
Note: Dates are subject to change if necessary. Any revisions to this syllabus will be announced during
class time. Each class will include additional selected topics not covered in the text.
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Some Helpful References and resources
Adverse Impact Calculator
http://www.hr-software.net/EmploymentStatistics/DisparateImpact.htm
Week 3: Job Analysis and Work Samples/Performance tests
O*NETt http://www.onetonline.org/
International Personality Item Pool http://ipip.ori.org/
OPM Assessment Instrument Selection Tool
http://apps.opm.gov/ADT/ADTClientMain.aspx
Taylor-Russell Table calculator
http://www.hr-software.net/cgi/TheoreticalExpectancy.cgi
Honor code: All students are expected to be familiar with, and abide by, the University Honor
Code. As required by the Honor Code, all suspected violations will be reported. The instructor
for this course reserves the right to enter a failing grade to any student found guilty of an
honor code violation.
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus and its content. Any
changes will be announced orally and in writing (via email).