PSYCHOLOGY 370
Psychological Testing and Measurement
Fall 2014, Section 2
Instructor:
Office:
Telephone/email:
Office Hours:
Kate Hattrup, Ph.D.
LS 275
594-1876 / khattrup@sunstroke.sdsu.edu
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30 – 1:30pm, & by appointment
Class Time and Room: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00am - 12:15pm, GMCS - 325
Texts:
Hattrup, K. (2011). Psychological Testing and Measurement: A Pragmatic
Approach. REQUIRED
Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2013). Psychological Testing: Principles,
applications, and issues. (8th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. OPTIONAL
Website: blackboard.sdsu.edu.
Objectives: This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to current theory,
methodology, and practice in the area of psychological testing and measurement. In particular,
upon completion of this course, students should be able to (1) develop and evaluate measures of
psychological constructs, (2) describe connections between observed human behavior and
inferences about its meaning, (3) perform basic statistical analyses to evaluate item quality, test
reliability, and validity, and (4) critically evaluate claims about human behavior derived from
tests used in clinical, organizational, and educational settings. Please see additional
Departmental-Level Learning Objectives below.*
The format of the course is primarily lecture with "hands-on" application of concepts
through exercises and projects. Active participation is encouraged and should provide a more
facilitative and enjoyable learning atmosphere for everyone. Due to the nature of the course
material, it is important that you complete assigned readings before the class sessions.
Enforced Prerequisites: This is an advanced methods course, that deals with complex theoretical
and statistical concepts. To enroll in this course, students must provide documentation that they
have completed PSY 280 (introductory statistics) with a grade of B or better. Students must also
be able to conduct routine analyses with SPSS.
Evaluation: There will be three multiple choice exams and two take-home projects. The exams
are not cumulative, but later exams will require an understanding of material presented earlier in
the semester. Projects will involve the development, administration, and interpretation of
psychological measures constructed by the class. More detail about the projects will be provided
in class. Final grades in the course will be based on the total number of points earned during the
semester relative to the highest score(s) received by students in the class. The following is a
break-down of how points will be assigned:
Component:
Exams
Projects
# of Points Possible:
120 (40 per exam)
60 (30 per project)
% of Total Possible:
67%
33%
Late Paper/Make-Up Exam Policy: Late papers and make-up exams are not permitted.
Exceptions to this rule will only be made in rare cases in which a student presents a doctor's note
and receives prior approval from the instructor.
Academic Integrity: The following is taken from the SDSU Undergraduate Course Catalog:
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is formal work publicly misrepresented as original; it is an activity wherein one
person knowingly, directly, and for lucre, status, recognition, or any public gain resorts to
the published or unpublished work of another in order to represent it as one’s own. Work
shall be deemed plagiarism: (1) when prior work of another has been demonstrated as the
accessible source; (2) when substantial or material parts of the source have been literally or
evasively appropriated (substance denoting quantity; matter denoting qualitative format or
style); and (3) when the work lack sufficient or unequivocal citation so as to indicate or
imply that the work was neither a copy nor an imitation. This definition comprises oral,
written, and crafted pieces. In short, if one purports to present an original piece but copies
ideas word for word or by paraphrase, those ideas should be duly noted.
Source: Lindsay, A. Plagiarism and originality. 1952.
San Diego State University is a publicly assisted institution legislatively empowered to certify
competence and accomplishment in general and discrete categories of knowledge. The
President and faculty of this University are therefore obligated not only to society at large but
to the citizenry of the State of California to guarantee honest and substantive knowledge in
those to whom they assign grades and whom they recommend for degrees. Wittingly or
willfully to ignore or to allow students' ascription of others' work to themselves is to condone
dishonesty, to deny the purpose of formal education, and to fail the public trust.
The objective of university endeavor is to advance humanity by increasing and refining
knowledge and is, therefore, ill served by students who indulge in plagiarism. Accordingly, one
who is suspected or accused of disregarding, concealing, aiding, or committing plagiarism
must, because of the gravity of the offense, be assured of thorough, impartial, and conclusive
investigation of any accusation. Likewise, one must be liable to an appropriate penalty, even
severance from the University and in some cases revocation of an advanced degree, should the
demonstrated plagiarism clearly call into question one's general competence or
accomplishments.
Important Dates
9/4
Thurs
In-class exercise: Defining the construct domain(s)
9/9
Tues
Project 1: Items -- Due
9/25
Thurs
Project 1: Item Responses -- Due
9/30
Tues
Project 1 -- posted
10/2
Thurs
EXAM 1
10/9
Thurs
Project 1: FINAL DUE DATE
Project 2 -- posted
11/6
Thurs
EXAM 2
11/20
Thurs
Project 2: FINAL DUE DATE
12/16
Tues
EXAM 3
* Additional Department Level Learning Objectives: In addition to those outlined above,
other learning objectives identified as important across the Psychology Curriculum that overlap
with this course are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Explain the roles of persons, situations, and person-situation interactions as causes of
behavior. (SLO 1.3)
Identify appropriate applications of psychology in solving problems such as the pursuit and
effect of healthy lifestyles, origin and treatment of abnormal behavior, psychological tests
and measurements, psychology-based interventions, and the resolution of interpersonal and
intercultural conflicts. (SLO 2.2)
Apply psychological concepts, theories, and research findings as these relate to everyday life.
(SLO 2.4)
Formulate scientific questions using operational definitions. (SLO 3.1)
Generate appropriate methodological techniques for testing specific hypotheses. (SLO 3.2)
Identify the factors required to make causal inferences about relationships between variables.
(SLO 3.4)
Design a simple self-report measure. (SLO 3.5)
Define, explain, and identify appropriate use of reliability and validity. (SLO 3.6)
Demonstrate understanding of measurement error (both systematic and unsystematic). (SLO
3.7)
Explain correctly such terms as mean, median, standard deviation, and statistical
significance. (SLO 3.8)
Understand interpret appropriately t, F, r, and r squared. (SLO 3.9)
Evaluate the appropriateness of conclusions derived from psychological research and the
parameters of particular research methods. (SLO 4.3)
Recognize the necessity of and identify specific ethical behavior in all aspects of the science
and practice of psychology. (SLO 5.1)
Be familiar with the rights of human research participants and therapy clients. (SLO 5.2)
Describe the concept of informed consent to research and treatment. (SLO 5.4)
Identify the role that an institutional review board plays in psychological research. (SLO 5.6)
Identify how sociocultural and international contexts influence individual differences. (SLO
6.3)
Explain how individual differences influence beliefs, values, and interactions with others and
vice versa. (SLO 6.4)
Understand that research findings may not generalize to all people. (SLO 6.7)
Distinguish between scientific findings and opinions. (SLO 7.2)
Frame questions or generate hypotheses about human behavior based on experiences and/or
exposure to information from scientific literature, the general media, and specialized sources.
(SLO 7.4)
Plan and execute a project that involves data collection. (SLO 8.3)
Prepare a written report based on data they have collected. (SLO 8.4)
Engage in creative thinking by evaluating new ideas with an open but critical mind. (SLO
9.1)
Demonstrate effective writing skills and use of APA-style in various formats (e.g., essays,
technical papers). SLO (9.4)
Tentative Schedule and Reading Assignments
Date
Topic
Readings
8/26
1st class, introduction
8/28
Goals and strategies in testing;
Using tests to make inferences
Hattrup (H), Ch. 1; Kaplan &
Saccuzzo (KS), Ch. 1
9/2
Defining constructs and writing items
H, Ch. 2; KS, pps. 157-170
9/4
in-class exercise
9/9
Scores, scales, and distributions
H, Ch. 3; KS, pps. 25-34
9/11
Describing distributions; transforming scores
H, Ch. 3; KS, pps. 34-63
9/16
The concept of correlation
H, Ch. 4; KS, Ch. 3
9/18
Correlation and regression
H, Ch. 4; KS, Ch. 3
9/23
Correlation and regression
H, Ch. 5; KS, Ch. 3
9/25
Item analysis
H, Ch. 6; KS, Ch. 6
9/30
Item analysis
10/2
EXAM I
10/7
Reliability: Sources of error and their
effects on scores
H, Ch. 7; KS, pps. 101-109
10/9
Reliability: rxx and its estimation
H, Ch. 8; KS, pps. 109-120
10/14
Reliability: rxx and its estimation (cont.)
H, Ch. 8
10/16
Reliability: Use and interpretation of
reliability information
H, Ch.9; KS, pps. 120-129
10/21
Validation: Theory and purpose; Contentoriented strategies
H, Ch.10; KS, pps. 133-138
10/23
Validation: Criterion-related strategies
H, Ch. 10; KS, pps. 138-148
10/28
Validation: Criterion-related strategies (cont.)
H, Ch. 10
10/30
Validation: Construct-related strategies
11/4
Validation: Construct-related strategies (cont.)
11/6
EXAM 2
11/11
VETERANS DAY - NO CLASS
11/13
Factor Analysis
11/18
Factor Analysis
11/20
Selection and Decision Analysis
11/25
Selection and Decision Analysis
11/27
THANKSGIVING - NO CLASS
12/2
Bias in testing
H, Ch. 13; KS, Ch. 19
12/4
Testing and the law
H, Ch. 14; KS, Ch. 20
12/9
Applications and issues in clinical
measurement
H, Ch. 15; KS, Chs. 13-14
12/16
EXAM 3
(10:30am - 12:00pm)
H, Ch. 10; KS, pps. 148-155
KS, pps. 88-94
H, Ch. 11