Spring 2016, Tuesdays 10:20-1:10
The focus of this graduate clinical psychology course is on the empirical and clinical bases of personality assessment. The course covers the history and theory of measurement in personality psychology; theories of test construction as applied to a range of assessment methods; validation methods; culture and diversity as it applies assessment; developmental issues in assessment; test administration and interpretation; clinical interactions in an assessment context; and report writing. It will consist of didactic training as well as a practical component to facilitate both understanding of and experience with the personality assessment process. This course will focus exclusively on personality assessment; companion courses in the clinical doctoral curriculum cover cognitive assessment, psychopathology, and psychometrics.
Assignments will either be completed in person or can be turned in electronically prior to class. Points will be deducted for any late assignment for which an extension is not approved before the assignment is due.
should be relatively short (about 1-2 pages double spaced). They can be about any topic related to the readings or the course. The goal is for the papers to reflect your curiosity or interest in some aspect of personality assessment. Examples might include anything from a scholarly critique of a point of view expressed in the readings to an exploration of your concerns about doing clinical personality assessment, and many things in between. Reaction papers should be interesting to you, in which case they will likely be interesting to me too.
require you to make interpretations about people based on test data that I will provide. Your interpretations should be prepared as if they were going to be in a psychological report (I will provide example reports). Interpretations will be based on referral questions that may range from concrete (e.g., what is the likelihood that this person would meet diagnostic criteria for depression?) to abstract (e.g., why do you think this person has never had a mutually satisfying, long-term relationship?).
will be based on cases that we review in class. We will review one another’s reports. The case will be discussed and the report will be assigned in class on Tuesday, two weeks before it is due. The report should be drafted by the following Tuesday, and sent to all of your classmates and me before class. You should provide feedback about each of your classmate’s reports by Thursday at midnight, and cc me on this email. You should then edit your report based on comments and turn it in the following Tuesday in class.
will be an in vivo clinical interaction with the professor, in which you will be expected to show empathy, curiosity, and authenticity in an interaction while also gathering specific clinical information relevant to diagnosis and case formulation.
Grades will be based on three sources: 3 reports will be worth 16% each (48% total), 7 other assignments will be worth 6% each (42% total), and class participation will be worth 10%. Class participation will include being active in class discussions and activities and providing comments on drafts of your colleagues’ reports.
I am available by appointment.

Archer, R.P. & Smith, S.R. (2014). Personality Assessment, 2 nd Ed. New York: Routledge.
Finn, S.E. (2007). In Our Clients’ Shoes: Theory and techniques of therapeutic assessment. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kazdin, A.E. (2002). Methodological Issues and Strategies in Clinical Research (3 rd Edition). Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
Wiggins, J.S. (2003). Paradigms of Personality Assessment. New York: Guilford.
Blais, M.A. & Hopwood, C.J. (2010). A model of personality organization to integrate assessment data from multiple sources. In Blais, Mark A., Baity, Mathew R., & Hopwood, Christopher J. Clinical Applications of
the Personality Assessment Inventory. NY: Routledge Mental Health.
Cheung, F.M., van de Vijver, F.J.R., & Leong, F.T.L. (2011). Toward a new approach to the study of personality in culture. American Psychologist, 66, 593-603.
Donnellan, M.B. & Robins, R.W. (2009). The development of personality across the life span. In G. Matthews and
P. Corr (Eds). Cambridge Handbook of Personality Cambridge University Press.
Haynes, S.N., Leisen, M.B., & Blaine, D.D. (1997). Design of individualized behavioral treatment programs using functional analytic clinical case models. Psychological Assessment, 9, 334-348.
Hopwood, C.J. (2010). An interpersonal perspective on the personality assessment process. Journal of Personality
Assessment, 92, 471-479.
Kvaal, S., Choca, J., Groth-Marnat, G., & Davis, A. (2011). The integrated psychological report. In T.M. Harwood, L.E.
Beutler, & G. Groth-Marnat, (Eds.) Integrative Assessment of Adult Personality (3 rd Ed., pp. 413-446). New
York: The Guilford Press.
Mihura, J. L., Meyer, G. J., Dumitrascu, N., & Bombel, G. (2012). The validity of individual Rorschach variables:
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the Comprehensive System. Psychological Bulletin
Morey, L.C. & Hopwood, C.J. (2007). Casebook for the Personality Assessment Inventory: A structural summary
approach. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Pincus, A.L., Lukowitsky, M.R., & Wright, A.G.C. (2010). The interpersonal nexus of personality and psychopathology. In T. Millon, R. Kreuger, & E. Simonsen (Eds.), Contemporary directions in
psychopathology: Scientific foundations for DSM-V and ICD-11 (pp. 523-552). New York: Guilford.
Poston, J.M. & Hanson, W.E. (2010). Meta-analysis of psychological assessment as therapeutic intervention.
Psychological Assessment, 22, 203-212.
Tackett, J.L., Kushner, S.C., De Fruyt, F., & Mervielde, I. (2013). Delineating personality traits in childhood and adolescence: Associations across measures, temperament, and behavioral problems. Assessment, 20,
738-751.
Tharinger, D.J. & Pilgrim, S. (2012). Parent and child experiences of neuropsychological assessment as a function of child feedback by individualized fable. Child Neuropsychology, 18, 228-241.
Van der Ende, J., Verhulst, F.C., & Tiemeier, H. (2012). Agreement of informants on emotional and behavioral problems from childhood to adulthood. Psychological Assessment, 24, 293-300.
Various supplemental handouts

Date Topic Reading
1: Foundations of Personality Assessment
Assignments Due
1/12 History of Personality
Assessment
Clark & Watson (Kazdin); Finn, 2007 (1-4);
Meyer et al. (Kazdin)
1/19
1/26
2/2
Cultural Issues
Developmental Issues
Cheung et al., 2011; Costa & McCrae (A&S) Reaction Paper 1
Donnellan & Robins, 2009; Child Reports;
Tharinger & Pilgrim, 2012
Reaction Paper 2
Assessment Approaches Wiggins, 2003 (Intro, 3,4,7,10) Reaction Paper 3
2. Test Interpretation
2/9 Child and Adolescent
Assessment
2/16 MMPI
Tackett et al. (2013); van der Ende et al.
(2012)
Ben-Porath & Archer (A&S); Wiggins, 2003
(5,11); Caldwell report
Blais & Hopwood, 2010; Kvaal et al., 2011
Interpretation 1
Interpretation 2 2/23 MMPI and Report
Writing
3/1 Performance-Based
Assessment
3/15 Performance-Based
Assessment
3/23 PAI
3/29 PAI
4/5 Interpersonal
Assessment
3. Assessment Interaction
Mihura et al., 2012; Meyer et al., (A&S);
RPAS scoring and interpretation guide
Ackerman et al. (A&S); Wiggins, 2003 (1,8)
Morey (A&S)
Morey & Hopwood (2007) selected chapters
Pincus, Lukowitsky, & Wright, 2010; Wiggins,
2003 (2, 9)
Interpretation 3
Report 1
4/12 Collaborative
Assessment
4/19 Interviewing
4/26 Treatment Planning
Finn, 2007 (5-8); Poston & Hanson, 2010
Hopwood, 2010; Maruish (A&S)
Blais & Smith (A&S); Finn & Fischer (A&S);
Haynes, Leisen, & Blaine, 1997; Wiggins,
2003 (12)
Report 2
Role Play
Report 3
Michigan State University is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services and activities. Requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities may be made by contacting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at 517-
884-RCPD or on the web at rcpd.msu.edu
. Once your eligibility for an accommodation has been determined, you will be issued a Verified Individual Services Accommodation ("VISA") form. Please present this form to me at the start of the term and/or two weeks prior to the accommodation date (test, project, etc.). Requests received after this date may not be honored.