PYN027 Advanced Psychological Assessment

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This unit is designed to develop your theoretical understanding of psychological assessment, and to develop competency in the application of assessment techniques including test administration, scoring and interpretation. The unit extends your undergraduate knowledge of psychometric theory, principles and methods such as interviewing, observation and testing. It integrates the principles of the scientist-practitioner model and develops your competencies in the use of formal and informal methods of assessments to critically understand your clients and to integrate the results into a meaningful report with effective recommendations for intervention. The unit takes into account the factors that impact the assessment of individuals from diverse backgrounds, and the ethical and legal issues involved in psychological assessment.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Communicate at an advanced level the principles and theory underpinning psychological assessment with an understanding of the issues related to reliability, validity and cultural diversity.
2. Integrate information from multiple sources and methods to formulate hypotheses (including possible DSM-5-TR diagnoses), and to identify and implement the most appropriate assessment methods to lead to confident clinical judgement in providing any appropriate diagnoses.
3. Demonstrate the rationale, administration, scoring and interpretation of the major psychological instruments taught in the unit.
4. Manage ethical issues in reporting of psychological assessment and to write psychological assessment reports suitable for specific contexts.
5. Communicate effectively, using culturally appropriate language, to clients, families, referral agencies, and other psychologists about psychological assessment with demonstrated understanding of incorporating assessment results into treatment planning.

Content

Learning Approaches

The unit will incorporate a blended learning style. Face to face sessions, comprising lectures, AV presentations, demonstrations, group-based exercises and practice sessions are adopted in the classes to promote your learning. Some intensive workshops may be held to support your learning. Self-directed learning is encouraged. 

PY18 and PY19 course design is intentionally blended to purposefully integrate active face-to-face learning experiences with blended/online learning experiences across the course consistent with the course learning outcomes, cohort needs and discipline professional practices. Canvas is used within this unit to inform and enhance your learning. All unit material required for learning and completing assessment is included online through Canvas. Additional readings and resources such as web links and video material is also posted where appropriate to expand your ability to advance your knowledge in the unit's subject matter.

A key aim of the unit and course is to support provisional psychologists in developing their knowledge, skills and competencies so they are able to provide the best quality care for their clients. Underlying this aim, and in line with registration guidelines, is a focus on ensuring the public's safety.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

The feedback from assessment will enable you to develop your skills and knowledge progressively across the semester. To strengthen your skills, constructive feedback will be provided for each assessment task. It is expected that you will be able to use the feedback to strengthen your assessment competencies.

Assessment

Overview

Assessment in this unit will consist of a practical demonstration and a written examination. Satisfactory completion of each of these hurdle assessment tasks is required to successfully pass the unit.

Unit Grading Scheme

S (Satisfactory) / U (Unsatisfactory)

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Live Administration

In your professional role as a psychologist, you will use a range of measures to assess people. Test administration and scoring is a critical competency for psychologists. Through this practical assessment, you will demonstrate your test administration and scoring competencies. You will use these competencies in your practice with clients.

You will receive training in a major cognitive test (e.g. WISC-V / WAIS-IV) in a full day workshop, and will practice its administration and scoring. Mid-way through the semester, you will be required to administer the test live to an examiner and to score the results.

To prepare for this assessment, you are expected to complete formative learning tasks, including practising the test with a peer, practising the test in class, filming an administration of the test, and completing a rating checklist of your own and a peer’s video recorded test. These tasks provide opportunity for correction of errors during the learning stage, in preparation for the live administration.

The live administration is designed to emulate an authentic professional experience of testing a client, and to provide the opportunity to demonstrate competence in managing common client responses during testing. Marking criteria will be provided.

Achieving a satisfactory result on the live administration is required before you are permitted to conduct formal testing of clients in your internship. As a threshold assessment, a satisfactory outcome on this assessment must be achieved in order to achieve an overall Satisfactory (S) result in the unit.

Threshold Assessment:

The skills you must demonstrate in this assessment task are core competencies of psychologists. You need to be able to demonstrate that you can administer, interpret and communicate findings of psychological assessment before doing so with your clients.

In the event that you receive an Unsatisfactory (U) result for this assessment you will be provided with feedback to aid your learning and a further opportunity to demonstrate your assessment competency. In some cases you may be required to undertake a period of remediation before being allowed further attempts. The decision regarding further remediation and demonstration of competency will be at the unit coordinator's discretion and is considered on a case-by-case basis. You must acheive a 'Satisfactory' result on this assessment to successfully pass the unit.

Assessment: Examination (Theory)

This is a 3-hour open resource exam where you demonstrate your competence in communicating assessment results to a variety of audiences and stakeholders.

To prepare for the exam, you will participate in class activities such as role playing giving feedback of assessment results to clients and explaining psychometric concepts in lay terms, and engaging in interactive group tasks such as interpreting test scores in light of other data, writing parts of reports for different audiences, and explaining the limitations of tests in specific scenarios. Feedback will be provided in class, with connections made to the marking criteria of the exam.

The exam will require short answer responses to scenarios that will require you to demonstrate your understanding of ethical and legal issues in assessment; cultural sensitivity; Indigenous perspectives; assessment interpretation and formulation; psychometric concepts; and respectful, accurate, and appropriate communication of assessment results to a range of audiences.

Personalised feedback about your exam submission will be provided to you to enhance your learning within two weeks of the exam. Upon receipt of this feedback, for your overall performance on the exam to be deemed 'satisfactory', you will be required to submit a short response to the feedback, reflecting on how you will implement the feedback and your learnings in your professional practice. If you do not respond to this feedback appropriately, you may be awarded an 'unsatisfactory' grade for this assessment. 

Threshold Assessment:

This is an authentic threshold assessment as all questions involve scenarios or tasks based on or applied to clinical practice. In answering these questions you will be demonstrating your knowledge of the skills needed to undertake these professionally-relevant tasks. You must acheive a 'Satisfactory' result on this assessment to successfully pass the unit.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Requirements to Study

Requirements

Registration (provisional or general) with the Psychology Board of Australia

Resources

Resource Materials

Recommended text(s)

Groth-Marnat, G., & Wright, J. (2016). Handbook of Psychological Assessment (6th edition). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Sattler, J. M. (2018). Assessment of children: Cognitive foundations and applications: A resource guide (6th ed.) San Diego: Jerome M. Sattler.

Reference book(s)

Kaufman, A.S., Raiford, S. E., & Coalson, D. L. (2016). Intelligent testing with the WISC-V. New York: Wiley.

Sattler, J. M. (2014). Foundations of behavioral, social and clinical assessment of children (6th ed). San Diego: Jerome M. Sattler.

Risk Assessment Statement

You should be aware that some content in this unit may be confronting to certain audiences. Please exercise your own discretion when participating in classroom activities or discussions. The QUT Student Counselling service is also available and free of charge to all QUT students.

Course Learning Outcomes

PY18 Master of Clinical Psychology

1. Apply advanced and specialised knowledge of Clinical Psychology to plan, assess, treat and manage clients with mental disorders and conditions, across the lifespan and from a range of backgrounds, including accessing, evaluating and utilising digital health information.
   Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO3, ULO4, Live Administration, Examination (Theory)
2. Promote and practice effective written, oral and digital communication to analyse and convey complex information and build productive professional relationships.
   Relates to: ULO4, ULO5, Live Administration, Examination (Theory)
3. Deliver Clinical Psychology services with a high degree of professionalism and reflective practice.
   Relates to: ULO4, ULO5, Live Administration

PY19 Master of Psychology (Educational and Developmental)

1. Critically evaluate and apply theories of psychology and evidence-based knowledge and skills applicable to the professional practice of educational and developmental psychology, adhering to contemporary professional practice standards.
   Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO4, Examination (Theory)
2. Formulate approaches for engaging in critical thinking. decision making and reflective practice, drawing on cognitive, technical and creative skills, to identify and implement contemporary evidence-based intervention and assessment strategies in varied contexts that reflect culturally safe and responsive practice.
   Relates to: ULO2, ULO3, ULO5, Live Administration, Examination (Theory)
3. Access, evaluate, and utilise relevant psychological information that informs and assists in intra- and inter-professional collaboration with a range of audiences and contexts that demonstrates creativity and initiative as an educational and developmental psychologist.
   Relates to: ULO4, ULO5
4. Promote and practise effective written, oral and digital communication to analyse and convey complex information and build productive professional relationships across diverse stakeholders.
   Relates to: ULO5