Psychology 594/596: Psychological Assessment
Spring, 2008

Office Hours

Please note that you may stop by my office whenever you have questions. Given my busy schedule, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to meet with you when you stop by, but I will do my best to accommodate. E-mail is a very efficient way to get in touch with me and I will respond to your message as soon as possible.

Course Objectives

Everyone has certain ideas about the concept of “psychological assessment.” In this course, psychological assessment is broadly defined to refer to the collection, organization, and interpretation of information about a person, with the primary objective being to learn how to accurately describe and predict human behavior. The goal of teaching you the material in psychological assessment is to provide you with empirically valid information regarding the assessment instruments and their appropriate uses. In taking the course, my hope is that you will develop an initial competency in administration and interpretation that will be refined as you continue to develop professionally and as you gain more direct assessment experience.

Textbook

American Psychiatric Association. (2001). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Ed. text revision). Washington, DC: Author.

Evaluation

Students will demonstrate on a weekly basis (Friday lab meetings) their mastery in administering those psychological tests addressed in the prior lecture. These lab meetings will involve me randomly calling upon students to administer a portion(s) of an instrument in class. In addition to the DSM-IV-TR, primary texts for this course are the testing manuals of respective psychological tests. Manuals and testing equipment are available from the Psychological Clinic upon checking them out with the clinic’s secretary. PRACTICE!! Students not passing on an instrument must repeat the administration within two weeks and pass. Two failures will involve a lengthy conversation in my office, and three failures will result in a failing grade for the course and practicum. Second, for two assessment measures (the WAIS-III, WISC-IV), you will be required to arrange a time when you and a peer can videotape an administration. These will be evaluated by either my graduate teaching assistant or myself, and rated as pass /fail. If failed, the entire administration will need to be repeated. Completed scoring booklets must also be turned in for evaluation. Finally, as indicated below, each week at the beginning of class you will be quizzed on one of the DSM-IV diagnoses (i.e., your knowledge of specific diagnostic criteria). These quizzes will account for 20% of your final grade.

Course Policies

• Make-up quizzes will not be given.
• Punctual arrival to class meetings is strongly encouraged. Late arrivals divert the attention of students already in class, not to mention the distractions to me as I present material.
• I expect all students to attend class on a regular basis. Let me know in advance if you cannot attend for some reason.
• Please turn all cell phones off before class. They are a HUGE pet peeve of mine.
• I expect students to behave like mature adults in class. Repeated occurrence of disruptive behavior might result in being asked to discontinue the course. Disruptive behaviors include excessive talking, reading a newspaper, or in general, any act or occurrence (e.g., cell phone ringing) that distracts or disturbs other students and/or the instructor.

Course Schedule

January 15	Introduction, Structured and Unstructured Interviews
January 22	Overview of Behavioral Assessment1 Mental Retardation, Autism
January 29	Psychological Assessment and Psychometric Analyses2 ADHD, Conduct Disorder
February 5	Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III Wechsler Individualized Achievement Test-II
February 12	Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV Substance Dependence, Substance Abuse
February 19	Wechsler Primary & Preschool Intelligence Scale Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder
February 26	Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive Scales-III Major Depressive Episode, Manic Episode
March 4	Woodcock-Johnson Achievement Scales-III Interpretation/Integration of Intelligence/Achievement Tests Panic Disorder, Specific Phobia
March 11	Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II Millon Multiaxial Clinical Interview-III Personality Assessment Inventory Social Phobia, OCD
March 18	SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS
March 25	Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-A Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory Behavior Assessment Scales for Children-II PTSD, GAD
April 1	Self-Report Measures [BDI-II, CES-D, BAI, STAI, PSWQ, SF-36, QOLI, SCL-90, SASSI, MAST, DAST] Hamilton Rating Scales (Depression and Anxiety) Malingering Tests Somatization Disorder, Hypochondriasis
April 8	Connors Attention Scales Connors Computerized ADHD Testing Brown Scales Tests of Variable Achievement (TOVA) Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa
April 15	Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ)
April 22	Introduction to Neuropsychological Assessment Dissociative Identity Disorder
April 29	Writing Psychological Evaluations

Dr. Derek H. Hopko | Updated January 2008 | Department of Psychology | University of Tennessee