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  2. Approaches to Psychological Assessment [PSY5505]

School: Arts and Humanities

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Approaches to Psychological Assessment

  • Unit Code

    PSY5505

  • Year

    2027

  • Enrolment Period

    1

  • Version

    1

  • Credit Points

    20

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus

  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Deirdre DRAKE

Description

Becoming a responsible and ethical user of psychological assessments involves investigating understanding commonly used psychological tests designed to assess intelligence, personality, and mental health, as well as assessment strategies or approaches such as interviewing and observational techniques. Students will evaluate the reliability and validity of assessments, interpret data from cognitive, personality, and mental health tests, with an emphasis on recognising their limitations, including cultural influences. Ethical administration and interpretation will be emphasized. Through authentic case studies and active analysis of real-world tests, students will develop critical evaluation skills and begin to learn how to apply ethical principles in psychological assessment practice

Prerequisite Rule

Students must be enrolled in the Master of Psychology in order to complete this unit.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Evaluate the reliability and validity of psychological tests and assess the suitability of tests for use in clinical and community samples.
  2. Interpret and report on data from commonly used tests of cognitive function, personality, and mental health screening.
  3. Recognise the limits of psychological tests, and evaluate the impact of cultural and social factors on psychological tests.
  4. Apply the ethical principles underpinning the administration and interpretation of psychological tests.

Unit Content

  1. The history and development of psychological tests and assessments.
  2. The reliability, validity, and clinical utility of psychological tests, and application of tests in clinical and community settings.
  3. The conduct of an assessment and subsequent interpretation of commonly used tests to measure cognitive function, personality, and mental health.
  4. Ethical principles underpinning the use of psychological tests and writing psychological reports.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
EssayEssay50%
Case StudyCase study report50%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

  • Plagiarism: Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).
  • Unauthorised collaboration (collusion): Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).
  • Contract cheating: Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.
  • Cheating in an exam: Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment Procedure - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment Procedure - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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