PSYC13020 - Individual Differences and Assessment

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit will introduce you to the principles, processes, applications, and issues pertaining to the development and use of psychological assessment. This unit is presented through a number of themes, covering topics such as origins, ethics and uses of psychological testing; testing in adults, children and vulnerable populations; neuropsychological testing and testing for industry and career development. The psychometric basis of psychological assessment and testing is emphasised. You will focus on a variety of common psychological procedures and tests measuring individual differences. Consideration of individual differences and assessment in an Australian context will be a key component of your studies in this unit.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

96 credit points in CC43, CF59, CL51, CL55, CC13, CA10 or CG93, or admission to CC10.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 40%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Presentation 20%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 92.68% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 28.67% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student feedback via SUTE.
Feedback
Students commented that some of the lecture recordings were too detailed and could be more engaging.
Recommendation
Review lecture content and associated recordings, and record new videos for those that require updating.
Action Taken
Lecture content was reviewed and two new recordings were developed. Lecture content and recordings will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in coming terms.
Source: Unit coordinator reflection
Feedback
The academic integrity of the written assessment task in this unit is likely to be at-risk for misuse of generative AI (artificial intelligence) by students.
Recommendation
Review and redesign this assessment task so that there is minimal risk of students using generative AI to complete the task. Ensure that expectations around the use of generative AI are made clear to students in the unit profile and on the Moodle site.
Action Taken
The written assessment task was redesigned so that it involved students developing a formal professional report for one of two simulated workplace scenarios to help prevent misuse of generative AI. Using the resources provided by the Academic Learning Centre, students were provided with information in the unit profile and on the Moodle site about permissible and non-permissible uses of generative AI across all assessment tasks.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Students requested more feedback on their written assessment task.
Recommendation
Review feedback processes and develop a video of general feedback to help contextualise the individual feedback provided to students on their assessment tasks.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Students requested support in identifying psychometric information for a test from journal articles to support them in writing the psychological test evaluation report (Assessment 3).
Recommendation
Deliver tutorial activities designed to build students' skills in identifying relevant psychometric information about individual tests from journal articles.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Articulate the purposes and principles of psychological assessment and testing
  2. Identify and articulate the knowledge of test construction processes and basic statistics to develop and validate a test of a psychological construct
  3. Apply knowledge of psychometric principles to evaluate the reliability, validity and other relevant features of psychological assessment processes and tests
  4. Locate and use professional standards, ethical codes and sources of information relevant to developers and users of psychological assessments and tests.

This unit addresses Foundational Competencies as specified by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) and specifically aligns to:

1.1 Comprehend and apply a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology, with depth of understanding of underlying principles, theories and concepts in the discipline, using a scientific approach, including the following topics:

(i) the history and philosophy underpinning the science of psychology and the social, cultural, historical and professional influences on the practice of psychology

(ii) individual differences in capacity, behaviour and personality

(iii) psychological health and well-being

(iv) psychological disorders and evidence-based interventions

(vi) cognition, language and perception

(xi) culturally appropriate psychological assessment and measurement

(xii) research methods and statistics.

1.2 Apply knowledge and skills of psychology in a manner that is reflexive, culturally appropriate and sensitive to the diversity of individuals.

1.3 Analyse and critique theory and research in the discipline of psychology and communicate these in written and oral formats.

1.4 Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate values and ethics in psychology.

1.5 Demonstrate interpersonal skills and teamwork.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Presentation • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
2 - Problem Solving •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence •
8 - Ethical practice • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10