PSYCHOL 6508OL - Individual Differences and Assessment

Online - Online Teaching 6 - 2021

Are we all different or more similar than we think? This course addresses the field of Differential Psychology, and will help you understand how and why people differ, despite the broad similarities shared by all humankind. We will review major theories, research methods and findings, and how these translate into practices in the fields of intelligence, personality, and psychological assessment.

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Course Details

Course Code	PSYCHOL 6508OL
Course	Individual Differences and Assessment
Coordinating Unit	Psychology
Term	Online Teaching 6
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	Online
Units	3
Contact	1 to 2 hour online tutorial
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Prerequisites	PSYCHOL 6500OL and PSYCHOL 6501OL
Restrictions	Graduate Diploma in Psychology or Graduate Certificate in Psychology
Assessment	Online Assessments and Written Assignments

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Sophie Dahlenburg

Email: sophie.dahlenburg@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Full details of each week's activities can be found in MyUni.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Explain the utility of personality and intelligence as psychological concepts.

2. Apply psychometric theory to the assessment of individual differences.

3. Determine desirable characteristics and limitations of measurement in psychology.

4. Evaluate how individual differences relate to wellbeing and ability over the lifespan.

5. Critically reflect upon issues and debates related to the study and assessment of individual differences.

6. Synthesise theory and data to answer empirical questions related to individual differences and assessment.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,3,4,5,6
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1,2,3,4,5,6
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	5,6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	2,3,5,6
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	2,3,5,6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	1,4,5

Learning Resources

Required Resources

This is a fully online offering. Students will require access to the internet to access course content and assessments and to engage in tutorials. Students will need to install a free, open-source, cross-platform package for statistical analysis (JASP) on their computer (https://jasp-stats.org/). Readings will be provided within course modules.

Recommended Resources

Ashton, M.C. (2018). Individual Differences and Personality (3rd ed.). London: Academic Press.

Cooper, C. (2020). Individual Differences and Personality (4th ed.). New York: Taylor & Francis.Â

Online Learning

This is a fully online offering. Myuni will be used for all course materials, communication, links to curated resources, online tutorial support and assignments including submissions, feedback and grades.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Engagement with course content is facilitated by online presentations, interactive online activities, curated readings and resources, and self directed research and study supported by weekly online tutorial sessions. There are 6 Weekly Modules with learning scaffolded across the modules to ensure that students develop deep discipline knowledge as well as the academic literacy, research skills and capacity to apply and communicate their understanding as specified for an AQF8 level offering.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

This course is a 6-week intensive, accelerated learning offering. Students should expect to spend around 24-25 hours per week engaging with the online content, in private study, attending online tutorials and completing the assignments for this course.

Hours per Week:
1.5 Hours - Tutorial
1 Hour - Tutorial Preparation
9 Hours - Assessment related tasks
10 Hours - Engaging with online content including video presentations, podcasts, directed research activities, discussions, interactive tasks
3 Hours - Readings

Learning Activities Summary

Weekly Modules cover content in:

1. Introduction to individual differences, assessment and personality.
-Key Concepts
-Introduction to psychometrics
-Review of statistical concepts
- Aproaches to personality

2. Personality assessment.
-Traditional approaches to personality assessment
- Development of the Five-factor model
-Alternate approaches to personality assessment
-Emotional intelligence

3. Psychometrics.
-Measurement and latent variables
-Exploratory factor analysis part 1 (factorability & assumptions)
-Exploratory factor analysis part 2 (rotation, conducting and reporting FA)
-Applied reliability and validity

4. Intelligence and ability.
-Defining intelligence and IQ scores
-Recap: structural models of intelligence
-Testing intelligence
-IQ over the lifespan
-Gardner's multiple intelligences

5. Biological bases of individual differences.
-Evolutionary psychology
-Evolutionary psychology of individual differences
-Genes and biology
-Temperament and personality

6. Applied individual differences and assessment.
-A critical look at testing
-Assessment in the workplace
-Applying individual differences to relationship conflict forgiveness
-Trait forgiveness and predicting behaviour

Specific Course Requirements

Nil

Small Group Discovery Experience

N/A

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Article review	Summative	Sunday 11:59pm Week 2	20%	1,5
Factor analysis and a critical look at testing.	Formative & Summative	Sunday 11:59pm Week 4	40%	2,3,5
Practical Report	Summative	Sunday 11:59pm Week 6	40%	2,4,5,6

Assessment Related Requirements

Submission via Turnitin. All assignments are due by 11:59pm on the Sunday at the end of the week in which they are due. A penalty of 5% per day applies for late submissions.

Extensions are granted on medical, compassionate or other special circumstances recognised under the University’s Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy. The completed extension application form and any documentation (such as a medical or counsellor's certification) should be emailed to the course coordinator and submitted before the due date. The course coordinator will consider the request in the light of the case made and University deadlines, and may grant an extension of up to three days.

Assessment Detail

Assessment # 1 Journal article review (Due end week 2, 800 words).The aim of this assessment exercise is for you to critically examine a contemporary article that is related to content from modules 1 and 2. This will include critical commentary and reflection on the issues the authors are addressing; the main findings and the conclusions the authors reach.

Assessment #2 (Due end week4, 40%).
Part 1 (Short Answer 20%). You will conduct a factor analysis and reliability analysis of survey data to determine whether a new personality scale is reliable and is behaving as expected.
Part 2 (Short Answer 20%) You will answer a series of questions based on scenarios provided. This will include an interpretation and discussion of relevant practical/ethical/safety issues related to ability testing.

Assessment #3: Practical report (Due end week 6, 40% 1750 words). You will prepare a practical report where you will need to analyse data in JASP and interpret the output to answer questions about the associations between intelligence, personality, and satisfaction with life. The report will need to be written in accordance with APA7th formatting guidelines.

Submission

Online submission using Turnitin

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator