Psychological Assessment
Overview
This unit provides students with a theoretical and practical introduction to psychological assessment. The unit surveys technical and methodological issues in testing and assessment, and examines how assessments can be conducted in a culturally safe and situationally appropriate manner. Students will learn about the appropriate selection and application of psychological tests and other instruments. Students will learn how assessment interviews, test results, and other sources of information are integrated for reporting, treatment planning, treatment monitoring, and outcome evaluation.
Requisites
Rules
Pre-requisite
300 Credit Points and Admission into BH-PSY Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) Standard Entry
OR
Admission into BH-PSYSC Bachelor of Psychological Sciences (Honours)
OR
Admission into BH-PSY1 Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) Graduate Entry
Equivalent
HAY454 - Psychological Assessment; HAY639 - Psychological Assessment
01-November-2026
31-October-2027
Unit learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Explain theoretical and practical foundations of culturally-safe psychological assessment
- Critically evaluate the properties of psychological tests to select appropriate instruments for specific clients and applications
- Critically evaluate uses of digital technology in the administration, interpretation, and reporting of psychological assessments
- Interpret the outcomes of psychological tests and assessments
- Explain the appropriate use of psychological assessment in intervention planning, referral, and outcome assessment
- Integrate test and assessment information to write case reports
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online Lecture | 1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| On-campus Class | 1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| Specified Activities Various | 2.50 | 12 weeks | 30 |
| Unspecified Activities Various | 8.00 | 12 weeks | 96 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | Individual | 30-50% | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Report 1 | Individual | 20-40% | 2,4 |
| Report 2 | Individual | 20-40% | 1,2,4,6 |
Content
• Intelligence and cognitive ability testing
• Personality assessment
• Assessments for occupational settings
• Culturally safe assessment
• Assessment interviewing
• Report writing
• Assessment for evidence-based intervention, treatment planning, treatment monitoring, and outcome assessment
• Considerations for working other health care professionals
• Appropriate and ethical use of digital technology for psychological assessment
• Graduate Attribute 2 (Communication 2 - Communicating using different media)
• Graduate Attribute 5 (Digital Literacies 1 - Information literacy)
• Graduate Attribute 6 (Digital Literacies 2 - Technical literacy)
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.