Welcome to PSY 645: Personality Assessment

Note:  Dr. Shivy no longer teaches PSY 645.  Please contact Dr. Dace Svickis of VCU's APA-approved Clinical Psychology program!

This class is grounded in the conceptual and empirically-based literatures of personality assessment. If you enroll in the class, then you will become familiar with several assessment strategies and techniques that are commonly used by clinical and counseling psychologists.

It is my belief that professional psychologists should have, at their disposal, methods for collecting and interpreting client self-report data, as well as the reports and ratings of both trained and untrained judges, and specific methods for behavioral observation and assessment. Hence, the class discusses both traditional and less-traditional methods of personality assessment.

The first topics covered in class include how to conduct a Mental Status Exam (MSE), and how to administer the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). We then study the current version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), which is considered as an "operationalized" Mental Status Exam. We also study the NEO-PI-R, the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III) and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).

Although the class provides several opportunities to enhance report-writing skills, it is important to realize that such skills take considerable time and practice to master. A one-semester course can only begin the learning process. Continued study and experience are the key to enhancing skill.

Finally, this course provides students with an overview of the history and some selected issues related to personality assessment. In particular, we consider the following questions:

Do "personality traits" really exist?

Does "personality" change over the lifespan?

Should "projective" tests ever be used and, if so, how?

Exactly who should perform "psychological assessments?"

When should "personality assessment" be used, and who should pay for it?

I hope you will choose to take this course!