APA2018 presentation by Prof Tony Machin

1. CRICOS QLD 00244B | NSW 02225M TEQSA: PRV12081
Psychological literacy: What is it and
how do we measure it?
Prof Tony Machin
University of Southern Queensland
https://tinyurl.com/APA2018Machin

2. What is PsyLit?
According to Cranney and Dunn (2011), it is the
intentional application of psychological science to
meet personal, professional, and societal goals.
Further, “we strongly believe that psychological
literacy is THE most important literacy for the
Twenty-first Century, and that psychological
literacy should be the primary outcome of
undergraduate psychology education”.

3. What the world
needs now, is
PsyLit!

4. Why is PsyLit important?
Hulme et al. (2015) describe a
model in which PsyLit is
relevant to all aspects of life,
from an understanding of
oneself through to being a
global citizen.

5. While PsyLit has attracted substantial scholarly
attention, a review of the different ways that
PsyLit is defined led Newstead (2015) to conclude
that there is no agreed definition, a conclusion that
is shared by Mair, Taylor and Hulme (2013).
It is therefore timely to review the different
definitions of PsyLit and how these have been
operationalised. That is, what is PsyLit and how is
PsyLit actually measured?
How is PsyLit defined?

6. Purpose: To describe empirical studies that have
been conducted focusing on psychological literacy,
and describe and evaluate current empirical
measurement practice regarding psychological
literacy. The aims therefore are:
To systematically review the empirical research in
relation to the concept of psychological literacy
To critically characterise, evaluate and compare
existing measures/assessments of psychological
literacy.
Initial aim

7. Key articles:
Boneau (1990)
McGovern, et al. (2010)
Roberts, Heritage and Gasson (2015)
Murdoch (2016)
Where have we come from?

8. Boneau (1990) introduced the term “Psychological
literacy” focusing on the key terms and concepts
that constitute the core knowledge base in
psychology.
The importance of the concepts was assessed
according to a rating scale which ranked the terms
from 5 (…is able to make knowledgeable
statements about this term) through to 1 (…too
specialised for general knowledge even at the
doctoral level).
Early definitions of PsyLit

9. Even Boneau recognises that his rating scale was a
“strangely concocted dimension, but it seemed to
make sense to my respondents” (p. 892).
A similar approach was taken by Tomcho and Foels
(2017) to establish the core concepts in five areas
of applied psychology, including health psychology,
psychology of gender, I/O psychology, cross-
cultural psychology, and psychology and law. The
ratings scale was identical to Boneau (1990) and a
total of 500 concepts were rated. Of these, 311
(61%) were unique to the applied areas.
Some issues with this
approach

10. This conference in 2008 created a definition of
PsyLit that included nine separate qualities that all
psychology graduates should possess:
having a well-defined vocabulary and basic
knowledge of the critical subject matter of
psychology;
valuing the intellectual challenges required to use
scientific thinking and the disciplined analysis of
information to evaluate alternative courses of
action;
APA’s National Conference
on Undergraduate Education

11. taking a creative and amiable sceptical approach
to problem solving;
applying psychological principles to personal,
social, and organisational issues in work,
relationships, and the broader community;
acting ethically;
being competent in using and evaluating
information and technology;
This book introduces
the term
“Psychologically
literate citizen”.

12. communicating effectively in different modes and
with many different audiences;
recognising, understanding, and fostering respect
for diversity;
being insightful and reflective about one’s own and
others’ behavior and mental processes.
(McGovern, et al., 2010, p.11).

13. Lynne Roberts, Brody Heritage
and Natalie Gasson
Roberts, Heritage and Gasson (2015) identified
nine existing scales and included these multi-item
measures along with the nine single-item
measures from Chester et al. (2013) to determine
the underlying structure of PsyLit.
Reflective Processes (RP),
Generic Graduate Attributes (GGA), and
Psychology as a Helping Profession (PHP).
Recent research

15. Heritage, Roberts and Gasson (2016) futher
examined the validity of their multi-item measure
of PsyLit using students enrolled in a range of
degree programs and at different levels in these
programs.
Their approach is to comprehensively assess the
nine dimensions of PsyLit using multiple measures.
Evidence for a three factor
structure?

17. Their three factors weakly differentiated between
Psychology and Psychology-HRM students in their
first year, but not between Psychology and Speech
Pathology students.
At the second year level, the three PsyLit factors
weakly differentiated between Psychology and
Speech Pathology students, but not between
Psychology and Psychology-HRM students.
Finally, comparisons between the three levels
within Psychology (but not the other disciplines)
found that PsyLit differentiated the first year level
from the second year level, but not the third year
level.
Further evidence is required to support a three-
factor model of PsyLit.

18. Murdoch (2016)
Murdoch (2016) also questions whether PsyLit is
what makes psychology unique?
Most of the 9 attributes are not unique to
Psychology, rather reflect general graduate
attributes.
Murdoch proposes that PsyLit is a higher order
construct that incorporates a number of other
“literacies” making PsyLit a meta-literacy.
What next?

19. Murdoch (2016) illustrates that PsyLit is a product
of understanding the core psychological knowledge
of the discipline, combined with psychology-
specific knowledge and skill (perhaps specialised
sub-skills), and the ability to apply these
knowledges and skills in meaningful personal,
social and employment-related areas.

20. Murdoch (2016) concludes with seven
recommendations that are a foundation for the
further development of PsyLit, which “could and
should be the goal of a psychology undergraduate
education, but it does not need to be the goal” (p.
196).
Final words

21. Halpern and Butler (2011) suggest that scenarios
are an appropriate methodology to capture
students’ understanding of psychological
knowledge as well as their skill in applying this
knowledge.
Assessment of PsyLit needs
to move beyond the self-
report measures that have
been used thus far.

22. Roberts, Gasson, Breen,
Mancini, Chester & Heritage
(2018)
These authors just presented their latest research
at ICAP in Montreal.
“Measurement of Psychological Literacy to Assess
Global Citizenship in Undergraduate Psychology
Students”
They are developing an objective measure that
targets ability to apply psychological literacy to
personal, professional and societal needs.
Recent developments

23. Steps:
Development of the scenarios
Piloting
Known Groups testing
Convergent and Divergent Validity
Predictive Validity

24. You notice that a newspaper report on the
adoption of recycling and other environmentally
sustainable behaviours concludes that the schemes
often cost quite a lot to implement and may not
really save taxpayers any money.
a) Explain the impact of recycling on the
individual, their neighbourhood and the society.
b) What psychological theory and/or concepts
might be relevant to your response.
Example

25. While Australia has one of the highest rates of
preventable skin cancers, many people fail to take
adequate preventative action to reduce their risk.
a) Explain the apparent contradiction in people’s
failure to use adequate sun protection.
b) What psychological theory and/or concepts
might be relevant to your response.
Another example

26. CRICOS QLD 00244B | NSW 02225M TEQSA: PRV12081
In conclusion, the definition and measurement of PsyLit is a
critical part of specifying what a PsyEd can provide. It would also
contribute to global psychological literacy citizenship (Cranney &
Dunn, 2011). The value of a psychology education is not just in
enabling graduates to find appropriate employment, but also in
facilitating solutions to global human problems.

27. CRICOS QLD 00244B | NSW 02225M TEQSA: PRV12081