OVERVIEW AND READINGS FOR GENERAL COMPS (05-17-07)
NOTE: Generally, as you will see below, the structure and procedures of the 2007 General Comps exam will very closely parallel those of the 2006 exam.
Date: May 17, 2007
From: Dan Fishman (General Comps Coordinator)
To: Students Taking General Comps
Subject: Procedures for General Comps
I. GENERAL COMPS, HOT TOPIC
1. The hot topic question may be picked up at GSAPP from your Department Administrators (Alicia or Kathy) on Wed., July 25, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and must be returned to them between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Mon., July 30. The narrative answer to this question must be typewritten and fit on an absolute maximum of 10 printed double-spaced pages using font 12 and 1 inch margins on 4 sides of each page. (One or more pages of references can be in addition to the 10 pages.) The author should be identified by the last four digits of her or his Rutgers ID number. The pages should be numbered as header or footer on each page and securely fastened together.
2. Students are expected to pick up and return their own hot topic question, answer, and integrity statement. If necessary, individuals may arrange for an agent to pick up and/or return their examination materials under the following conditions:
a. In order to pick up and/or return comps material, the agent must have a typed and signed statement from the person taking comps indicating that he or she is the comps taker's representative. No staff member of GSAPP can serve as anyone's representative.
b. If the agent does not present the signed statement, he or she cannot pick up or return hot topic materials.
c. On picking up the hot topic materials, the agent must present the signed statement from the comps taker, sign the agent's own name for the GSAPP record, and record the name of the comps taker whom he or she is representing.
d. The integrity statement associated with the hot topic question will be attached to the question. When the answer is turned in, the integrity statement must be signed and attached to the answer.
e. On returning comps material, the agent must again sign her or his name as acting on behalf of the comps taker.
f. In the eyes of GSAPP, a comps taker who uses an agent remains fully responsible for all matters concerning the timeliness, content, and integrity of her or his hot topic performance. Under no circumstances will GSAPP consider an agent, if one is employed, to be responsible for anything that happens to a comps taker's work.
II. GENERAL COMPS, QUESTIONS 1-4
On the days of the General Comps, August 6 and 7, students will have three hours (9-12; 1-4) for each of the four in-class questions and one hour for lunch. A question may be answered only during the period in which it is given out. Everyone must take the full one hour lunch break. On the days of the in-class exam, people should arrive between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m. General instructions will begin at 8:45 a.m. for the morning session and at 12:55 p.m. for the afternoon session.
Summary
9:00 am --12:00 noon, Monday, Aug. 6, Question
1 -- Research
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, lunch.
1:00 pm -- 4:00 pm, Monday, Aug. 6, Question 2 -- Foundations
9:00 am - 12:00 noon, Tuesday, Aug. 7, Question 3 -- Community Psychology
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, lunch.
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm, Tuesday, Aug. 7, Question 4 -- Legal and Ethical Issues
1. Communication About the Comps:
Because the Comps listservs are not properly functioning, communications about Comps will take place directly by email between Dan Fishman, the Coordinator (dfish96198@aol.com), and the students who will be taking the exam(s). Materials related to Comps will be posted on electronic, Rutgers University Libraries Reserve (see item below).
2. Library Reserve Site:
To access the General Comps Information, go to the Comprehensive Exams course, listed as Independent Study 18:820:601:A1
3. Faculty Coordinators:
The general exam will be coordinated by the Dan Fishman, with the help of the other faculty. The Program Directors (Cary Cherniss, Susan Forman, and Brenna Bry) will review and approve the questions.
4. Questions and Courses:
Question 1 is linked to two courses: "Statistical Methods and Design Analysis" and "Advanced Statistics and Research Design."
Question 2 is linked to the three "Theoretical Foundations of Intervention" courses -- Psychoanalytic, Cognitive-Behavioral, and Organizational.
Question 3 is linked to the Community Psychology course, and the attached reading list, to be available on Library Reserve.
Question 4 is linked to the "Professional Ethics, Standards, and Career Development" course, and the attached reading list, to be available on Library Reserve.
Question 5 is the "Hot Topic." The topic area is still being determined. The question calls for integration across a variety of courses, together with its own reading list, to be available on Library Reserve and/or on the web.
5. Number of Question Options Per Area:
There will only be one question option in each of the five areas.
6. Past Exams: Past Exams will be available on the Library Reserve site. Note that exams are not identical each year. So also rely on the description contained in this Overview. Also, answers to past exam questions will not be available.
7. Library Reserve Site: To access the General Comps Information, go to the Comprehensive Exams course, listed as Independent Study 18:820:601:A1.
8. "Open Book" exam: Students can bring in outside materials to the exam, including books, articles, written notes and references, but not material on computer disks or iPod and related devices.
9. Citations in answers: What is expected is that you provide relevant and key references in the text at appropriate points to link your answer to the scholarly and scientific literature. For example, in the community psychology question, you might cite "(Cherniss, 1976)" on the issue of pre-entry issues in consultation; and in the Professional Development question, you might cite "(Fisher, 2003)" on one of her important explanations and interpretations of a key ethical principle. For each citation, provide the last name of the first author, e.g. "Fisher," (if there are other authors you know of, write, "et al," e.g., "Fisher et al."); and the approximate year of the publication.
10. Integrity Statement: Students must commit to and sign an "integrity statement" for the Hot Topic and in-class exam questions. Copies of the appropriate integrity statement will be distributed with the Hot Topic and with Question 4, the last question of the in-class exam. The integrity statement will say:
Concerning the Hot Topic question (or Questions 1-4 of the General Comprehensive Exam), I have neither given information to nor received information from others concerning this question, nor discussed this question with anyone. This includes information exchanged by cell phones.
I understand that the above sentence is clarified by the following: Before I picked up the Hot Topic question (or saw Questions 1-4), I was able to consult any written source relating to the topic and discuss it with any others. However, once I picked up (or saw) the actual questions, I was not able to talk to anyone else about it/them.
11. Page Limits: The page limits for each question will be specified on the question. These limits will be the same as in past years, as can be seen in the previous exams posted on the Library Reserve site.
12. Parking: Students should pick up their parking permits from their Departmental Administrator, Alicia or Kathy.
13. Time Keeping: Please bring your own watch or clock for keeping track of time during comps. If you have a watch that beeps, be sure to turn off the beep for the exam so as not to bother other people. We expect folks to be attentive to time without excessive help from staff.
14. Cell Phones: Cell phones must be turned off during the exam, although they can be used before the exam begins, during the lunch hour, and after the exam. They cannot be used at any other time during which the exam is taking place.
15. iPod and related musical devices: iPod and related musical devices with earphones only are allowed as long as they are only used for music and not for any verbal or written material.
16. Faculty Presence: A faculty member will be available (in-person or by phone) at the start of each session of the in-class exam to answer questions about the content of questions.
17. University Computers Only: Students may not use their own computers for the in-class exam. Only computers supplied by the university can be employed.
18. Grading:
1. Faculty graders will be assigned by the General Comps Committee (Fishman, Cherniss, Forman, and Bry). Criteria for assignment will be expertise as well as overall workload. To insure proper grading, be certain to provide the information requested for each answer so that it can be properly used in assigning graders to your exam.
2. The full details of grading procedures are provided in the Blue Book. Briefly:
a) All five questions graded satisfactory:
pass the exam without remediation.
b) One or two questions only graded satisfactory, written retake of entire exam
at a regularly scheduled comps testing date in the future.
c) Three (or four) questions graded satisfactory, one (or two) responses graded
unsatisfactory:
i) For each unsatisfactory question that is graded 3&3 or 3&4 by the two readers,
the question has to be remediated with an individual faculty member.
ii) For each unsatisfactory question that is graded 4&4 by the two readers,
the question requires a written re-take at a regularly schedule comps testing
date in the future.
4. The faculty will aim to complete the grading by October 15. All students will be notified of their individual results by letter at the same time.
5. Faculty graders have a space for comments in addition to assigning number grades to each answer. These comments, together with the original answers, will be available for review by the student after all the grading is completed. The graders sign their answers.
6. The student answers do not have names on them. Thus the faculty grading is done without knowledge of who the student is.
20. More About the Questions
1. Research Critique. The question will follow the same format as the parallel question in 2006. The format reflects the perspective taught by Nancy Fagley in her statistics courses. Nancy also shares this perspective with the other instructors of these courses. There will be a different article for each of the three programs.
2. Foundations. Question #2 will deal with integrative aspects of the three Foundations courses, Psychodynamic, Cognitive-Behavioral, and Organizational - three "core" courses that every student is required to take. In answering the Foundations question, students also have the opportunity to employ advanced course work in each of the three areas as they might choose; they are not restricted to what is contained in the Foundations courses. On the other hand, the use of advanced work is not required. Since the question spans several courses, it will require reflective and integrative thinking. The question will give the students an episode to analyze, and they will need to analyze it in terms of psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and one form of organizational theory. Then students will be required to contrast the theories on a few dimensions.
3. Community Psychology. This question will be drawn directly from the community psychology course. Students will be asked to apply the principles of community psychology in designing an intervention to deal with a community problem.
4. Legal and Ethical Issues. This question will be drawn from the Professional Ethics, Standards, and Career Development course and other relevant courses. Students are strongly encouraged to bring with them to the exam APA's (1992) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, APA's 1987 General Guidelines for providers of Psychological Services, and (at least a summary of) the New Jersey Psychology Licensing Law. More specifically, this question will address: (a) the nature of the legal and ethical issues with which professional psychologists grapple, (b) the strategies and procedures professional psychologists bring to dealing with these issues, and (c) the larger social, political, cultural, and economic context in which these issues exist and develop. You can answer this question from either the perspective of professional psychology generally or from the perspective of your particular program: clinical, organizational, or school psychology.
21. Comp Boxes: "Comp Boxes" consist of material that past students have put together to study for the General Comps. Some faculty believe that using comp boxes is not necessary and may even be distracting. Faculty encourage the use of reading lists from relevant courses (for Questions 1-4) and as listed below as a base, and from the special "Hot Topics" reading list (for Question 5).
22. Comps Groups: "Comps Groups" are self-created groups of students who work together to prepare for Comps. While many students prefer them, other students prefer to study on their own.
23. SUGGESTED READING LIST: Note that each item is numbered by the question, followed by a hyphen, followed by the number of the reading item within the question.
QUESTION 1. RESEARCH ARTICLE
GENERAL 1-1. Dougherty, M.A., Henderson, B.B., Tack, F.E., Deck, M.D., Worley, V. & Page, J.R. (1997). "The Relation of Level of Facilitative Conditions, Consultant Experience, and State of Consultation to Consultees' Perceptions of the Use of Direct Confrontations"; and Bailey & Miller, "Life Satisfaction and Life Demands in College Students." Note: Downloading this item will yield two articles, one by Dougherty et al. and one by Bailey & Miller. Each article is followed by answer guidelines to the article.
GENERAL 1-2. Murphy, D.R. & Davidshofer, C.O. (1991). Psychological testing: Principles and applications. (2nd ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
GENERAL 1-3. Judd, C.M., & Kenny, D.A. (1981). Estimating the effects of social interventions. NY: Cambridge Univ. Press.
QUESTION 2. FOUNDATIONS. There are no suggested readings for this Question. You can prepare for it by reviewing the readings and other materials from your three Foundations courses.
QUESTION 3. ISSUES IN COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY: Below is the suggested reading list for Question 3, generally derived from readings assigned in the various community psychology classes. More specifically, the class instructors suggest that you begin by reviewing the Dalton, Elias, & Wandersman text book or the Levine, Perkins, & Perkins text book as a base. Then you should review the other readings you were assigned in class. Finally, you should selectively read the articles below - or other relevant articles not on the list - to supplement the text book framework and the class readings.
GENERAL 3-1. Bond, M. A., & Pyle, J. L. (1998). The ecology of diversity in organizational settings: Lessons from a case study. Human Relations, 51, 589-623.
GENERAL 3-2. Cherniss, C. (1976). Pre-entry issues in consultation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 4, 13-24.
GENERAL 3-3. Cherniss, C. (2000). Pre-entry issues revisited. In R. T.Golembiewski (Ed.), Handbook of organizational consultation (Second edition, pp. 183-188). New York: Marcel Dekker.
GENERAL 3-4. Cowen, E.L. (1991). In pursuit of wellness. American Psychologist, 46, 404-408.
GENERAL 3-5. Elias, M.J. (1987). Establishing enduring prevention programs: Advancing the legacy of Swampscott. American Journal of Community Psychology.15, 539-553.
GENERAL 3-6. Hammond, W. R., & Yung, B. (1993). Psychology's role in the public health response to assaultive violence among young African-American men. American Psychologist, 48, 142-154.
GENERAL 3-7. Price, R.H., & Cherniss, C. (1977). Training for a new profession: Research as social action. Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, 8, 222-231.
GENERAL 3-8. Riger, S. (1993). What is wrong with empowerment? American Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 279-292.
GENERAL 3-9. Shinn, M., Lehmann, S., & Wong, N. W. (1984). Social interaction and social support. Journal of Social Issues, 40, 55-76.
GENERAL 3-10. Dalton, J., Elias, M., & Wandersman, A. (2000). Community psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. TEXT BOOK.
GENERAL 3-11. Levine, M., Perkins, D.D., & Perkins, D.V. (2004). Principles of community Psychology: Perspectives and Applications. New York: Oxford University Press. TEXT BOOK. Some Other Books That Might Be Helpful.
GENERAL 3-12. Comer, J. (2004). Leave no child behind. Yale University Press.
GENERAL 3-13. Elias et al. (1997). Promoting social and emotional learning: Guidelines for educators. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
QUESTION 4. LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES: review the readings from the Professional Ethics, Standards, and Career Development course, with particular emphasis on:
GENERAL 4-1. APA. (2002). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct Available on the APA web site: http://www.apa.org/ethics/homepage.html
GENERAL 4-2. APA. (1987). General guidelines for providers of psychological services. American Psychologist, 42, 712-723.
GENERAL 4-3. APA. (1993). Guidelines for providers of psychological services to ethnic, linguistic, and culturally diverse populations. American Psychologist, 48, 49-51.
GENERAL 4-4. Schaie, K.W. (1993). Ageist language in psychological research. American Psychologist, 48, 49-51.
GENERAL 4-5. APA (1993). Record keeping guidelines. American Psychologist, 48, 984-986.
GENERAL 4-6. Lazarus, A.A. (1994). How certain boundaries and ethics diminish therapeutic effectiveness. Ethics and Behavior, 4, 255-261.
GENERAL 4-7. Margolin, G. (1992). Ethical and legal considerations in marital and family therapy. American Psychologist, 37, 788- 801.
GENERAL 4-8. State of New Jersey Psychology Licensing Law and Regulations. Available at: http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/psy/psyreg.pdf
GENERAL 4-9. Fishman, C.A., & Schneider, K.C. Unlicensed practitioners in psychology. New Jersey Psychologist, 39, 21-23.
GENERAL 4-10. Stromberg, C., & Dellinger, A. (1993). Malpractice and other professional liability. The Psychologist's Legal Update, No. 3. National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.
GENERAL 4-11. Fisher, C.B. (2003). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. TEXTBOOK.