A three-days Summer School on Assessment of Emotions and PsychopathologyPreconference activity of the 10th European Conference on Psychological Assessment under the auspices of the European Association of Psychological AssessmentSeptember 14th-15th-16th 2009 Ghent University, University building Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Henri- Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent First floor 9AM-16PM Aim: To introduce young researchers ( PhD-students and young postdocs) from all over the world in assessment issues of emotions and psychopathology with relevance for clinical research and practice. Format: The morning will start with a theoretical presentation by an expert in the field. After that, the group will be divided in smaller groups that will discuss specific research issues. In the afternoon, practical applications, exercises, and discussions are planned. Themes of the Summer school: Day 1. Embedding the assessment of emotions in current emotion psychology Chair and presenting author: Johnny Fontaine Day 2. Assessing metacognition and alexithymia in clinical research Chairs and presenting authors: Giancarlo Dimaggio and Stijn Vanheule Day 3. Assessing emotional and behavioural psychopathology with the ASEBA system Chairs and presenting authors: Thomas Achenbach and Caroline Braet Call for participation: 200 euro per participant for three days, lunches included. Low budget accommodation possible (see Hotel reservation). If you are interested to participate, please send your short (1) CV and (2) an abstract of your current work (a general description of the research, or a description of research plans you are involved in) to Caroline.Braet@UGent.be. After approval of your application, you will receive further instructions for the registration. The deadline for submissions is May 1rst. Maximally 20-25 participants. Learning objectives: Day 1 Embedding the assessment of emotions in current emotion psychology This workshop starts with an introduction into the componential emotion approach, the emerging consensus framework in emotion psychology. Taking this framework as a point of reference, conceptual debates on and existing instruments for the assessment of feelings, emotions, and emotional competence are critically discussed. First, the vigorous debates on the internal structure of the affective domain (e.g. on the bipolarity of the affective domain) and their consequences for the assessment of emotions are presented. Then, the various approaches to emotional competence and emotional intelligence (ranging from a personality to an ability approach) are explained. Subsequently, established (such as the PANAS, the Levels of Awareness Scale, and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test) and recently developed scales are presented. Finally, the scientific evidence for the validity of the existing instruments is debated and new research approaches for improving their quality are proposed. Day 2 Assessing meta-cognition and alexithymia in clinical research This workshop focuses on four allied concepts: meta-cognition, mentalization, alexithymia, and emotional awareness. Learning objectives are familiarization with the conceptual background of the constructs; developing critical insight in diverse measurement instruments for the concepts under discussion; and training of research skills in scoring an instrument for measuring meta-cognition (Metacognitive Assessment Scale). Participants will gain insight in advantages and disadvantages of different assessment methods and instruments, and will learn basic skills for scoring interview transcripts by means of the Metacognitive Assessment Scale. Methods we will use are scholarly explanation by the teachers, group discussion, and guided practical exercises. Day 3 Assessing emotional and behavioural psychopathology with the ASEBA system This workshop will teach participants to work with the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) and will address specific discussion themes in assessing emotional and behavioural psychopathology in children, adolescents and adults. Learning objectives are: developing critical insight into the diverse measurement instruments used in ASEBA and training in interpretation of the scores generated by the ASEBA. Participants will be involved in a case study and will learn basic skills in scoring and integrating the parent, child, and teacher perspectives on assessment of emotional/behavioural problems. Participants will also gain insight into the advantages and disadvantages of categorial versus dimensional assessment. Methods will include explanations by the teachers, group discussion, and guided practical exercises. |
