FCAP Conference: July 27-29, 2011

The Fordham Council on Applied Psychometrics (FCAP) is a consortium of graduate students and faculty whose focus is on expanding the awareness and responsible use of psychometric applications in psychology, education and beyond. FCAP’s first conference, held in 2008, was a resounding success. It attracted over 100 professionals and graduate students to explore the themes of the expanding field of psychometrics and the need for appropriate training and expertise. We are currently in the process of planning our second conference, to take place from July 27-29, 2011 at the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham University. This year’s theme will be an exploration of Howard Wainer’s (2008) article “Fourteen Conversations About Three Things” published in the Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics. Our intent is to offer both professionals and graduate students in psychometrics an opportunity to learn from preeminent scholars in the field and to exhibit their own research. We are pleased to be able to offer presentations by a number of distinguished members of the psychometrics community. The first day will consist of workshops given by Matthew Johnson, David Rindskopf, Bobby Naemi and Jeremy Burrus, and Alina von Davier. The remaining two days will feature keynote speeches by Howard Wainer, Henry Braun, Jimmy de la Torre, and Patrick Shrout, as well as paper and poster presentations.

Learn more about the conference and register here.

Post Author: Andrea McNamara

News from Dr. McKay’s Lab

Notification of acceptances has been issued for submissions for the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, the leading organization devoted to the development and dissemination of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). This year, Dr. McKay and his group of graduate students were highly productive, with a total of 10 presentations accepted for the next meeting, in November in Toronto, Ontario. Learn more about the upcoming conference. Here is a summary of the presentations:

Symposia: Members of the lab will either co-chair or participate in symposia. Brian Pilecki organized a symposium that will address the theory-practice gap in CBT, and will co-chair the session with Dr. McKay. The panel includes leaders in theory and practice, namely Dr. Jon Abramowitz (of UNC-Chapel Hill), Dr. Keith Dobson (of University of Calgary) and Dr. Steven Hayes (of University of Nevada-Reno). Elliot Weiner organized and will co-chair with Dr. McKay a session to address new and novel approaches to conducting exposure therapy. The paper from the lab is based on experimental research investigating methods of reducing chronic depersonalization, which is a perceptual disturbance associated with several extreme anxiety states such as panic and posttraumatic stress. Other presenters in the panel include Dr. Brett Deacon (University of Wyoming), Dr. Jon Abramowitz (UNC-Chapel Hill) and Michelle Gryczkowski (Mayo Clinic). Finally, Justin Arocho will present (in a paper co-authored with lab members Joseph Brand and Elliot Weiner) that examines the newly developed moral disgust scale and its association with indices of posttraumatic stress. This paper was invited for a symposium chaired by Danielle Maack of University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Posters: The lab has been pursuing research investigating the relations among numerous anxiety assessments, leading to poster presentations in several interrelated domains. One of these, an examination of “Not Just Right Experiences” (NJRE) in relation to obsessive-compulsive symptoms and beliefs was accepted for presentation, and authored by lab members Joseph Brand, Jeannette Reid, and Justin Arocho. NJRE are commonly reported perceptual disturbances commonly experienced among individuals suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The lab is actively investigating additional factors associated with NJRE, and this research is an early investigation. The lab had two papers accepted that evaluate factors involved in anxiety sensitivity and its relation to both posttraumatic stress conditions and health anxiety. These papers were authored by lab members Elliot Weiner and Joseph Brand.

Panels and Workshops: Dr. McKay will be presenting a workshop (in the organization’s Master Clinician Series) with Stephen Whiteside (of Mayo Clinic). The workshop will train attendees in methods of conducting CBT with children with OCD. Finally, Dr. McKay was invited to participate in a panel aimed to describe methods of exposure therapy. Other panelists are Mitchell Schare (of Hofstra University) and Jon Abramowitz (UNC-Chapel Hill)

Watch for more information about Dr. McKay’s lab, and further details about the presentations planned for the ABCT conference. We will post details of the presentations following the conference. We are also planning on submitting additional research for the ‘Special Interest Group’ poster session, which is held on the Friday evening of the conference, and has a later deadline than the main conference.

Here is a complete list of the presentations, authors, and type of presentation from the lab for the upcoming ABCT conference, in alphabetical order:

Arocho, J., Brand, J., Weiner, E., & McKay, D. Examining the relationship between Moral Disgust and PTSD. (paper in symposium, chair D. Maack; Symposium title: Exploring disgust and its role in the Pathogenesis of Clinical Disorders)
Brand, J., Reid, J., Arocho, J., & McKay, D. Relationships between "Not Just Right Experiences" and Obsessive-Compulsive Thoughts and Symptoms. (poster)
McKay, D. & Whiteside. Cognitive-behavior therapy for childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder (Master Clinician Series - Ticketed Event)
Pilecki, B. Theory and practice: A brief overview of the history of the theory-practice debate and implications for competence & dissemination (in symposium)
Pilecki, B., & McKay, D. (co-chairs). Addressing the theory-practice gap in CBT: A perspective from all three waves (symposium)
Schare, M., McKay, D., & Abramowitz, J. Art of Exposure Therapy. (Panel discussion)
Weiner, E., Brand, J. & McKay, D. The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder and health anxiety as mediated by anxiety sensitivity. (poster)
Weiner, E., & McKay, D. Anxiety sensitivity, trauma, and posttraumatic stress disorder. (poster).
Weiner, E., & McKay, D. (co-chairs). New and novel approaches to exposure therapy (symposium)
Weiner, E., & McKay, D. A preliminary evaluation of repeated exposure for depersonalization (in symposium)

Post author: Dean McKay, Ph.D.

Professor Barry Rosenfeld authors new book in forensic psychology

Barry Rosenfeld, Ph.D., Professor, Director of Clinical Training, and Co-Director of the Forensic Clinical Specialization, has a new book that was just published by Wiley Press. Dr. Rosenfeld co-authored Research Methods in Forensic Psychology. Learn more about his new book at Wiley Press: Research Methods in Forensic Psychology

(Photo Credit: Wiley Press)

Applied Developmental student wins award at the Association of Moral Education Conference

Congratulations to Amie Senland and her advisor Ann Higgins-D'Alessandro for winning the "Best Poster Award, Association for Moral Education", in recognition of exceptional contributions to moral education. The paper, based on Amie's ADP masters research was entitled "Moral reasoning and empathy in adolescents with higher-functioning autistic spectrum disorders: Implications for moral education."

From left to right: Amie Senland, Dr. Ann Higgins-D'Alessandro and

Dr. Elizabeth Vozzola (who graduated from Fordham's ADP program in 1994)

Post Author: Celia Fisher, Ph.D.

Psi Chi Induction Meeting

Psi Chi inducted their newest members on Monday, May 9th, the last meeting of the year for Psi Chi. Congrats to the new Psi Chi inductees!