Semester 1, 2023 Online | |
Units : | 1 |
School or Department : | School of Psychology and Wellbeing |
Grading basis : | Graded |
Course fee schedule : | /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules |
Staffing
Course Coordinator:
Overview
Psychology is concerned with understanding why people act and think as they do and how people differ. This course provides students with an understanding of the major concepts, techniques, and theoretical perspectives in psychology. Students will gain an appreciation of the main fields within the discipline; The major concepts of developmental psychology, personality, cross-cultural psychology, psychological disorders, therapy, health, and social psychology are introduced. Students will learn the correct procedures for presenting written material, citing references and constructing a reference list in the writing format recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA). Thus, it provides the foundational knowledge and core skills built on in subsequent undergraduate and postgraduate psychology courses to deepen discipline knowledge and strengthen skills.
Course learning outcomes
On completion of this course students will be able to:
- demonstrate ethical research and enquiry by recognising the guidelines for the conduct of psychological research and identifying how to evaluate a study critically;
- demonstrate problem solving by showing a knowledge of the basic concepts and techniques of psychology;
- demonstrate academic and professional literacy by showing an understanding of the scope of psychology and its major contemporary perspectives and the relationship between its fields;
- demonstrate academic and professional literacy by searching and synthesising material obtained from refereed books, journals, databases, and electronic resources;
- demonstrate written communication skills by writing a psychology essay that apply the style and format requirements outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association;
- demonstrate cultural literacy skills by identifying how culture shapes the identities of people, including indigenous peoples in Australia and New Zealand, and describing efforts to promote cross-cultural communications and relationships;
- demonstrate management, planning, and organisation skills by setting and achieving their study goals.
Topics
Description | Weighting(%) | |
---|---|---|
1. | What is Psychology? - defining psychology - history of psychology - psychology in Australia and New Zealand - perspectives in psychology | 5.00 |
2. | Developmental Psychology - issues in development psychology - studying development - prenatal development - childhood: physical, cognitive, and social development - adolescence: physical, cognitive, and social development - adulthood: physical, cognitive, and social development | 10.00 |
3. | Cross-cultural and Indigenous Psychology - culture and psychology - culture and its context - cross-cultural relations - indigenous psychology - promoting cross-cultural interactions | 5.00 |
4. | Personality - psychodynamic theories - cognitive-social theories - trait theories - humanistic theories - genetics, personality & culture - sociocultural perspective - measurement of personality | 5.00 |
5. | Psychological Disorders - culture and psychopathology - approaches to psychopathology - classifying psychological disorders - childhood disorders - anxiety, dissociative, and somatoform disorders - mood disorders - schizophrenia - eating disorders - substance related disorders - personality disorders | 15.00 |
6. | Treatment of Psychological Disorders - mental health services - defining therapy - psychodynamic therapies - humanistic therapies - cognitive-behaviour therapies - group and family therapies - biological treatments - evaluating psychological treatments | 15.00 |
7. | Health, Stress and Coping - theories of health behaviour - health compromising behaviours - barriers to health promotion - defining stress - sources of stress - moderators of stress - stress and health - coping mechanisms | 5.00 |
8. | Social Psychology - attitudes - social cognition - the self-relationships - altruism - aggression - social influence | 10.00 |
9. | Writing for psychology - skills for evaluating literature and essay writing - APA referencing and formatting requirements | 20.00 |
10. | Participating in the experimental process of psychological research | 10.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
Student workload expectations
To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.
Assessment details
Description | Group Assessment |
Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes |
---|---|---|---|
Quiz A1 of 3 | No | 10 | 3,6,7 |
Quiz A2 of 3 | No | 15 | 3,6,7 |
Essay | No | 45 | 1,2,4,5,7 |
Reflection (personal/clinical) | No | 10 | 1,3,7 |
Quiz A3 of 3 | No | 20 | 3,6,7 |