Availabilities:
Unit Summary
Unit type
Hons Unit
Credit points
12
AQF level
Level of learning
Advanced
Former School/College
Pre-requisites
Unit aim
Acquaints students with key historical, philosophical, social and cultural aspects of psychology in relation to the current state of the discipline. Skills related to critical thinking and the dissemination of complex scientific subject matter to a broad audience will also be extended. This unit relies heavily on peer-to peer learning and students engaging in reflective practice
Unit content
- The nature of science and the research process
- Disseminating research findings and other scholarly material
- The historical and philosophical context of the science and practise of psychology. Topics covered will include a selection of the following: philosophical influences, early approaches to the study of human behaviour and the emerging discipline of psychology, Evolution and Individual differences, Structuralism versus Functionalism, Behaviourism and Neobehaviourism, Gestalt psychology, approaches to understanding and treating mental illness, Psychoanalysis, Humanistic psychology, Psychobiology, Applied psychology and Cognitive psychology
- The theoretical basis underpinning widely used cognitive and personality assessments
- The cultural context of the science and practise of psychology
- The social context of the science and practise of psychology
- Advanced content in various areas of contemporary psychological research, theory and practice
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | demonstrate the use of reasoning and evidence, creative and critical thinking skills to critique, develop and defend arguments, to mount persuasive appeals and to conduct intellectual enquiry in the field of Psychology | |||||||
| 2 | convey major themes and perspectives in the history, philosophy, social and cultural aspects of Psychology as a discipline, in the context of conducting an effective review of issues in contemporary Psychological research | |||||||
| 3 | effectively communicate a range of substantive materials, such as research results and key ideas, to lay and professional audiences, in an array of formats, including written and oral | |||||||
| 4 | identify and describe key concepts in the relevant research literature and in presentations by specialists in specific fields of study. | |||||||
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
-
demonstrate the use of reasoning and evidence, creative and critical thinking skills to critique, develop and defend arguments, to mount persuasive appeals and to conduct intellectual enquiry in the field of Psychology
- GA2:
-
convey major themes and perspectives in the history, philosophy, social and cultural aspects of Psychology as a discipline, in the context of conducting an effective review of issues in contemporary Psychological research
- GA4:
-
effectively communicate a range of substantive materials, such as research results and key ideas, to lay and professional audiences, in an array of formats, including written and oral
- GA6:
-
identify and describe key concepts in the relevant research literature and in presentations by specialists in specific fields of study.
- GA4:
Prescribed texts
- No prescribed texts.