Psychology: Human Behaviour
Psychology uses a set of scientific techniques and methods to explain and understand the causes of behaviour. You will get an introduction into a range of topics in psychology, including: the history of psychology, intelligence, social psychology, developmental psychology, indigenous and cultural psychology, personality as well as abnormal psychology.
Psychology: Behavioural Science
Psychology uses a set of scientific techniques and methods to explain and understand the causes of behaviour. This subject focuses on physiological basis of behaviour, memory, language and thought. It also focuses on the sensation and perception, motivation, emotion, learning, and the research methods used to scientifically study behaviour. You will explore how psychology, as a profession, applies its knowledge to practical problems in human behaviour and provides a foundation for more advanced subjects for students continuing to further studies.
Experimental Design and Analysis
This subject focuses on the scientific method with a focus on experimental design and related data analysis. Whilst we have already dealt with some of the methods and techniques in passing in earlier subjects, we adopt a more complete approach here. Other features of the subject are: research design and methodology issues, statistical concepts and techniques, computer analysis of data and communicating research findings.
Perception
You will examine the fundamental principles underlying human perception and expand upon the sensation and perception content introduced in the foundational psychology subjects. After reviewing the biological basis of sensing and perceiving, we will explore the way this relatively raw information is processed and organised into the complex perceptions. These perceptions include the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and somatosensory systems. This constitutes the fundamental basis of our experience of the world.
Brain and Behaviour
This subject is an introduction to the biological and neuroscientific bases of human behaviour. You will learn about the chemistry of life, the molecular basis of life, the cell and some of the major organ systems of the human body with particular reference to the nervous, endocrine and sensory systems. The subject has a significant laboratory component which reinforces lecture and text material. You will be introduced to the biological and neuroscientific concepts necessary for a thorough understanding of areas of psychology such as abnormal psychology, cognitive processes, developmental psychology, human learning, and physiological psychology.
Motivation and Emotion
The study of motivation and emotion attempts to understand the reasons behind people’s behaviours, thoughts, and feelings. Concepts of motivation and emotion are central to many other aspects of psychology. We will examine core research and theory in motivation and emotion, but also explores the topic’s relationship with other areas of psychology, (such as learning theory, social psychology, personality, and cognition) and its relevance to central debates discussed throughout the discipline.
Human Learning
Human Learning focuses on the experimental analysis of human and animal behaviour and focuses upon associative learning, including classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning approaches. Definitions, assumptions, and basic phenomena associated with the study of learning are described and evaluated in terms of their ability to account for various aspects of human behaviour and experience.
Social Psychology
Social psychology looks at human behaviour and mental processes in their social context. You will examine social behaviour and social thinking using scientific psychological research methods. We will consider both classic and recent theories, research and applications in core areas of social psychology such as: attitudes, stereotyping and prejudice, social cognition, group processes, cross-cultural and indigenous psychology, and social influence.
Advanced Research Methods
This subject advances upon the research methods and statistics covered in an earlier subject, Experimental Design and Analysis. It introduces students to nonexperimental, correlational research design, and develops skills in survey research, including questionnaire design and administration, and survey sampling. You will also learn about the construction and evaluation of psychological tests.
Developmental Psychology
Structured around an overview of lifespan development including diversity, this subject looks into the holistic nature of growth and development through developmental theory and research. We will highlight the interactive nature of three main areas of development: biological, cognitive, and psychosocial changes that affect the individual from conception to end of life. We will integrate an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander development into the subject alongside an appreciation of richness in diversity within various cultural contexts.
Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal Psychology focuses on the study of behaviours that cause distress or dysfunction or are judged as deviant within the individual’s culture. We will examine definitions of abnormality, ways of assessing and diagnosing abnormality, theories of the causation of psychological abnormality and treatments for recognized psychological disorders.
Cognitive Processes
Cognitive psychology focuses on the mental processes that underpin attention, perception, learning and memory. Some of the questions we ask include: How do we recognize speech, faces, or music? What are the structures and mechanisms of human memory? What processes underpin acquisition of language, and are the processes similar when we learn a second language? What processes are involved in reading? What factors affect attention and performance? Is creativity anything more than problem solving?
Personality
Most of us probably use the term’ personality’ almost every day. Yet the conceptualisation and definition of personality are far from settled. This subject introduces the controversies and debates in the psychology of personality and the major theoretical and applied approaches to its measurement. Emphasis is placed on an understanding of personality research and its implications for the practice of psychology.
Introduction to Research Methods
This subject covers the conceptual underpinnings of research in psychology, including methodologies such as experimental, quasi-experimental, non-experimental and qualitative research. Conducting ethical research will be covered, including consideration of how research participants are positioned, issues related to research with diverse populations, as well research validity. Skills for writing research proposals and reports according to the conventions of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) are developed.
Crime, Deviance and Society
Crime, Deviance and Society introduces students to the study of criminology and the sociology of deviance. Students will examine the theories of the Chicago school, labelling and deviance theory, Marxism, feminism and queer theory in a criminal context. Using contemporary case studies, students will explore topics such as crime in the media, alcohol and drug abuse and Indigenous incarceration.
Introduction to Criminal Justice
This subject introduces students to criminology, policing, and criminal justice issues and practices through an examination of the Australian criminal justice process. Students will examine how the criminal justice system works (and sometimes fails to work), and how police, courts, and corrections influence the processes of criminalisation, victimisation, and (in)justice.
Perspectives in Criminology
The subject will focus on the criminological concern with individual offenders and the implications of this for responses to crimes. Students will analyse explanations of offending, victimisation, prevention and safety, while evaluating these matters from a perspective of unequal power, social division and exclusion.
Gender, Crime and Violence
In recent decades, models and understanding of gender have become a major way of explaining crime and victimisation. This subject will critically engage with material from feminist researchers on the impact of gendered discourses on the criminal justice system. Students will use contemporary case studies to explore links between criminal offending and different violent and non-violent masculinities.
Crime Prevention and Drugs
This subject will examine the theory, politics and practice of crime prevention. Students will evaluate the effectiveness of theoretical approaches while discussing the challenges posed by unreported crime and fear of crime. Students will also investigate the relation between patterns of victimisation and social disadvantage.
Youth Justice and Practice
In this subject, students will develop an understanding of juvenile crime complexity by exploring historical, political, cultural and socio-economic factors associated with youth crime. Students will critically assess a range of interventions for working with young people within the juvenile justice system.
Prisons, Punishment and Criminal Justice
This subject provides a historical and sociological examination of the models, practices and justifications for punishment and incarceration. Topics include mass imprisonment, probation and parole systems and community corrections. Students will examine how factors such as age, gender, social class and ethnic identity can influence the imprisonment and corrections of different individuals and groups of people.
Crime, Media, Culture
This subject will explore depictions of crime in society with a focus on the value of ethnographic studies and the cultural origins of different forms of crime. Utilising comparative studies, students will examine different theoretical explanations of crime and culture in relation to topics including media, writing, film and television.
Psychology and the Online World
The world has experienced an enormous explosion of activity that takes place in digital environments. This includes the Internet, intranets, gaming platforms and peer to peer phone communication (e.g. SMS). The effects of online communications are widely debated as concerns about hacking, trolling, bullying, scamming, online addiction are appearing on a daily basis.
Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness, Resilience & Well-Being
We live in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world which places greater emotional demands on people and organisations. This subject introduces the Positive Psychology theory, research and the practical evidence-based techniques to enhance well-being and resilience in an increasingly VUCA world.
Positive psychology is an emerging field of academic study and practical application in personal and work settings which focuses on the creation of individual resilience, strengths and virtues, creativity and other indicators of human flourishing. Throughout this subject, students will be encouraged to actively engage and apply the positive psychology concepts taught within the course and to critically reflect on these experiences to bring about personal change.
Introduction to Digital Mental Health
This subject introduces students to the emerging field of digital mental health. Digital mental health services, including telehealth, web-based counselling services and mobile phone apps, are increasingly being adopted in the practice of psychology and other health disciplines. This subject describes the uses of digital mental health for health promotion, prevention and treatment of mental illnesses.
Benefits and limitations of digital delivery of mental health services are described in the context of the broader public mental health system, with a focus on young people and smartphone apps. An assessment framework for mental health smartphone apps will be introduced to support students’ critical evaluation of the quality and integrity of smartphone apps. Students will also apply their understanding of digital mental health to a real-world project.
