PSYC100 - Foundations of Psychology

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Central to an undergraduate degree in psychology is the ability to understand and critically analyse core knowledge areas in psychology, to understand and demonstrate practical skills in research methods, to apply the values and ethics of the discipline, and to communicate effectively in various formats. As such, this unit will introduce students to psychology and the core topics of biological bases of behaviour, sensation and perception, levels of consciousness, learning, memory, language, and thought. Further, students will be introduced to the research methods used in psychology and will gain knowledge and practical experience in how to present a psychological research report. The foundational knowledge provided in this unit, along with PSYC101 Applications of Psychology, is required to support further learning in most 200 and 300 level Psychology units. The aim of this unit is to introduce students to psychology through some core areas of the discipline and to provide students with foundational knowledge and skills in psychological research report writing.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include:  

• Introduction to psychology: An overview of the unifying themes, major theoretical approaches and research areas within Psychology. Applied research and practice within psychology. Legislation relevant to psychological practice in Australia. 
• The history of psychology, both early and modern, and how this has shaped current research and practice. 
• An introduction to research in psychology: Understanding scientific method; types of research study designs; links between statistics and research; ethical and cultural considerations in research.  
• Biological bases of behaviour: The neuron, the nervous system, brain structures and functions, the endocrine system, research methods and the brain, nature versus nurture debate, evolutionary bases of behaviour, and understanding brain injury.   
• Sensation and perception: Thresholds of sensation, the human sensory systems, visual perception (depth perception, perceptual constancies, and visual illusions), Theories of perception (bottom-up, top-down, and gestalt approaches).
• Learning: Classical, operant and observational learning theories, and their practical applications. 
• Memory: Models and types of memory; encoding, storage, retrieval and forgetting; disorders and complications of memory; improving memory. 
• Language and thinking: Language formation; cross cultural issues and language; problem solving strategies; decision making – heuristic versus systematic processing, application of problem solving and decision making findings in the real world. 
• Levels of consciousness: Basics of consciousness, sleep (sleep-wake cycle, dreaming, and sleep disorders), altered states of consciousness (hypnosis, meditation, psychoactive drugs), promotion and maintenance of mental health and wellbeing via sleep and altered states of consciousness.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit fosters student-centred active learning and accommodates diverse student needs. It includes a combination of self-paced, online learning and real-time classes. Early and additional feedback on learning, and tailored support, are provided to facilitate students’ transition to university. The online content and workshops are to aid students with the acquisition and understanding of knowledge covered in the unit, while the weekly tutorials are designed to enhance application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation of that knowledge via group work.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to successfully complete this unit, students must:-

• complete and submit all of the assessment tasks listed in the table below
• obtain an aggregate mark of at least 50%
• demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome

To best enable students to demonstrate unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements. A range of assessment strategies are used including: a workbook which is designed to scaffold understanding and application of the content of the unit; an American Psychological Association (APA) style laboratory report to demonstrate the ability to discuss and consolidate research literature to develop research hypotheses and argument, provide a description of the methodology of a study, and to interpret and discuss research findings; and an exam which provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate understanding, consolidation and application of the content covered in the unit.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Bernstein, D. A. et al. (2021). Psychology: An international discipline in context. (Australian & New Zealand 3rd ed.). Wadsworth. 

Kaufmann, L., & Findlay, B. (2021). How to write psychology research reports and assignments (9th ed.). Pearson Australia.

O’Shea, R. P., & Mackenzie, W. A. (2021). Writing for psychology (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Weiten, W. (2021). Psychology: themes and variations (11th ed.). Wadsworth.