PSYCHOL 1100 - Introductory Psychology

North Terrace Campus - Summer - 2017

This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts and core topics within contemporary psychology through a mixed delivery mode. Core topics covered during the course will include the development of the individual over the lifespan; the study of the person in a social context; differences between people with respect to their intelligence and personality; issues related to individual adjustment and maladjustment; the biological bases of behaviour; the interpretation by the brain of sensory signals from the external environment; the mechanisms underlying learning; the encoding, storage and retrieval of information; the nature of motivation and emotion; and an introduction to psychological assessment. The courses will also provide an introduction to the methodological approaches employed by psychologists to study these topics. Major findings to emerge from psychological research will be presented, and the practical significance of such work will be discussed. Practical work will address the conventions of psychological report writing and the ethical principles underlying psychological research and practice.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code PSYCHOL 1100
    Course Introductory Psychology
    Coordinating Unit Psychology
    Term Summer
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 2 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N
    Prerequisites Completed undergraduate degree
    Incompatible PSYCHOL1000: PSYCHOL 1001, PSYCHOL 6100
    Restrictions Only available to students in the graduate entry stream of the BPsychSc
    Course Description This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts and core topics within contemporary psychology through a mixed delivery mode. Core topics covered during the course will include the development of the individual over the lifespan; the study of the person in a social context; differences between people with respect to their intelligence and personality; issues related to individual adjustment and maladjustment; the biological bases of behaviour; the interpretation by the brain of sensory signals from the external environment; the mechanisms underlying learning; the encoding, storage and retrieval of information; the nature of motivation and emotion; and an introduction to psychological assessment. The courses will also provide an introduction to the methodological approaches employed by psychologists to study these topics.
    Major findings to emerge from psychological research will be presented, and the practical significance of such work will be discussed. Practical work will address the conventions of psychological report writing and the ethical principles underlying psychological research and practice.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Clemence Due


    Course Administrator: Carmen Rayner, Room 419 (Hughes Building), Phone: 8313 5704, Email: carmen.rayner@adelaide.edu.au


    The telephone number for the Psychology Office on Level 4, Hughes Building is 8313 5693/8313 1006
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    On successful completion of Introductory Psychology, students will have:
    1. an introductory knowledge of selected areas of basic psychological enquiry
    2. an ability to discuss and enter into debate on psychological topics
    3. basic review skills in critically evaluating knowledge claims regarding psychological theory and in formulating research questions on the basis of that review
    4. an elementary understanding of research methods in the discipline of Psychology
    5. elementary skills in the quantitative analysis and interpretation of psychological data
    6. an introductory knowledge about conventions for presenting written reports and essays that cover topics introduced within the program.
    Students will also be given opportunities within the program:
    • to discuss psychological topics
    • for their enquiries to be addressed.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1, 2, 4, 5, 6
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    2
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    4, 5, 6
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    1, 2
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    2, 3, 4
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources

    1. The Textbook:

    Burton, L., Westen, D., & Kowalski, R. (2011). Psychology: Australian and New Zealand Edition (3rd ed.). John Wiley: Milton, Qld.

     2. Interactive Writing Guide:

    Burton, L. (2010). An Interactive Approach to Writing Essays and Research Reports in Psychology. (3rd ed.). John Wiley: Milton, Qld.

     Barr Smith Library – Psychology on the Web

    The Library is a major resource centre for students. The Research Librarian for Psychology, Maureen Bell, provides some useful information through the Internet. She has a Psychology web page with a list of databases for Psychology students.
    Online Learning

    As this course is based around on-line learning, much of the communication within it will occur on-line. It is therefore important that you are aware of these communication methods, and access them regularly.


    MYUNI

    Students are required to access MyUni regularly. In addition to containing your course materials and the Dropbox where you will submit your research report, important notices and information regarding the course will also be placed on MyUni. MyUni also contains Discussion Boards, and you are encouraged to use these to discuss aspects of the course or any concerns you have. Your tutor will monitor these Boards regularly and will respond to any questions or concerns that have been raised.



    STUDENT EMAIL

    MyUni also allows staff and other students to send emails to your student address. It is important that you check your student email regularly. Your email address is firstname.lastname@student.adelaide.edu.au. If you wish, it is possible to have your student email forwarded to another email address. Instructions on how to do this can be found at http://webmail.adelaide.edu.au/userguide/vacation_fwd.shtml#forward
    As this course is based around on-line learning, much of the communication within it will occur on-line. It is therefore important that you are aware of these communication methods, and access them regularly.

  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes

    All materials for this course are available on the Introductory Psychology course pages on MyUni.

    The course consists of six modules each on a different topic. Each module comprises a Study Guide which includes commentary, readings from the course text book, various interactive materials, and self-test quizzes. There are also three audio-narrated presentations for each module. It is expected that students will, over the course of a week, work through the Study Guide and listen to the audio-narrated presentations for that topic. It is also expected that students will complete the modules in the order they appear on MyUni at a rate of one-per-week. Adherence to this program of study will facilitate group discussion of materials during tutorials.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The information below is provided to as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    7X2hr tutorials = 14 hours
    Exam = 1.5 hours
    Research report = 20 hours
    Summative tests = 14 hours
    Literature review = 5 hours
    Weekly readings and other study = 35 hours
    Tutorial preparation = 49 hours
    Exam prepartation = 20 hours

    Total = 158.5 hours
    Learning Activities Summary
    Details will be made available on MyUni.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary

    The final mark in Introductory Psychology is determined as follows:

     

    Module assessment exercises     15%
     
    Research Report                        35%
     
    Examination                               50%
     
     Total                                       100%
     

    Successful completion of Introductory Psychology is a pre-requisite for entry to the Bachelor of Psychological Science, beginning in Semester 1. Therefore, it is expected that all submission dates will be strictly adhered to so that all marking can be completed in a timely manner.
    Please note that should the research report be submitted late it is the School of Psychology’s policy that a penalty of 5% per working day be applied. If the module assessment exercises are not completed by the due date they will not be included in the final mark for the course.


    Assessment Detail

    MODULE ASSESSMENT EXERCISES

    To help you further develop your independent learning skills, a small part of the assessment requires you to complete assessment exercises relating to each module. These will be available for the duration of the course but you can only complete them once.

    Each of the six assessment exercises is worth 2.5%, and therefore, in total, the exercises constitute 15% of your final mark for the course. The aim of these exercises is to encourage you to get into the habit of engaging with psychological information.



    RESEARCH REPORT

    A major aspect of studying Psychology is learning how to conduct research and report it. You will take part in a study on personality, the data from which will be used to write a research report. This part of your assessment will help you to develop skills in psychological report writing, synthesizing previous research, developing arguments, and analysing and interpreting data. There will be a tutorial on how to write a research report, and other tutorials will be devoted to helping you understand the statistics involved and write the research report. Detailed information about the nature of the research report will be provided in your Tutorial in Week 2.

    The research report is submitted electronically via the Digital Dropbox on the Introductory Psychology MyUni site. Details will be provided on MyUni and during tutorials.



    END OF SEMESTER EXAM

    The end of semester exam will consist of 72 multiple choice questions.

    The end of semester exam MUST be passed, that is you must achieve at least 50% in the examination, to pass the course. Students who do not pass the final exam may be offered a supplementary exam on academic grounds but will not be given a grade of more than 50%. The reason for this is that there is a requirement that students demonstrate adequate knowledge of all content areas studied in the course, not just those in the research report and module assessment exercises.

    Submission
    Details will be made available on MyUni.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.