PSYC107-24S2 (C) Semester Two 2024

Foundations of Psychological Science

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 15 July 2024
End Date: Sunday, 10 November 2024
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 28 July 2024
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 29 September 2024

Description

Approaches to understanding the nature of human thought and behaviour have permeated societies and cultures throughout history. Psychology as a scientific discipline, however, emerged just in the last 200 years or so. Over this relatively short time period, psychologists have gained substantial insight into what drives our mental lives and shapes our social interactions, and have made possible vast improvements in the quality of life of millions of people. This course delves into the ideas and methods that have allowed all of this to happen. We’ll take a holistic and critical look at the science of psychology itself: its questions, methods, evidence, and unique challenges; as well as its place within modern Aotearoa New Zealand society. You’ll learn how psychologists measure a world of unobservable mental traits, devise experiments that reveal the underlying organisation and mechanisms of the mind, and convert raw data into real world conclusions that have a meaningful impact on people’s lives. You’ll build the critical thinking skills to distinguish good psychological science from bad, genuine breakthroughs from glorified clickbait, and evidence-based interventions from scams and grifts. Upon these foundations you’ll be able to build with confidence the pathway of your choosing through the psychological sciences (and beyond).

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Reflect on psychology’s place within broader scientific, cultural and historical contexts
2. Understand the methods psychologists use to study mind and behaviour
3. Present, summarise, and interpret psychological data
4. Critically evaluate evidence for psychological theories and phenomena
5. Identify biases and weaknesses in human cognition

Timetable 2024

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 12:00 - 13:00 K1 Lecture Theatre
15 Jul - 25 Aug
9 Sep - 20 Oct
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Tuesday 10:00 - 11:00 Haere-roa 118 Ngaio Marsh Theatre
15 Jul - 25 Aug
9 Sep - 20 Oct
Computer Lab A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 09:00 - 11:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct
02 Monday 11:00 - 13:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct
03 Tuesday 11:00 - 13:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct
04 Tuesday 14:00 - 16:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct
05 Wednesday 10:00 - 12:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct
06 Wednesday 13:00 - 15:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct
07 Thursday 10:00 - 12:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct
08 Thursday 14:00 - 16:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct
09 Friday 09:00 - 11:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct
10 Friday 11:00 - 13:00 Ann Ballin 205 Computer Lab
29 Jul - 4 Aug
12 Aug - 18 Aug
9 Sep - 15 Sep
23 Sep - 29 Sep
7 Oct - 13 Oct

Course Coordinator

Nicky Morton

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Weekly quizzes 10% Weekly quizzes (Multichoice)
Lab exercises 20% Lab exercises (Short answer)
Lab report 20% Lab report (Written research report)
Test 1 25% Test 1 (Multichoice)
Test 2 25% Test 2 (Multichoice)

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

O’Shea, R. P. & McKenzie, W. A; Writing for psychology ; 7; Cengage Australia, 2021.

There are no required textbooks for this course. Weekly assigned readings for will be provided online via LEARN.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $978.00

International fee $4,988.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing .

All PSYC107 Occurrences

  • PSYC107-24SU2 (D) Summer Nov 2024 start (Distance) - Not Offered
  • PSYC107-24S2 (C) Semester Two 2024
  • PSYC107-24S2 (D) Semester Two 2024 (Distance)