PSYC383-25SU2 (D) Summer Nov 2025 start (Distance)

Special Topic: Comparative Cognition

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 10 November 2025
End Date: Sunday, 14 December 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 16 November 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 30 November 2025

Description

Animals are often faced with many different challenges in their everyday lives. Prey, for instance, might be difficult to find, or individuals may need to display to attract mates without also attracting predators. We can study behaviour to help us better understand these sorts of challenges and observe how animals respond to them, but the study of comparative cognition more specifically provides insights into the mental processes and strategies that animals use, as well as insights into how they perceive the world and make decisions. Through the study of comparative cognition, we can investigate how widely different abilities and strategies are expressed throughout the animal kingdom which, in turn, helps us better understand the mental lives of different animals, including us.

Prerequisites

PSYC206 or BIOL209 or 30 points of 200-level PHIL
RP: PSYC208 and or PSYC209

Recommended Preparation

PSYC208 and or PSYC209

Timetable Note

Lectures are pre-recorded and posted on Learn. The lectures for each week will be made available at 9 AM on Monday of that week. You can watch the lectures at a time that suits you.
Labs/tutorials: These will also be made available at 9 AM on Monday of that week. These are self-guided and include associated exercises. We recommend that you attempt the lab/tutorial early in the week, as these include important details about course assessment.

Course Coordinator

Fiona Cross

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Lab Exercises 12%
Media Activity 18%
Essay 35%
Final Test 35%

Textbooks / Resources

Required Texts

Olmstead, M. C., & Kuhlmeier, V. A; Comparative Cognition ; Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Shettleworth, S. J; Cognition, evolution, and behavior ; 2nd; New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,036.00

International fee $5,188.00

* 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 PSYC383 Occurrences

  • PSYC383-25SU2 (D) Summer Nov 2025 start (Distance)