Overview
In this unit you will learn the current knowledge on the relationship of the brain with psychological processes and behaviour. Specifically, you will study a) the structure and function of the central nervous system; b) the neural bases of a range of psychological processes and human behaviour, such as perception, language, learning and memory; and c) major research methods used to study these neural bases.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
(PSYC11008 or PSYC11010) and PSYC11009
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2017
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student evaluation
The written assessment seems too challenging.
The written assessment reflects the core learning objectives of the course. It is challenging because it requires evaluation and integration of empirical studies, which are usually more difficult to read and comprehend than a standard textbook. The key is to focus on main ideas of the papers rather than technical details. More support and resources will be made available to assist students with completing the assessment.
Feedback from Student evaluation & self-reflection
The final quiz at the end of the term seems too much.
The final comprehensive quiz covers course content since the first quiz. The decision to split the quiz into multiple quizzes will be considered.
Feedback from Student evaluation
Course resources (e.g., lecture notes, concept maps and exercises) seem useful.
Continue to provide these resources, if possible.
- Describe the structure and function of the central nervous system.
- Explain the neural bases of psychological processes and human behaviour, such as perception, language, learning and memory.
- Compare major research methods in psychophysiology.
- Review empirical studies in psychophysiology.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | ||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 3 - Examination - 40% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Examination - 40% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
The Student's Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience
Edition: 3rd (2015)
Authors: Jamie Ward
Psychology Press
New York New York , USA
ISBN: 978-1-84872-272-9
Binding: Paperback
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.jay@cqu.edu.au
b.p.smith@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introducing the Brain
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Research Methods
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Revision for Quiz #1 (no lecture)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz #1 worth 5%
The quiz will open on Monday 24th July at 12:01am and will close on Sunday 30th July at 11:59pm.
Module/Topic
The Seeing Brain
Chapter
6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Hearing Brain
Chapter
10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
No classes
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Acting Brain
Chapter
8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Attending Brain
Chapter
7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Executive Brain
Chapter
14
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Remembering Brain
Chapter
9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Written Assessment 30% - 2000 word Essay.
Topic will be made available on the Unit's Moodle Page
Essay Due: Week 9 Monday (11 Sept 2017) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The Social and Emotional Brain
Chapter
15
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Revision for Quiz #2 (no lecture)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz #2 worth 25%
The quiz will open on Monday 2nd October at 12:01am and will close on Sunday 8th October at 11:59pm.
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Online Quiz(zes)
There are two online quizzes.
Quiz #1 - Week 3 (worth 5%)
20 multiple choice questions.
Topics from Weeks 1 and 2
Quiz #2 - Week 12 (worth 25%)
60 multiple choice questions.
Topics from Weeks 4 to10
2
Other
Each quiz will be available on Monday and will close on Sunday. The exact opening and closing times on these days will be announced on the course website.
Quiz #1: 1st of August; Quiz #2: 10th of October.
All questions will have equal weight. There will not be any penalties for wrong answers. Only one attempt is allowed for each quiz.
- Describe the structure and function of the central nervous system.
- Explain the neural bases of psychological processes and human behaviour, such as perception, language, learning and memory.
- Compare major research methods in psychophysiology.
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
2 Written Assessment
Objectives: This assessment item gives students the opportunity to study an area of physiological psychology in greater depth. In general this will involve comprehensive reading of primary sources, a critical approach to the material, and the development of an argument reflecting students' own reasoning and viewpoint about the topic.
Task: Students are required to write an original essay on the topic that will be provided on the unit website. Be sure to make the argument logical, convincing and backed up by appropriate sources. First hand readings (i.e., original journal articles) are essential. The APA referencing style is to be followed. The topic will be made available on the Unit's Moodle Page.
Length: 2000 words (+/- 10%)
Week 9 Monday (11 Sept 2017) 9:00 am AEST
by the end of Week 12
Your essay will be assessed according to the following marking scheme. The total final mark is out of 30%.
· Quality of content
· Quality of written communication & presentation
· Adherence to APA style & referencing
A detailed mark sheet will be provided on the Unit's Moodle Page at the beginning of the term.
- Describe the structure and function of the central nervous system.
- Explain the neural bases of psychological processes and human behaviour, such as perception, language, learning and memory.
- Compare major research methods in psychophysiology.
- Review empirical studies in psychophysiology.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Ethical practice
Examination
Dictionary - non-electronic, concise, direct translation only (dictionary must not contain any notes or comments).
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
