Overview
This unit will provide you with an understanding of the environmental and cultural factors that control and modify behaviour. Theories of behaviour including Classical, Operant and Social/Observational Learning approaches are examined and discussed in relation to both animal and human research. Theories of behaviour modification will also be considered within the health context. There is a focus on applying theory to real-world situations and critically evaluating published research relevant to each topic. The latter half of the unit takes the theoretical approaches covered in the first 8 weeks and applies them to modifying behaviour within real-world situations such as intimate partner violence, drug use/abuse, and psychological disorders (e.g., Eating Disorders).
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Minimum of 96 credit points.
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 - 2020
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 Unit evaluation, student emails.
Essay topic could have been more clearly defined.
Instructions for the essay will be reviewed.
Feedback from Unit evaluation.
Students were happy that the examination had been replaced by an online test.
Keep the online test as a form of assessment.
Feedback from Unit evaluation.
The online test was challenging to complete within the 2-hour time allowed.
As most students were able to complete the test in the time allocated, the format and timing of the test will remain the same. However, more emphasis on how to approach and answer the test will be given both in lectures and in written information prior to the test.
Feedback from Student evaluation.
Students appreciated the applied and real life examples.
Real life examples and applications will continue to be used.
- Explain the major principles and theories of learning
- Apply the major principles and theories of learning to explain behaviour within 'real world' contexts
- Employ advanced communication skills to demonstrate depth of understanding of learning and behaviour modification.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 20% | |||
| 3 - Online Test - 50% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 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 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Online Test - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Learning and Behavior
Edition: 7th (2014)
Authors: Paul Chance
Wadsworth/Cengage
Belmont Belmont , California , USA
ISBN: 9781111832773
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
7th Revised edition (2020)
Authors: American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
Washington DC Washington DC , United States
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
If you prefer to study with a paper copy, they are available at the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code). eBooks are available at the publisher's website.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
t.mcadie@cqu.edu.au
j.meloury@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction & Pavlovian Conditioning: Theory & Application
Chapter
1, 3 & 4 + Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
COMPULSORY Focus Question opens Monday 13th July (Week 1) at 9:00am (AEST)
Module/Topic
Operant Conditioning: Theory & Application I
Chapter
5, 6 + Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
COMPULSORY Focus Question is due on Sunday 26th July at 11.55pm (AEST)
Module/Topic
Operant Conditioning: Theory & Application II
Chapter
7, 8 + Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Focus Question 2 opens Monday 27th July (Week 3) at 9:00am (AEST)
Module/Topic
Operant Conditioning: Theory & Application III
Chapter
9 + Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Focus Question 2 closes Sunday 9th August at 11.55pm (AEST)
Module/Topic
Observational Learning
Chapter
10 + Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Focus Question 3 opens Monday 10th August (Week 5) at 9:00am (AEST)
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Generalisation, Discrimination & Stimulus Control
Chapter
11 + Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Focus Question 3 closes on Sunday 30th August at 11.55pm (AEST)
Module/Topic
Applied Behaviour Analysis/Behaviour Modification: Introduction
Chapter
Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Focus Question 4 opens on Monday 31st August (Week 7) at 9:00am (AEST)
Module/Topic
ABA/BMod: Conducting Assessment & Functional Analyses
Chapter
Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Focus Question 4 closes on Sunday 13th September at 11.55pm (AEST)
Module/Topic
Applying theory I
Chapter
Review pages 115-118 of Chapter 4 + Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Focus Question 5 opens Monday 14th September (Week 9) at 9:00am (AEST)
Essay due 9.00am Monday the 14th of September
Written Assessment - Essay Due: Week 9 Monday (14 Sept 2020) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Applying Theory II
Chapter
Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Focus Question 5 closes on Sunday 27th September at 11.55pm (AEST)
Module/Topic
Chapter
Readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Essay mark and feedback due to be returned to students Friday the 2nd of October
Module/Topic
Review Week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Two-hour online test: Test opens at 8am Thursday 8th October until 8am Saturday 10th October.
Online Test Due: Week 12 Monday (5 Oct 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
This assessment task requires you to respond to two focus questions by the beginning of Week 12. Focus question responses are to be between 800 - 1000 words in length. Five focus questions will be provided and each of these will open on the Unit's moodle site every fortnight. You MUST complete the first focus question and then you are able to choose which one of the remaining four you wish to respond to.
Failure to submit TWO focus questions (that obtain a mark of at least 1% each) will result in a FAIL grade for the unit.
Please note: Each focus question will be available for two weeks. At the end of that time the focus question will be closed and no further responses will be accepted.
Sunday 11.55pm (AEST) in the fortnight following opening of the relevant focus question.
Within a week of each focus question closing marks will be available.
Each post will be assigned a mark out of 30 (which will then be converted to a percentage).
An Information Sheet with full assessment criteria will be available on the Unit's moodle page and you are required to read this in conjunction with the following:
Content:
- Please ensure that the focus question is addressed in its entirety, for example, focus questions are likely to involve defining a particular concept/theory and then discussing its utility/presence in either an applied or experimental setting.
- Spelling mistakes and sentence/paragraph structural errors will result in lost marks (e.g., paragraphs should be a minimum of 2-3 sentences long).
- Plagiarism will be taken very seriously - take care to reference wherever you make a statement based on your reading.
- Please bear in mind that this is a 3rd year unit and simple re-presentation of information from located sources will not result in high marks - you are required to critically evaluate and discuss the information and concepts you present.
Presentation and Technical Requirements:
Word count
- 800 - 1,000 words. One word over the maximum or under the minimum will result in an inability to earn full marks.
- Word count is determined by selecting the text from the first word to the last full stop of the body of the answer - in-text citations are included in the word count but the Title and Reference list is not.
References:
- A minimum of THREE references need to be used to inform your post - one of these can be the unit textbook (but you do not have to use it) but two must be journal articles or similar, peer-reviewed, sources.
- Wikipedia, online psychology dictionaries/encyclopedias and first year textbooks are not suitable references.
- A reference list must be included at the end of your response and references must be included in text - if there is no reference list OR no in-text citations the post will be given a mark of zero.
- APA 7th edition must be followed.
- Quotes must be kept to a minimum (and must be accompanied by a page or paragraph number as per APA guideline) - use of more than one direct quote will result in an inability to earn full marks.
- Apply the major principles and theories of learning to explain behaviour within 'real world' contexts
- Employ advanced communication skills to demonstrate depth of understanding of learning and behaviour modification.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
2 Written Assessment
This assessment task will require you to write an Essay addressing a specific topic. You will be required to critique an article which uses a learning theory of your choice (but covered in this unit) in an applied context. Essay instructions can be found on the unit Moodle site under the Assessment tab from Week One.
Week 9 Monday (14 Sept 2020) 9:00 am AEST
Assessment is to be uploaded through Moodle
Week 11 Friday (2 Oct 2020)
Mark and feedback will be returned via Moodle
Essays will receive a mark out of 100 with the below distribution of marks per section, for more information please see the unit Moodle site:
TITLE/ABSTRACT: 10 marks
- Concise and accurately summarises topic addressed, meets APA (7th ed.) format specifications for abstract and title length
BODY OF ESSAY: 60 marks
- On topic, concise and all parts of question addressed
- Research led arguments
- Referenced where appropriate (in-text)
- Evidence of critical evaluation and discussion of material
- Not too many direct quotes (i.e., maximum of two, brief, quotes)
REFERENCES: 20 marks
- Five or more, with minimum of FOUR journal articles
- Correct APA (7th ed.) format in-text and reference list
- In-text and Reference list match exactly
STYLE/PRESENTATION: 10 marks
- APA 7th edition format adhered to
- Grammar, spelling and sentence structure
- Overall readability/flow of writing
- Explain the major principles and theories of learning
- Employ advanced communication skills to demonstrate depth of understanding of learning and behaviour modification.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Ethical practice
3 Online Test
You will be required to complete a two-hour short answer on-line test. The test will be open for two days (Thursday and Friday of Week 12), you choose which two-hour period to take the test.
All of the topics covered during the term wll be assessed.
This assessment is worth 50% of your final mark. This test will be marked out of 50.
Week 12 Monday (5 Oct 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
This is an 2-hour online test, which should be completed within a 48 hour period.
Exam Week Friday (23 Oct 2020)
Marks will be returned via Moodle
You will need to demonstrate knowledge of the major principles and theories of learning.
Both basic and applied uses of learning theory will be assessed.
You will need to demonstrate knowledge of learning and behavour modification specific terminology.
You will need to demonstrate knowledge of the applied use of learning and behaviour modification.
You will need to critically evaluate learning theory and it's application to real life situations.
- Explain the major principles and theories of learning
- Apply the major principles and theories of learning to explain behaviour within 'real world' contexts
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Ethical practice
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?
