PSYC13016 - Cognitive Psychology

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit focuses on cognitive psychology, which is the study of how the mind works. At the end of the unit, you will have a broad understanding of how people attend to and perceive items in our world, how we remember short term and long term information, how we use language and how we make decisions. You will be able to communicate your perspective on the key debates and controversies in cognitive psychology based on your examination of historical and cutting-edge research. You will explore some of the key research findings in the area through planning, executing and writing up a research study.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

96 credit points in CC43, CF59, CL51, CL55, CC13 or CG93.

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2023

Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 3 - 2023 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Online

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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Report 50%
2. Online Quiz(zes) 10%
3. Take Home Exam 40%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 71.43% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 22.95% response rate.

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.

Source: Have Your Say
Feedback
The research focus in the main assignment provided a great learning experience.
Recommendation
Retain the research focus in the main assignment.
Action Taken
The research focus in the main assessment was retained.
Source: Have Your Say
Feedback
Some students found the data analysis in the main assignment challenging if they hadn't taken Advanced Methods in Psychology.
Recommendation
The unit has been moved to T2 in 2022 so that students can take Advanced Methods in Psychology before this unit.
Action Taken
The unit was moved to T2 in 2022 as a part of the new undergraduate psychology course structure implemented in 2022.
Source: Have Your Say
Feedback
The format of information in Moodle could be improved.
Recommendation
Moodle will be reviewed and updated as the new Tiles format is implemented across all psychology units.
Action Taken
Moodle page was updated in order to make it easier to navigate. Additional information was included where relevant to assist with student queries.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Some students found the main assessment challenging if they did not have prior statistical experience.
Recommendation
Inform students how to access additional statistical resources relevant to the unit and encourage students to make use of them.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Some students indicated a desire for more tutorials.
Recommendation
Review the number of tutorial sessions in the unit.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Students liked the real-world research focus of the assessments.
Recommendation
Retain the focus on real-world research in the assessments.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Express a broad understanding of the fundamental concepts in cognitive psychology
  2. Communicate a clear, coherent and independent exposition of key research findings and theories in cognitive psychology
  3. Apply research methods used to study cognitive psychology.

This unit addresses Foundational Competencies as specified by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) and specifically aligns to:

1.1 Comprehend and apply a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology, with depth of understanding of underlying principles, theories and concepts in the discipline, using a scientific approach, including the following topics: (v) learning and memory; (vi) cognition, language and perception; (vii) motivation and emotion; (viii) neuroscience and the biological bases of behaviour; and (xii) research methods and statistics.

1.3 Analyse and critique theory and research in the discipline of psychology and communicate these in written and oral formats.

1.4 Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate values and ethics in psychology.

1.6 Demonstrate self-directed pursuit of scholarly inquiry in psychology.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Report • •
2 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
3 - Take Home Exam • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving •
3 - Critical Thinking • • •
4 - Information Literacy • •
6 - Information Technology Competence •
8 - Ethical practice •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10