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PSYC13017 - Abnormal Psychology

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit you will be introduced to the foundations of abnormal psychology. As part of this, you will explore the major aspects of abnormal psychology, including diagnosis, etiology, assessment, treatment, research, and theories of a variety of psychological disorders. This will enable you to begin to integrate theory, research and practice considerations within areas of abnormal psychology.

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

CA10 and CQ01 Must have completed PSYC11008, PSYC11009, PSYC12014, and PSYC12013 or PSYC12010.

CF59 Must have completed PSYC12048 and (PSYC12010 or PSYC12012 or PSYC12013 or PSYC12014 or PSYC12047).

CC13 Must have completed PSYC11008, PSYC11009, PSYC12010 and PSYC12048.

CC43 Minimum of 96 credit points, which must include PSYC12048 and PSYC12047.

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 3 - 2019

Term 3 - 2019 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2020 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 3 - 2020 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2021 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 3 - 2021 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 3 - 2022 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 3 - 2023 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2024 Profile
Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville
Term 3 - 2025 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. Online Quiz(zes) 30%
2. Written Assessment 35%
3. Examination 35%

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 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 91.67% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 23.08% 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: SUTE Unit comments report
Feedback
Some students stated that they found material in the lectures and tutorials "triggering."
Recommendation
Routinely provide warnings to students at the beginning of lectures and tutorials that the content being discussed may trigger emotional reactions or distress for some students.
Action Taken
Trigger warnings were provided in the Moodle site and the unit profile and throughout the lectures.
Source: SUTE Unit comments report
Feedback
One student recommended providing a list of questions (that might later be covered in assessment quizzes) prior to tutorials.
Recommendation
Provide a list of potential quiz review questions for each tutorial.
Action Taken
Time in each tutorial was devoted to reviewing possible quiz questions.
Source: SUTE Unit comments report
Feedback
Some found family commitments impacted on live attendance for lectures and tutorials that were scheduled late in the day.
Recommendation
Consider diversity in student schedules, particularly those with family commitments, when making timetable requests. Remind students who are unable to attend live classes that they can engage in content through class recordings and forums.
Action Taken
While lectures were conducted during the day, tutorials were offered later in the evenings in an attempt to cater for a variety of student timetables.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Some of the quiz questions / response options could be clearer.
Recommendation
Review and revise quiz items that are unclear and engage in peer review of quiz questions to ensure clarity and relevance to content in the unit.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student email
Feedback
Positive comments regarding compassion and empathy extended towards people with psychopathology in an informal manner during group discussions.
Recommendation
Formally include discussion of empathy and compassion for people with psychopathology into early lectures.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Explain foundational knowledge of psychological disorders, including relevant diagnostic criteria, symptoms, presentation, aetiology, assessment, treatment approaches as well as epidemiology of different psychological disorders
  2. Critically evaluate the different theories of the aetiology of different psychological disorders and the basic approaches to the assessment and treatment of the major psychological disorders
  3. Critically evaluate the previous research, psychological report writing, as well as current debates and controversies that exist about specific psychological disorders and the general field of abnormal psychology.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Examination • •
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 • • •
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
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Examination • • •
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •