PSYC13018 - Cross-Cultural Psychology

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit you will examine the relationships between cultural contexts and human behaviour. You will gain understanding of the similarities and differences in behaviour as influenced by various cultures, particularly perspectives of First Nations Peoples. You will learn about key cross-cultural theories, common research methods used in cross-cultural psychology and examine how these are relevant in research and applied settings. In this unit you will learn how to apply your psychological knowledge and skills in a manner that is culturally appropriate and sensitive to the diversity of others.

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

Pre-Requisite Completion of 96 credit points in CC43, CF59, CG93, CL51, CL55, CM62 or CC13.

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 1 - 2025

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton

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. Portfolio 40%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Presentation 20%

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 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 78.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 31.25% 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: Student Feedback
Feedback
Students commented that they would like more variety in the weekly learning activities rather than just reading journal articles.
Recommendation
Review possible options for learning activities to accompany the lectures, such as short videos or mini-quizzes.
Action Taken
Where possible, supplementary learning activities were provided each week, such as videos and alternative readings. Tutorial activities were also designed in a way that students could do these live in class time, or in their own time if they were unable to make the live sessions.
Source: Student Feedback
Feedback
Students reported finding the unit content to be interesting, engaging, and relevant for professional practice in psychology.
Recommendation
Continue to develop unit materials to ensure the content remains relevant, stimulating, and has clear pathways for practical application.
Action Taken
All additional teaching materials were developed to ensure relevance to the unit learning outcomes and to practical applications of the content.
Source: Student unit evaluations, informal student feedback
Feedback
Students commented that the use of guest lecturers sometimes made the unit and its content feel disjointed.
Recommendation
Unit scheduling and content will be reviewed to ensure coherence in the content being presented.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit coordinator reflections
Feedback
Some pre-recorded lectures recorded by guest lecturers in 2022 make reference to particular dates or issues that date the videos.
Recommendation
Pre-recorded lectures will be reviewed and replaced with new videos or live lectures to ensure content is current.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Critically apply cross-cultural perspectives to key theories and concepts in psychology.
  2. Critically evaluate psychological research for appropriate acknowledgement of sociocultural influences and perspectives on diversity and inclusion.
  3. Apply perspectives of cross-cultural psychology in a manner that is reflexive, culturally appropriate and sensitive to the diversity of individuals.

This unit addresses Foundational Competencies as specified by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). The unit specifically aligns to the following APAC graduate competencies:

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: i. the history and philosophy underpinning the science of psychology and the social, cultural, historical and professional influences on the practice of psychology; ii. individual differences in capacity, behaviour and personality; iv. psychological disorders and evidence-based interventions; v. learning and memory; vi. cognition, language and perception; vii. motivation and emotion; viii. neuroscience and the biological bases of behaviour; ix. lifespan developmental psychology; x. social psychology and xii. research methods and statistics.

1.2 Apply knowledge and skills of psychology in a manner that is reflexive, culturally appropriate and sensitive to the diversity of individuals.

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 - Portfolio • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Presentation • •
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 •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • •
8 - Ethical practice • •
9 - Social Innovation •
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures • •
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