PSYC14055 - Innovations and Applications in Psychology

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The discipline of psychology has a long history of using research and theory to provide explanations for the complexities of human behaviour. Yet, we live in a world that is rapidly changing – environmentally, socially, politically, and technologically. In this unit, you will learn how psychology is responding to contemporary challenges, particularly when it comes to diverse and vulnerable groups in our society. You will be exposed to critical and emerging issues in the study of psychology. Drawing on a scientist-practitioner approach, you will examine how psychological theory and research can be applied to the identification and evaluation of solutions to these challenges.

Details

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

Students must be enrolled in CC42 Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours)


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 - 2024

Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online
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. Written Assessment 50%
2. Presentation 50%

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 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 92.31% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 30.23% 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 data
Feedback
Not clear what the relevance of this unit is to students who intend to go on to Clinical or Professional Psychology Masters courses.
Recommendation
Make the relevance of the transferable skills taught in this unit more obvious to the cohort.
Action Taken
The relevance of the transferable skills taught and assessed in this unit were emphasised at the start of the term and when discussing the assessment pieces in the tutorials.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback
More clarity needed on assessment instructions.
Recommendation
Review all the assessment information provided on Moodle and in tutorials. Amend if improvements can be identified.
Action Taken
The assessment information and the annotated template were reviewed and some of the wording was adjusted.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback
The hands on and real-life assessments were valued.
Recommendation
Continue to apply knowledge, teaching and assessment to real-life situations.
Action Taken
Information, teaching, and assessment continued to be linked to real-life and contemporary issues.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Having all of the teaching material available from the start of the term was appreciated.
Recommendation
Continue to make all of the teaching materials available from the start of the term.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Consider giving opportunities for groups of students to meet with the Unit Coordinator or Tutor to discuss their ideas for the Grant Application and Funding Pitch.
Recommendation
Set aside tutorial time for students to discuss their ideas for the Grant Application and Funding Pitch.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Students enjoyed the real-world focus of the unit.
Recommendation
Information, teaching, and assessment will continue to be linked to real-life and contemporary issues.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Critically analyse how psychological theory and research has been applied to understand contemporary issues and challenges of human behaviour
  2. Apply an evidence-based psychological solution to a contemporary societal or global issue or challenge
  3. Effectively communicate to academic and non-academic audiences how psychological theory and research can be used to understand and provide solutions for contemporary societal or global issues

Learning outcomes fulfil the level 2 pre-professional core competencies required by the updated Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) guidelines. The learning outcomes also meet the study criteria as specified by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) and as appropriate for study at level 8 as stated by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Written Assessment • • •
2 - 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 • • •
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