Syllabus: B.Psych(Hons)

Programme details for the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)

Courses Presented in This Programme

The B.Psych(Hons) includes the following compulsory courses:

• Physiology of Behaviour
• Psychological Assessment

The B.Psych(Hons) includes the following elective courses:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Experimental Psychology
• Human Sexuality

Duration of the Programme

This programme has a minimum learning duration of eight months before the qualification certificate can be issued. The maximum learning duration is normally two years.

Prerequisites

Completion of the B. Psych or having been granted the status of a B. Psych qualification through the process of recognition of prior earning (RPL), as confirmed by the CU Senate.

Single courses may be enrolled for to complete other qualifications. In such cases the student must consider that the courses were planned and selected sequentially by CU to serve as foundational knowledge for the more advanced courses.

Physiology of Behaviour

Credits: 23

Synopsis: This is the most comprehensive, current, and teachable course for physiological psychology. It incorporates the latest discoveries in the rapidly changing fields of neuroscience and physiological psychology and offers the most comprehensive and integrative coverage of research and theory in contemporary behavioral neuroscience. We have thoughtfully organized, it to offer scholarly, yet accessible coverage and to effectively emphasize the dynamic interaction between biology and behavior.

Outline. The following aspects are reflected in this course:

• Understanding Human Consciousness: A Physiological Approach. The Nature of Physiological Psychology. Natural Selection and Evolution. Ethical Issues in Research with Animals. Careers in Neuroscience.
• Structure and Functions of Cells of the Nervous System. Communication Within a Neuron. Communication Between Neurons.
• Structure of the Nervous System: Basic Features of the Nervous System. The Central Nervous System. The Peripheral Nervous System.
• Principles of Psychopharmacology. Sites of Drug Action. Neurotransmitters and Neuromodulators.
• Methods and Strategies of Research: Experimental Ablation. Recording and Stimulating Neural Activity. Neurochemical Methods. Genetic Methods.
• Vision: The Stimulus. Anatomy of the Visual System. Coding of Visual Information in the Retina. Analysis of Visual Information: Role of the Striate Cortex. Analysis of Visual Information: Role of the Visual Association Cortex.
• Audition, The Body Senses, and the Chemical Senses: Vestibular System. Somatosenses. Gustation. Olfaction.
• Control of Movement. Muscles. Reflex Control of Movement. Control of Movement by the Brain.
• Sleep and Biological Rhythms: A Physiological and Behavioral Description. Disorders of Sleep. Physiological Mechanisms of Sleep and Waking. Biological Clocks.
• Reproductive Behavior: Sexual Development. Hormonal Control of Sexual Behavior. Neural Control of Sexual Behavior. Parental Behavior.
• Emotion. Emotions as Response Patterns. Communication of Emotions. @AHEADS = Feelings of Emotions.
• Ingestive Behavior: Physiological Regulatory Mechanisms. Drinking. Eating. Metabolism. Brain Mechanisms. Eating Disorders.
• Learning and Memory: Basic Mechanisms. The Nature of Learning. Learning and Synaptic Plasticity. Perceptual Learning. Classical Conditioning. Instrumental Conditioning and Motor Learning.
• Relational Learning and Amnesia: Humans and Learning in Laboratory Animals.
• Human Communication: Speech Production and Comprehension: Brain Mechanisms. Disorders of Reading and Writing.
• Schizophrenia and the Affective Disorders.
• Anxiety Disorders. Autistic Disorder. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Stress Disorders.
• Drug Abuse: Common Features of Addiction. Commonly Abused Drugs. Heredity and Drug Abuse. Therapy for Drug Abuse.

Psychological Assessment

Credits: 19

Synopsis: Psychological Testing and Assessment offers extensive coverage of new tests, inventories, and scales, and the methods used in constructing, administering, scoring, and interpreting these psychometric instruments.

New editions of various tests, and renewed interest in the “politics of intelligence testing” are studied. Greater attention has also been given to adaptive testing, item response theory, the use of computers in psychological testing, neuropsychological and developmental testing, and applications of tests in various contexts.

This is an essential course for any student who is planning to construct, administer, and make decisions based on test scores in clinical or educational settings.

Outline. The following aspects are reflected in this course:

• I. METHODOLOGY OF ASSESSMENT
• Historical and Professional Matters. Historical Overview. Testing as a Profession. Testing Standards and Ethics.
• Design and Construction of Tests. Planning a Test. Preparing Items. Assembling and Reproducing a Test. Oral Testing. Performance Testing.
• Administration and Scoring of Tests. Administration. Scoring.
• Item Analysis and Standardization of Tests. Item Analysis. Test Standardization and Norms. Equating Tests.
• Reliability and Validity of Tests. Reliability. Validity. Using Tests in Personnel Decision Making.
• II. ASSESSMENT OF ABILITIES
• Standardized Achievement Tests. Foundations of Achievement Testing. Types and Selection of Achievement Testing. Achievement Test Batteries. Achievement Tests in Specific Areas.
• Intelligence Testing. History, Definitions, and Theories. Individual Tests of Intelligence. Group Tests of Intelligence.
• Individual and Group Differences in Mental Abilities. Mental Retardation, Giftedness, and Creativity. Research on Demographic Correlates of Mental Abilities. Biological Factors and Mental Abilities.
• Developmental and Neuropsychological Assessment. Developmental Assessment of Infants and Young Children. Learning Disabilities. Neuropsychological Disorders and Assessment.
• Evaluating Special Abilities. Concepts and Characteristics. Sensory-Perceptual and Psychomotor Skills. Mechanical Ability. Clerical and Computer-Related Abilities. Artistic and Musical Abilities. Multiple-Aptitude Batteries.
• Applications and Issues in Ability Testing. Assessment in Educational Contexts. Criticisms and Issues in Ability Testing. Other Issues in Educational Testing. Employment Testing and Bias.
• III. ASSESSMENT OF PREFERENCES AND PERSONALITY
• Measuring Vocational Interests. Foundations of Interest Measurement. Validity of Interest Inventories. Strong Interest Inventories. Kuder Interest Inventories. Interests and Personality. Other General- and Special-Purpose Interest Inventories.
• Measuring Attitudes, Values, and Personal Orientations. Attitude Measurement. Measurement of Values. Personal Orientations.
• Personality Assessment: Origins, Applications, and Issues. Pseudoscience and Other Historical Antecedents. Theories of Personality. Uses and Misuses of Personality Assessment. Clinical Assessment. Other Areas of Application of Personality Assessment. Issues and Controversies in Personality Assessment.
• Observations and Interviews. Observations. Biographical Information. Interviews. Observations and Interviews in Behavior Analysis.
• Rating Scales and Checklists. Rating Scales. Checklists.
• Personality Inventories. Characteristics of Personality Inventories. Single-Construct and Symptom Inventories. Multiscore Content-Validated Inventories. Factor-Analyzed Inventories. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Other Criterion-Keyed Personality Inventories.
• Projective Techniques. Word Associations and Constructions. Inkblot Tests. The TAT and Variations. Other Apperception Tests. Prospects for Personality Assessment.

The Elective Courses

Cognitive Psychology

Credits: 21

Synopsis: Cognitive psychology is the psychological science which studies cognition, the mental processes that are hypothesised to underlie behaviour. This covers a broad range of research domains, examining questions about the workings of memory, attention, perception, knowledge representation, reasoning, creativity and problem solving.

Cognitive psychology is radically different from previous psychological approaches in two keys ways.

• It accepts the use of the scientific method, and rejects introspection as valid methods of investigations, unlike phenomenological methods such as Freudian psychology.
• It posits the existence of internal mental states (such as beliefs, desires and motivations) unlike behaviourist psychology. The school of thought arising from this approach is known as cognitivism.

Cognitive psychology is one of the more recent additions to psychological research, having only developed as a separate area within the discipline since the late 1950s and early 1960s. Since that time, the dominant paradigm in the area has been the information processing model of cognition that Broadbent put forward. This is a way of thinking and reasoning about mental processes, envisaging them like software running on the computer that is the brain. Theories commonly refer to forms of input, representation, computation or processing, and outputs.

Outline. The following aspects are reflected in this course:

• Basic Principles in Experimental Psychology.
• AN INTRODUCTION TO SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY. The Topics of Experimental Psychology. Science. Science and Psychology. Why a Science of Psychology? On the Scientific Method. Experimental design. Scientific Methodology. Development of Thoughts and Hypotheses in Experimental Psychology. Correlational Studies. Nonexperimental (But Empirical) Research.
• EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN IN PSYCHOLOGY. The Logic of Experimental Psychology. Operational Definitions. Independent and Dependent Variables. Experimental and Control Groups.
• ETHICS OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Research with Humans.
• ADVANCED DESIGN TECHNIQUES: FACTORIAL DESIGNS, QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL, DESIGNS, AND FUNCTIONAL DESIGNS. Factorial Designs. Quasi-Experimental Designs. Functional Designs. Additional Considerations: Generalization of Results Definitions.
• EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND CONTROL. Controlled Contrasts. Scientific Interferences. Types of Control. Statistical Analysis and Computers. Experimental Paradigms. Use of Treatment and Control Groups.
• CONTROL OF SUBJECT VARIABLES. Equality of Subjects in Treatment Groups. Randomized Subject Design: Model 1. Matched Subject Design: Model 2. Within-Subject Design: Model 3. Repeated Measure Design-Sequence Balanced: Model 4. Subject Loss (Attrition).
• THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERATURE: READING FOR UNDERSTANDING AND AS A SOURCE OF RESEARCH IDEAS. Ideas, Hunches, and the Psychological Literature. Library Searches. Reading and Understanding Psychological Articles.
• THE RESEARCH PROCESS. Doing Research. Writing a Research Paper. Reporting Data. Submission of Manuscript. Funding Research and Applying for Grants.
• Analysis of Experiments.
• COLA TASTING. Special Issues: Control Problems. Identification of Cola Beverages.
• TERRITORIALITY IN PARKING LOTS. Special Issues: Field-based Studies. Territorial Defense in Parking Lots: Retaliation Against Waiting Drivers.
• FANNING OLD FLAMES. Fanning Old Flames: Arousing Romantic Obsession Through Thought Suppression
• Distinct Faces: Just Another Face in the Crowd.
• PICTURE MEMORY. Comprehension and Memory for Pictures.
• HORMONES AND TOY PREFERENCES. Special Issues: Selection of Subjects as a Source of Independent Variables. Special Issues: “Politically Incorrect” Findings. Early Androgens Are Related to Childhood Sex-Typed Toy Preferences.
• MATERNAL BEHAVIOR. Special issues: The Use of Animals in Psychological Research. Maternal Behavior Induced by Maternal Blood Plasma Injected into Virgin Rats.
• CHILDRENS REASONING.
• CREATIVE PURPOSE. Special Issues: Small n Designs. The Creative Purpose: Training for Novel Behavior.
• PERSPECTIVE SHIFTING. Recall of Previously Unrecallable Information Following a Shift in Perspective.
• THERAPY FOR ANGER. Special Issues: Single-Subject Design in Clinical Studies. Stress Inoculation: A Cognitive Theory for Anger and Its Application to a Case of Depression.
• PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR. Effects of a Prosocial Televised Example on Childrens Helping.
• ALCOHOL AND CONDOMS. Special Issues: Multiple Experiments. Special Issues: Studying Complex Social Behavior in the Laboratory. Why Common Sense Goes Out the Window: Effects of Alcohol on Intentions to Use Condoms.
• KARATE TECHNIQUES. Special Issues: Subject Variables. Memory for the Frequency of Occurrence of Karate Techniques: A Comparison of Experts and Novices.
• DISPUTES IN JAPAN. Disputes in Japan: A Cross-Cultural Test of the Procedural Justice Model.
• FALSE CONFESSIONS. The Social Psychology of False Confessions: Compliance, Internalization, and Confabulation.

Experimental Psychology

Credits: 16

Synopsis: Experimental psychology describes an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. Many experimental psychologists have gone further, and have assumed that all methods of investigation other than experimentation are suspect. In particular, experimental psychologists have been inclined to discount the case study and interview methods as they have been used in clinical and developmental psychology.

Since it is a methodological rather than a substantive category, experimental psychology embraces a disparate collection of areas of study. It is usually taken to include the study of perception, cognitive psychology, comparative psychology, the experimental analysis of behavior, and some aspects of physiological psychology.

Outline. The following aspects are reflected in this course:

• Introduction to Cognitive Psychology.
• Cognitive Neuroscience.
• Perception and Attention.
• Pattern Recognition.
• States of Consciousness.
• Memory Processes.
• Memory Models.
• Mnemonics and Experts.
• Representation of Knowledge.
• Mental Imagery.
• Language: Structure and Abstractions.
• Language: Words and Reading.
• Cognitive Development.
• Thinking: Concept Formation, Logic, and Decision Making.
• Thinking: Problem Solving, Creativity, and Human Intelligence.
• Computerized Cognition: Artificial Intelligence.

Human Sexuality

Credits: 22

Synopsis: A course in Human Sexuality for departments of psychology, health, biology, nursing, physical education, sociology, and anthropology. Introduces students to the importance of communication with regard to sexuality.

This course provides an accessible, comprehensive introduction to human sexuality as it relates to basic human needs in five different categories: Physical Needs, Social Needs, Emotional Needs, Spiritual Needs, and Cognitive Needs. Major concepts discussed are neither over simplified, nor overly technical.

Outline. The following aspects are reflected in this course:

• Why a Course in Human Sexuality?
• Our Sexual and Reproductive Anatomy.
• Hormones and Sexuality.
• Similarities and Differences in Our Sexual Responses.
• Sexually Transmitted and Sexually Related Diseases.
• Birth Control.
• Pregnancy and Childbirth.
• Communicating About Sex.
• Sexuality as a Social Concept.
• Becoming a Woman/Becoming a Man: Gender Identity and Gender Roles.
• Sexual Orientation.
• Life-Span Sexual Development.
• Adult Sexual Behaviors.
• Love and Relationships.
• Sexual Problems and Therapy.
• Paraphilias and Sexual Variants.
• Sexual Victimization: Rape, Coercion, Harassment, and Abuse of Children.
• Sex and the Law.

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