512-410 Special Topics in Psychology A

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

Students must select two of three units.

Special topics in developmental psychology: Seminars will be organised around three themes, namely: (1) adaptability and change; (2) the effects of relationships (e.g. partners, peers, parents) and social contexts (culture and its institutions) on development; and (3) patterns of reasoning competencies within and between domains. Themes will be explored by examining variability in development across the life-span. Issues such as temperament, the development of social and antisocial behaviour, the origins and development of cognitive abilities, and intergenerational family functioning, will be explored.

Special topics in biological psychology (not offered in 2001): The seminar/lectures will be arranged around a number of current topics within biological psychology. These may include endocrinological effects on gender-related behaviour and cerebral lateralisation; information processing approaches to cerebral asymmetry; electrophysiological approaches to the study of sleep; the role of 'K' complexes in brain activity; and perceptual asymmetries and their relation to functional cerebral asymmetries.

Theories in psychology: The unit will examine a number of important theoretical issues in psychology. Rather than simply treat these issues in the abstract, a number of specific contemporary examples will also be studied. These will be selected from a variety of content areas of psychology, and may include examples from such areas as memory, reasoning, clinical psychology, cognitive neuropsychology, social and developmental psychology. In looking at such examples general questions such as the 'scientific' status of psychology, and its integrity as an autonomous discipline will be considered. The unit will focus on practical issues of evaluating example theories with a view to developing skills which might be applied to new instances. Students will be expected to work in groups in discussing and reporting the outcomes of these discussions.

Assessment

Two 1500 word essays/laboratory reports or a 1.5-hour examination.