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Course Outline

PSY101 Introduction to Psychology B

Course Coordinator:Varghese Peter (vpeter@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Psychology

2026Trimester 2

UniSC Sunshine Coast

UniSC Moreton Bay

 Blended learning Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online.

Online

 Online You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement.

Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.

What is this course about?

Description

This course provides an introduction to psycho-biological aspects of human functioning. These aspects of human functioning are applied in the context of understanding sensation and perception, learning and conditioning, cognitive and linguistic processes, the structure of memory, the origins of intelligence, and psychological disorders. The course also provides an introduction to methods of experimental psychology and how psychological reports are constructed.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Blended learning
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Whole of class (large class) on campus workshop - 2 hours 2hrs Week 1 12 times
Tutorial/Workshop 2 – 12 weeks of on-campus workshops - 1 hour 1hr Week 1 12 times
Online
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Whole of class (large class) online workshop - 2 hours 2hrs Week 1 12 times
Tutorial/Workshop 2 – 12 weeks of online workshops - 1 hour 1hr Week 1 12 times

Course Topics

  • Science and pseudoscience in psychology
  • Research methods
  • Biological Psychology
  • Sensation and Perception
  • Consciousness
  • Learning
  • Memory
  • Thinking, Reasoning, and Language
  • Intelligence and IQ Testing
  • Psychological Disorders
  • Psychological and Biological Treatments

Mature Content

Drug Use, Adult themes

What level is this course?

100 Level (Introductory)

Engaging with discipline knowledge and skills at foundational level, broad application of knowledge and skills in familiar contexts and with support. Limited or no prerequisites. Normally, associated with the first full-time study year of an undergraduate program.

What is the unit value of this course?

12 units

How does this course contribute to my learning?

Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... Professional Standard Mapping * Australian Psychology Accreditation Council
1 Remember, comprehend, apply, review, and explain the terminology, topics, issues, and theories of psychology. Knowledgeable
Creative and critical thinker
Empowered
Engaged 
1, 1.1.11, 1.1.12, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6, 1.1.8, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6
2 Critically review empirical literature on a psychology topic and prepare a laboratory report, that includes clear and concise academic writing and the appropriate use of APA formatting requirements. Knowledgeable
Creative and critical thinker
Engaged 
1.3, 1.6
3 Use the scientific method to critically analyse information and develop knowledge about research designs. Knowledgeable
Creative and critical thinker
Empowered 
1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6
4 Participate in and identify different types of psychological research designs and methodologies used in psychological research. Empowered
Ethical
Engaged 
1.6

* Competencies by Professional Body

CODE COMPETENCY
Australian Psychology Accreditation Council
1 FOUNDATIONAL COMPETENCIES: Graduates at this level have broad and coherent knowledge and skills in the scientific discipline of psychology. Programs for foundational competencies typically comprise an APAC-accredited sequence in psychology either as part of a 3-year program leading to a Bachelor Degree or as an equivalent stand-alone sequence of psychology units combined with a Bachelor Degree in a different discipline.
1.1.11 Graduates will be able to 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 culturally appropriate psychological assessment and measurement
1.1.12 Graduates will be able to 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 research methods and statistics
1.1.4 Graduates will be able to 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 psychological disorders and evidence-based interventions
1.1.5 Graduates will be able to 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 learning and memory
1.1.6 Graduates will be able to 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 cognition, language and perception
1.1.8 Graduates will be able to 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 neuroscience and the biological bases of behaviour
1.1 Graduates will be able to 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:
1.2 Graduates will be able to apply knowledge and skills of psychology in a manner that is reflexive, culturally appropriate and sensitive to the diversity of individuals.
1.3 Graduates will be able to analyse and critique theory and research in the discipline of psychology and communicate these in written and oral formats.
1.4 Graduates will be able to demonstrate an understanding of appropriate values and ethics in psychology.
1.5 Graduates will be able to demonstrate interpersonal skills and teamwork.
1.6 Graduates will be able to demonstrate self-directed pursuit of scholarly inquiry in psychology.

Am I eligible to enrol in this course?

Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.

Pre-requisites

Not applicable

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Not applicable

Microcredential Information

Not applicable

How am I going to be assessed?

Grading Scale

Standard Grading (GRD)

High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL).

Details of early feedback on progress

Students will undertake early formative quizzes before week 4. These formative assessments will not be included in the final mark, but will help students prepare for the weighted assessment tasks that will contribute to their final grade.

Assessment tasks

Delivery mode Task No. Assessment Product Individual or Group Weighting % What is the duration / length? When should I submit? Where should I submit it?
All 1 Quiz/zes Individual 30% 
There will be 4 quizzes throughout the trimester.
Each quiz will be available for one week. Once a student starts the quiz, they will have 20 minutes to complete it.
 Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) Online Test (Quiz)
All 2 Oral Individual 25% 
A recorded oral presentation of 3 minutes in duration.
 Refer to Format Online Submission
All 3 Report Individual 40% 
1500 words

A more detailed outline of the requirements of this assessment item will be provided on Canvas.
 Refer to Format Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 4 Activity Participation Individual 5% 
Approximately 2.5 hours

More information will be available on Canvas.
 Week 12 To be Negotiated
All - Assessment Task 1:Task 1 Quiz
Goal: 
The aim of the quizzes is for students to develop an understanding of the course content, apply the knowledge they have acquired, and demonstrate their comprehension of this knowledge.
Product: Quiz/zes
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
This assessment task requires students to answer a series of questions (via Canvas) on the content covered in this course.

Quiz 1 will be due between weeks 3 and 4, quiz 2 between weeks 6 and 7, quiz 3 between weeks 9 and 10, and quiz 4 in week 12.

The final date of submission for this task will be determined once public holidays and the course timetable have been published prior to the commencement of trimester. Please refer to your course Canvas site at the commencement of the teaching trimester to confirm the due date for this assessment task.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Accuracy and correctness of response.
 1
Generic Skills: 
Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy
All - Assessment Task 2:Task 2 Oral Presentation
Goal: 
The goal is to create a recorded oral presentation on a given topic within psychology.
Product: Oral
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
This assessment task will be due between weeks 5- 7 of the teaching trimester. The final date of submission for this task will be determined once public holidays and the course timetable have been published prior to the commencement of trimester. Please refer to your course Canvas site at the commencement of the teaching trimester to confirm the due date for this assessment task.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Ability to summarise and synthesis literature in an oral group presentation.
 1 3
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy
All - Assessment Task 3:Task 3 Laboratory Report
Goal: 
The goals of this task are for you to communicate your understanding of psychological research and to correctly write and format a psychology laboratory report.

A more detailed outline of the requirements of this assessment item will be provided on Canvas.
Product: Report
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
You will be required to address a set topic given by the Course Coordinator (via Canvas). 

The laboratory report will have a title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, and discussion. APA style (7th edition) is required for in-text citations, reference list, and format. 

This assessment task will be due between weeks 10-11 of the teaching trimester. The final date of submission for this task will be determined once public holidays and the course timetable have been published prior to the commencement of trimester. Please refer to your course Canvas site at the commencement of the teaching trimester to confirm the due date for this assessment task.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Ability to summarise and synthesise research literature in a psychological laboratory report.
 2 3
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy
All - Assessment Task 4:Task 4 Research Participation
Goal: 
The goal of this task is for you to gain experience in psychological research by participating in research projects, as advertised on Take Part.

More information will be available on Canvas.
Product: Activity Participation
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
You are invited to participate in selected research projects on offer by the psychology team (including research conducted by Honours, Masters, and PhD students). This task gives you the opportunity to familiarise yourself, and receive 'hands on' experience, with the conduct of psychological research. 

More information will be provided on Canvas.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Participation in research.
 4
Generic Skills: 
Applying technologies, Information literacy

Directed study hours

A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.

What resources do I need to undertake this course?

Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.

Prescribed text(s) or course reader

You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.

Required? Author Year Title Edition Publisher
Required Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, Laura L. Namy 2025 Psychology:From Inquiry to Understanding Fourth [Australian Edition] Pearson

Specific requirements

N/A

How are risks managed in this course?

Health and safety risks for this course have been assessed as low. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

What administrative information is relevant to this course?

Assessment: Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.

Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.

In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.

Assessment: Additional Requirements

Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment

Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale

Assessment: Submission penalties

Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.

The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty

Links to relevant University policy and procedures

For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:

  • Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
  • Review of Assessment and Final Grades
  • Supplementary Assessment
  • Central Examinations
  • Deferred Examinations
  • Student Conduct
  • Students with a Disability

For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching

Student Charter

UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.

General Enquiries

For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.  

For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: 

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