PSYCHOL 3027 - Psychology, Science & Society

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2020

The section of the course on social psychology builds upon existing knowledge and examines the social principles of processes that enable us to understand human behaviour. Some of these topics include the ways in which people develop categories and stereotypes, develop attributions about the behaviour of others, and how identities (both individual and group) are structured and developed. The critical component of the course looks at psychology as a complex human enterprise that is concerned with the production, dissemination, and application of psychological knowledge claims. The broad aim of the course is to show how our understanding of psychology can be aided by recent developments in related disciplines such as philosophy, history, sociology and politics.

Open All

Course Details

Course Code	PSYCHOL 3027
Course	Psychology, Science & Society
Coordinating Unit	Psychology
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	At least 6 units of Level II Psychology which must include PSYCHOL 2004
Assessment	Practical report, online short answer assignment, tutorial attendance, multiple choice exam

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Amanda LeCouteur

Additional Academic Staff:
Prof Martha Augoustinos: Ph - +61 8313 4627; Email - martha.augoustinos@adelaide.edu.au

School of Psychology Office:
Ph - +61 8313 5693
Email - psychologyoffice@adelaide.edu.au
Location: Room 510, Hughes Building

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

1.   Display understanding of the implications of work in the Philosophy of Science for foundational concerns in the science of Psychology
2.   Demonstrate familiarity with a range of epistemologies and methodologies as practised in various sub-sections of the discipline of Psychology
3.   Display understanding of the complexity, multiplicity and context-dependence of processes of psychological explanation and practice
4.   Display understanding of competing theoretical approaches about how individuals and groups attend to, process, and represent complex social information.
5.   Display understanding of critical approaches to standard Social Psychological topics such as attributions, categorisation, stereotyping, and social identity
6.   Present the results of psychological research in the appropriate APA format (6th Edition)

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,5
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	2,3
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	2,3,4
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1,2,3,4,5
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	3
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	1,3

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Readings and asscociated materials will be indicated and /or made available in the relevant online modules.

Recommended Resources

Barr Smith Library – Psychology on the Web
The Library is a major resource centre for students. The library website contains a list of databases, links to tutorials and help with searching methods.

Online Learning

This course may use MyUni for one or more of the following:

•    Communication with students via Announcements and Discussion Board
•    Submission of assessment
•    Access to lecture recordings
•    Access to tutorial materials
•    Additional readings
•    Self-directed learning activities
•    Exam preparation materials

Link to MyUni:   https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au/

Learning & Teaching Modes

Lectures supported by critical-thinking and problem-solving tutorials developing material covered in lectures plus online activities and readings.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Face-to-Face Contact Hours
2 hours per week in Lectures over a 12 week period (Total 24 hours)
4 hours per semester in Tutorials as scheduled (Total 4 hours)

Revision of Material / Tutorial Preparation
2 hours per lecture for revision of lecture content and set readings (Total 60 hours)
2 hours of preparation for each tutorial (Total 8 hours)

Assessment Tasks
20 hours for the completion of the research assignment during the semester (Total 20 hours)
Exam revision as required (approx. 32.5 hours)
End of semester examination = 1.5 hours

Total time commitment: 150 hours

Learning Activities Summary

Week	Topic	Lecture
Week 1	Introduction	Social Identity theory
Week 2	Self-categorisation Theory	Social Identity in the ‘Real World’
Week 3	Stereotypes and social reality	Social Identity and attributions
Week 4	Social representations theory	Social representations of scientific knowledge
Week 5	Social representations and attributions	Social constructionism
Week 6	Discourse and cognition	Discursive psychology
Week 7	Psychology’s relationship to science, and its place in contemporary society	What is Science? A brief excursion through the history of Science
Week 8	Definitions of Science: Bacon, observation and experiment	What is Science: Some answers from the Philosophy of Science
Week 9	Philosophy of Science & implications for Psychology	What is Science: Some answers from the Sociology of Science
Week 10	The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge	The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge & implications for Psychology
Week 11	Science in action: Finding the Secret of Life	Introduction to Foucault: Madness, criminality and punishment
Week 12	Foucault continued	Knowledge, power and psychology

Disclaimer: This program is provisional and subject to change

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Assessment Type	Weighting	Learning outcome(s) being addressed
Tutorial Participation	Summative	10%	1, 3-5
Short Answer Questions	Summative	20%	1-5
Examination	Summative	40%	1-5
Research Practical	Summative	30%	1-6

Assessment Detail

One-and-a-half hour examination taking the form of 20 multiple-choice questions in one of the two main sections of the lecture course, and 20 multiple-choice questions in the other main section of the lecture course.

A short-answer-question assignment that tests knowledge of one of the two main sections of the lecture course will be completed in the second half of the course.

The research practical takes the form of a paper in which literature is reviewed and evidence is analysed in relation to a set question.

Tutorial attendance and participation is recorded by the tutor at 2.5% for each of the 4 tutorials scheduled for the course.

Submission

All assignments must be submitted online via MyUni

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator