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Undergraduate Courses

This page displays a list of all undergraduate courses in the School of Psychology. Not all courses will be offered in every year. If you're interested in enrolling in a Psychology course, you should check the list of undergraduate courses offered in the coming year first.

All undergraduate courses offered by the school are half-year units. Students intending to major in Psychology are required to complete both PSYC1003 and PSYC1004 as part of their undergraduate program. Please check the list of undergraduate courses offered in the coming year if you plan to enrol.

Students interested in continuing on to undertake Clinical training should review the Graduate page, and may also find information on overseas recognition of qualifications useful.

First-year Courses

PSYC1003 - Psychology I : Understanding Mind, Brain, and Behaviour

Coordinator : Dr Michael Platow

Covers Cognitive Psychology, Biological Psychology, and an Introduction to Methodological Design and Statistics. Targeted towards teaching the relationships between brain, neural representations and behaviour, and cognitive processes such as reading, language, memory and attention. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC1003)

PSYC1004 - Psychology II : Understanding People in Context

Coordinator : Dr Michael Platow

Covers Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and an Introduction to Personality. Introduces the role of social groups in human behaviour, the development of the individual over the lifespan, and the study of personality structures in shaping the individual. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC1004)

PSYC1005 - Life Issues: Applying Psychology

Coordinator : Dr Ross Wilkinson

This course provides an introduction to how theory and research in psychology can be applied to a wide range of questions that people often ask about themselves, their families and relationships, their work, their future, society and the environment. During the course a series of questions will be addressed from different perspectives including clinical, developmental, cognitive, and social psychological approaches. The questions will cover a range of issues and will typically change from year to year. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC1005)

Second-year Courses

PSYC2001 - Social Psychology

Coordinator : Dr Dirk Van Rooy

This course will cover concepts, research and theory within social psychology. We will look at, for example, social influences on perception (of ourselves and others), attitudes, the relationship between attitudes and behaviour, group development, conformity and obedience to authority, prejudice and religious beliefs, cooperation and conflict, the development and breakdown of interpersonal relationships and rule-breaking behaviour such as cheating, bullying and sabotage. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC2001)

PSYC2002 - Developmental Psychology

Coordinator : Dr Phillipa Butcher

Course will have a deeper focus on specific areas of children's lives, examining how language acquisition, cognitive, emotional and social development interact to impact on such aspects of life as gender identity, involvement with the legal system, peer and family relationships, and problems of adolescence. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC2002)

PSYC2007 - Biological Basis of Behaviour

Coordinator : Dr Brendon O'Brien

Introduces behavioural and systems neuroscience and brain mechanisms underlying behaviour. Covers organisation, evolution and development of the nervous system; sensory systems; control of movement; the autonomic nervous system; the hypothalamus and hormonal control; structure and function of the cerebral cortex; and learning, memory and cognitive processes. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC2007)

PSYC2008 - Visual Perception and Cognition

Coordinator : Dr Mark Edwards

Course is divided into two sections. The first section covers aspects of visual perception. Topics include: historical review of the different theoretical approaches to studying visual perception; organisation and function of cells early in the visual system; concept and clinical neuropsychological implications of multiple and parallel visual pathways; perceptual constancies and sensory and perceptual illusions. In the cognitive section, the focus is on memory. Topics include: working memory; long-term memory; memory disorders; visual object recognition; visual word recognition; syntax, semantics and sentence processing and face recognition. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC2008)

PSYC2009 - Quantitative Methods in Psychology

Coordinator : Prof Michael Smithson

Introduces selected quantitative techniques used in psychological research and practice, such as applications of statistical techniques in the design and analysis of experiments and surveys, and construction and applications of techniques of psychological measurement in experiments and surveys. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC2009)

PSYC2010 - Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience

Coordinator : Dr Mark Edwards

The aim of this advanced course is to provide students with a detailed understanding of a number of issues in visual and cognitive neuroscience. These topics will be presented by a number of researchers in these areas, from both the School of Psychology and the research schools. (See ANU Handbook info for PSYC2010)

PSYC2011 - Perspectives on Crime from Psychology and Criminology

Coordinator : Dr Barbara David

The emphasis of this course is to discuss the contribution that psychology can make to the study of crime. The course examines psychological theories of crime, as well as traditional and contemporary approaches to controlling crime. (See ANU Handbook info for PSYC2011)

Third-year Courses

PSYC3002 - The Social Psychology of Group Processes and Social Change

Coordinator : Ms Li Lim

Covers psychological processes involved in relations between and within and between groups. Includes topics such as Analyses of the Social-Psychology of Groups, Social Identity, and Stereotyping; Group Cohesion and Norms; Cooperation, Helping, Trust and Fairness; Leadership, Power, and Social Influence; Group Decision Making, Motivation, and Collective Action; and Negotiation and Communication. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3002)

PSYC3011 - Perception

Coordinator : Dr Mark Edwards

The general aim of the course is to provide students with a conceptual understanding of how the visual system functions from the level of the initial sensory processing of the retinal images to the perceptual representation of the outside world. The topics of spatial vision, depth perception, colour processing and motion processing will be covered in detail. Psychophysical and biological based models of these visual processes, as well as general perceptual models will be presented. These models will be used to analyse case studies from clinical neuropsychology that result in specific visual disorders. Laboratory classes will highlight specific processing strategies employed by the visual system and demonstrate various psychophysical techniques. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3011)

PSYC3015 - Issues in Cognitive Psychology

Coordinator : Dr Anne Aimola Davies

This course examines contemporary research issues and theories in cognitive processes, and will also include explanations of cognitive disorders. Possible topics: attention, consciousness, visual memory (for scenes and faces), neuropsychological rehabilitation. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3015)

PSYC3016 - Issues in Behavioural Neuroscience

Coordinator : Dr Brenda O'Brien

Covers a variety of advanced topics in neuroscience, emphasising vision and visual perception, and/or control of movement, cerebral lateralisation and higher order cortical processing. Many levtures will be given by members of the Institute of Advanced Studies and the Centre for Visual Science who are actively engaged in research into these topics. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3016)

PSYC3018 - Advanced Research Methods

Coordinator : Dr Dirk Van Rooy

Covers measurement of psychological constructs; research designs; collapsing of data; ANOVA; multiple regression; computer-based analysis; method and results sections; planned and post-hoc contrasts; integration of ANOVA and regression as an introduction to the general linear model; searching/analyzing literature; SPSS ANOVA and Regression. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3018)

PSYC3020 - Health Psychology

Coordinator : Prof Don Byrne & Dr Jay Brinker

Health Psychology introduces the student to the intricate relationship which exists between psychological factors and the biological processes of human health and illness. Definitions of illness focussing on the notion of illness as a psychosocial dysfunction are presented in the context of emerging definitions of Health Psychology itself. The course then goes on to examine the idea of stress and the stress reaction as the theoretical model linking psychological and biological processes. The relative and related roles of personality, stress and the psychosocial environment in the genesis of organic pathology and illness are then presented in some detail, along with the body of contemporary empirical evidence supporting these roles. Issues dealing with health risk behaviours such as smoking and diet are considered and evidence for psycho-biological links mediated through the autonomic nervous system, the endocrinological system and the immunological system are discussed. Examples from cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, the neoplastic diseases and the neurological diseases are taken to illustrate these points. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3020)

PSYC3023 - Special Topics in Psychology : Semester 1

Coordinator : Varies according to topics offered

The course will involve seminars and/or research programs to be supervised by staff members or visitors to the ANU. The format of this course will depend on the availability and interests of staff in given years. Programs are designed to enable students to acquire research skills and knowledge of advanced topics in psychology. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3023)

PSYC3023 - Special Topics in Psychology : Semester 2

Coordinator : Varies according to topics offered

The course will involve seminars and/or research programs to be supervised by staff members or visitors to the ANU. The format of this course will depend on the availability and interests of staff in given years. Programs are designed to enable students to acquire research skills and knowledge of advanced topics in psychology. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3023)

PSYC3025 - Abnormal Psychology Across the Lifespan

Coordinator : Dr Bernd Heubeck & Dr Richard O'Kearney

This course introduces a range of abnormal behaviours and psychopathology across the life span, e.g. oppositional behaviour and conduct disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, schizophrenia, or dementia (these may change from year to year). Covers clinical description, individual differences, biological, psychological, social and contextual influences, the examination of prominent models in the literature, and the treatment of selected psychological disorders. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3025)

PSYC3026 - Personality & the Assessment of Individual Differences

Coordinator : Dr Ross Wilkinson & Dr Phillipa Butcher

This course provides an overview of theory and research in the assessment and study of human personality. Topics covered include : classical test theory and psychometric principles; the assessment of individual differences and abilities; personality traits; biological influences on personality; psychoanalytic theories of personality; the phenomenological perspective in personality psychology; and, the role of social learning and social cognition in personality functioning. (See ANU Handbook info, or find out what's different about PSYC3026)