PSYCH 109G Mind, Brain and Behaviour

This course is designed to introduce students to the experimental study of, and research in, psychology. It offers students experience in psychological experimentation, in particular to the biological, behavioural and cognitive aspects of the discipline. 

A laboratory component, in which students are required to participate as subjects, forms part of the course.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Describe and explain the basic principles of research design and data analysis, and the practical, ethical and conceptual issues that researchers may face when designing and undertaking psychological research. 
2. Evaluate critically, using the principles of research design, research conducted by others. 
3. Describe the psychological and neural processes that give rise to important aspects of perception, memory, and language. 
4. Describe the major principles underlying learning in both animals and humans, and some of their implications for understanding the relation between behaviour and environment in everyday life. 
5. Describe the major theories of cognitive development throughout the lifespan, together with evidence that tends to support or undermine these theoretical approaches. 
6. Identify and describe the major divisions and structures of the human brain, and be able to describe the main functions of important brain structures. Be able to describe the structure and function of nerve cells. 
7. Adopt a critical stance when evaluating evidence and theory in psychological science. 
8. Describe how an evolutionary approach can inform our understanding of animal and human minds. 
   

'Loved the content of the course. Liked how different lecturers taught different topic so every lecturer was passionate and well equipped to teach their topic. Content was also very interesting and sometimes practical.'

'The lectures were structured well, including both the lecture slides and the presentation of the lectures. I think attending these was extremely helpful.'

'The group project in the lab was really good. Having the time to work with others and research in depth/present on one of the research articles helped me to understand the concepts and results that were tested for them.'

'To me, the labs are by far the best learning resource that was available to use and the most helpful in terms of putting the stuff we learnt in lectures into practical applications via the lab exercises.'

'Most helpful for my learning was the group task in the lab as we were able to work with a
variety of people who had different strengths to myself. From this group project I was able to make friends with the people in my group who were like study buddies for the remainder of the course.'

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