COURSE CURRICULUM

The Bachelor of Psychological Science program introduces students to the foundations of modern psychology through a science-focused curriculum. Early subjects highlight the historical development of psychology, biological and psychological processes, lifespan development, motivation, emotion, personality, assessment, and cultural perspectives including Indigenous psychology. Students develop essential academic skills such as scientific writing, critical reading, research interpretation, and independent learning strategies.As students progress, they explore perception, learning, cognition, intelligence, memory, abnormal psychology, social psychology, and human relations, while also gaining insight into how individuals perceive and interpret the world. A strong emphasis is placed on research methods and statistics, covering hypothesis formation, experimental and correlational designs, reliability, validity, ethics, descriptive statistics, sampling, normal distribution, and inferential tests including z-tests, t-tests, correlations, and chi-square analyses.Intermediate subjects deepen understanding of personality development, individual differences, intelligence measurement, and the biological mechanisms underlying behaviour. Practical components introduce techniques such as ECG, EEG, and skin-conductance recording. Students also learn how to conduct and interpret experimental research in perception and cognition, exploring topics such as attention, memory, and language.Developmental psychology subjects examine cognitive, perceptual, emotional, and social development across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, along with issues related to social identity, attitudes, prejudice, and workplace behaviour. Further training includes data analysis using SPSS, mental health from a developmental perspective, psychological assessment, counselling micro-skills, and ethical and legislative considerations in clinical and non-clinical settings.Advanced units explore major theoretical traditions in psychology, metatheoretical issues, the evolution of scientific approaches, and the emergence of modern psychological frameworks. Additional subjects include multivariate statistics, cognitive psychology research, specialised topics in social behaviour, applied psychology in sport, health, and organisational contexts, and contemporary issues in early childhood development.