Personality and Social Psychology

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Lectures and Laboratory/Practical classes

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject examines human individuality and relatedness, the core themes of personality and social psychology. Its focus is on how we are unique individuals but also connected to others. The personality section investigates the nature and structure of individual differences, how these differences are assessed, and how they can be explained psychologically and biologically. The social psychology section examines how individuals construct their sense of self and identitiy, how they perceive and evaluate other people, how they form relationships, and how their behaviour is influenced by their social groups and cultural context.

A quantitative methods component will be integrated into the lecture, tutorial, and assessment structure of this subject. The aim is to provide an understanding of, and practical experience with, the appropriate experiemental design and statistical analysis techniquest used to evaluate theories in Partonality and Social Psychology.

On completion of this subject, students be able to:

1. give a critical account of some of the main theories in one or more topic areas in personality and social psychology
2. derives testable empirical predictions from a theory that is expressed in abstract, personality or social psychological term
3. assess the adequacy of a peronality or social psychological theory in relation to a given set of experimental findings
4. summarise and analyse data in a way that is appropriate to the empiricial test of personality or social psychological theory, and
5. communicate clearly the relationships that exist between theory, predictions, empirical test and subsequent inferences.

Written work of no more that 2000 words due mid-semester (40%)

A 2-hour end-of-semester written examination (60%)

Each piece of assessment must be completed (hurdle requirements).Attendance at 80% or more of the laboratory classes and a class presentation are hurdle requirements. In case of failure to meet either hurdle requirement, additional work will be required before a passing grade can be awarded.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

This subject is available for science credit to students enrolled in the BSc (both pre-2008 and new degrees), BASc or a combined BSc course.

Mind, Brain & Behaviour 1 and 2 provide foundation knowledge for this second year subject.

A breadth sequence in Personality & Social Psychology could include: Personality & Social Psychology (PSYC20009), Advanced Personality and Social Psychology, The Unconcious Mind*, Organisational Psychology*, Developing Persons in the Social World*, Psychopathology and Everyday Life*, Research Methods for Human Enquiry*.

* New subjects offered in 2010