Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
PSYC100 Foundations of Psychology AND PSYC101 Applications of Psychology AND PSYC110 Research Design and Data Analysis 1
Teaching organisation
3 hours contact per week over 12 weeks or equivalentUnit rationale, description and aim
Understanding the underpinning of human behaviour and cognition is central to psychology. This unit will examine the effects of evolutionary processes on humans in an attempt to better understand why people think and behave in the ways that they do. In this unit students will be introduced to evolutionary psychology through a study of the major theories and research findings in the area. The unit will explore the effects of the pressures of survival, reproduction, child rearing, and group living on behaviour and cognitive processes. The aim of this unit is to provide students with a broad understanding of evolutionary psychology.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description |
|---|---|
| LO1 | Describe key theories and findings across the evolutionary psychology areas covered in this unit. |
| LO2 | Identify, discuss and apply the research methodology used to investigate questions in evolutionary psychology |
| LO3 | Evaluate the validity of theoretical arguments and research findings in each topic area |
| LO4 | Express arguments about key issues in each topic area based on a reflection of existing research findings and theory |
Content
Topics will include:
- Evolutionary approaches to psychology
- Research methods
- Group living: Cooperation, reciprocity and sharing, violence and aggression Reproduction: Parental investment and mate choice, Life-history constraints Evolutionary psychology explanations of cognition and social cognition
- Evolution and culture and society
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit has the equivalent of 3 contact hours per week (2 hour lecture and a 1 hour tutorial), over 12 weeks. This mode of delivery is designed to enhance discussion and engagement in the content covered in the unit. The lectures are to aid with the acquisition and understanding of knowledge while the tutorials are designed to enhance application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation of that knowledge. Learning and teaching strategies may include active learning, case-based learning, individual and group activities, cooperative learning, web-based learning, and reflective/critical thinking activities. These strategies will allow students to meet the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit. Learning and teaching strategies will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively within group activities.
Assessment strategy and rationale
In order to best enable students to demonstrate unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements. A range of assessment strategies are used including: an essay to assess students’ ability to describe and evaluate the literature and to make an argument; a research proposal which assesses students’ ability to make an argument and apply evolutionary research methodology to an area of enquiry; a learning portfolio which provides students’ with an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding, consolidation and application of the content covered in the unit.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1 Essay Assesses students' ability to describe and evaluate the literature and to make an argument. | 30% | LO1, LO3, LO4 |
Assessment Task 2 Research Proposal Assesses students' ability to make an argument and apply evolutionary research methodology to an area of enquiry. | 40% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Assessment Task 3 Learning Portfolio Assesses students’ understanding, consolidation and application of the content covered in the unit. | 30% | LO1, LO2 |
Representative texts and references
Buss, D.M. (2015). Handbook of evolutionary psychology (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons
Buss, D.M. (2019). Evolutionary psychology: the new science of the mind (6th ed). Pearson.
Workman, L, & Reader, W. (2021). Evolutionary Psychology: An introduction (4th ed). Cambridge University Press.