Unit Outline

PSY112

Brain and Behaviour

Semester 1, 2025

Rebecca St George

School of Psychological Sciences

College of Health and Medicine

CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B

What is the Unit About?

Unit Description

Brain and Behaviour provides an introduction to key topics in psychology with an emphasis on their biological basis. Topics include biological psychology, sensation and perception, learning, motivation, emotion, human development, language, and states of consciousness. Key theories and related research findings are introduced through online lecture modules. Practical activities, demonstrations and experiments will deepen understanding of these topics, and research skills will be developed through collecting, interpreting, and communicating research data. This introductory unit is a suitable elective for students from a range of degree pathways.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Explain key theories and concepts in biological psychology, sensation and perception, learning, motivation and emotion, human development, language, and states of consciousness.
2	Describe how scientific research is used to examine psychological phenomena and underlying biological processes.
3	Implement practical skills in research by sourcing, interpreting and communicating scientific information.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

No alterations have been made as a result of student feedback.
As always, the teaching team will greatly appreciate your feedback both informally during the delivery of the unit in 2025, and formally through the University of Tasmania’s Unit Survey following your completion of the unit.

Teaching arrangements


ATTENDANCE MODE	TEACHING TYPE	LEARNING ACTIVITY	CONTACT HOURS	FREQUENCY
On Campus	Practical	Face-to-face practical classes. The content will expand on the lecture modules and also reinforce theoretical concepts through practical experience.	2	Weekly
	Lecture (Online)	The lecture content is delivered via online MyLO modules, including written text, short lecture videos, learning activities, and demonstrations	2	Weekly
	Independent Learning	Reading the assigned sections of the textbook and researching published articles for the essay assessment.	2	Weekly
	Other	An opportunity for students to ask questions about the essay. This session will be recorded if you are unable to attend.	1	Once only
Online	Online Class	Asynchronous online practical classes are only available to students enrolled ‘Online’. The content will expand on the lecture material and also reinforce theoretical concepts through practical experience.	2	Weekly
	Lecture (Online)	The lecture content is delivered via online MyLO modules, including written text, short lecture videos, learning activities, and demonstrations.	2	Weekly
	Independent Learning	Reading the assigned sections of the textbook and researching published articles for the essay assessment.	2	Weekly
	Online Class	An opportunity for students to ask questions about the essay. This session will be recorded if you are unable to attend.	1	Once only

Attendance / engagement expectations

If your unit is offered On campus, it is expected that you will attend all on-campus and onsite learning activities. This is to support your own learning and the development of a learning community within the unit. If you are unable to attend regularly, please discuss the situation with your course coordinator and/or our UConnect support team.

If your unit is offered Online or includes online activities, it is expected you will engage in all those activities as indicated in the Unit Outline or MyLO, including any self-directed learning.

If you miss a learning activity for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, carer responsibilities) teaching staff will attempt to provide alternative activities (e.g., make up readings) where it is possible.

Your engagement with the unit may be monitored through either participation in discussion forums, and completion of assessment tasks.
All learning activities in this unit are designed to help you achieve the intended learning outcomes, and assessment tasks are designed to assess your achievement of these learning outcomes.

To complete this unit successfully, you will need to work hard and engage with online content and readings on a weekly basis. All online content and practical activities are assessable in the weekly quizzes. Therefore, it is important that all weekly tasks are completed before attempting the quizzes.

To further enhance your learning, we recommend that you download and print the weekly lecture handouts, take notes as you work through the online content, read the required readings from the textbook each week, and read and revise your notes regularly throughout the semester.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Weekly Quizzes	Week 4	25 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Written assignment - Essay	Week 9	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Final Exam	Exam Period	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Weekly Quizzes

Task Description:

All lecture and practical class content (including self-directed learning activities) are assessable in the weekly quizzes.

Quizzes will open weekly from Week 2 at 9am on Mondays and will be open for 2 weeks (online submission via MyLO), with the first quiz being due in Week 4 on Monday by 8am.
Quizzes are designed to be completed in the week they are opened after completing the module content, however an extra week is provided for flexibility if needed.

Task Length:

30 minutes / 10 multiple choice questions per quiz

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify key concepts, theories and/or relationships related to unit content	LO1
2	Identify how scientific evidence is used to understand biological processes and psychological functions.	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Written assignment - Essay

Task Description:

You will undertake independent research on a prescribed topic and submit a written assignment that focuses on evidence from peer-reviewed scientific research literature.

Task Length:

1000 words

Due Date:

Week 9

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply knowledge of the topic by explaining key concepts, theories and/or relationships.	LO1
2	Summarise and interpret research literature to demonstrate knowledge of how scientific techniques are used to examine psychological functions and underlying biological mechanisms.	LO2
3	Source scientific information, and communicate according to scientific writing conventions (grammar, spelling, and punctuation, APA referencing style, clear, concise scientific writing style).	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Final Exam

Task Description:

This online exam (non-invigilated) will include both multiple choice and short answer questions

Task Length:

2hrs

Due Date:

Exam Period

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify and explain key concepts, theories and/or relationships related to unit content.	LO1
2	Identify and describe how scientific evidence is used to understand biological processes and psychological functions.	LO2
3	Communicate information in a written format to a scientific audience	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes and achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

It is important that you have ongoing access to these required readings, so they will be available for a limited loan period from the University of Tasmania Library collection. You are, however, encouraged to buy these texts as they will be useful resources throughout your study.
These texts can be ordered from Cengage Learning https://au.cengage.com/ by searching ISBN and Title. These texts may also be available from the UTAS Co-op bookstore if you are near a university campus.

• D.A. Bernstein, J. A. Pooley, L. Cohen, S. Provost, J. Cranney, and N. Drew (2023). Psychology: Australian and New Zealand Edition. (4th Ed). Australia: Cengage Learning

• American Psychological Association (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.