Foundations of Professional Psychology is designed to equip you with the knowledge, critical thinking and practical skills that provide the foundation for professional practice in psychology. It will build upon the background in psychological science established in the undergraduate Psychology program to develop your understanding and capacity for critical evaluation of the theoretical and empirical bases underpinning the construction, implementation and interpretation of major cognitive and personality assessment instruments, and the development and implementation of evidence-based psychological interventions. Through the lectures, practical activities and assessments, you will also develop an understanding of current regulatory and legal contexts, including the National Health Practitioner Regulation Act 2009, NSW, Co-Regulatory Jurisdiction Standards, and mandatory reporting requirements. You will also be introduced to the Australian National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce. Lectures on ethical practice will cover key issues in the psychology profession's Code of Conduct including Professional Relationships and the importance of confidentiality, informed consent and record keeping. The implications of cultural diversity and the factors that need to be considered in culturally informed practice will also be illustrated and evaluated. This unit will meet the accreditation criteria for Honours programs in Psychology and provide students with the essential foundations for psychological practice in a range of contexts.

Studying psychology means posing problems, generating hypotheses, designing experiments observing human behaviour, testing your hypotheses, interpreting and evaluating data, and determining how to follow up on your findings. This unit of study will expand your knowledge of core conceptual, statistical and analytical approaches available to the broad research areas in psychology and related disciplines. You will investigate fundamental issues surrounding psychological measurement and hypothesis testing. Hands on experience will be gained in the application of statistics and psychometrics to the types of data commonly collected in psychological research. By undertaking this unit you will develop a critical and analytical approach towards measurement and psychometric theories, and an understanding of statistical techniques based on the general linear model.

The skills needed to understand the state of contemporary research on a topic are important for psychology graduates to acquire. These skills involve engaging critically and deeply with the primary research literature - that is, the journal articles that report on advances in knowledge. In this unit of study, for a particular topic in psychology, you will analyse multiple articles, evaluating their credibility and gaining insights into their specific implications. By then synthesizing multiple pieces of research for a particular topic, you will arrive at a picture of what we know, and what our best theories are. This process will be facilitated via class discussion of research articles, including in the context of a presentation you will make regarding one or more articles. Writing an essay on some aspect of the issues discussed will further develop your analysis and synthesis skills. The topic of these assessments will be different from that of your empirical honours thesis, but the analysis and synthesis skills development will be useful for thesis writing as well as for inquiry in other domains.

The skills needed to understand the state of contemporary research on a topic are important for psychology graduates to acquire. These skills involve engaging critically and deeply with the primary research literature - that is, the journal articles that report on advances in knowledge. In this unit of study, for a particular topic in psychology, you will analyse multiple articles, evaluating their credibility and gaining insights into their specific implications. By then synthesizing multiple pieces of research for a particular topic, you will arrive at a picture of what we know, and what our best theories are. This process will be facilitated via class discussion of research articles, including in the context of a presentation you will make regarding one or more articles. Writing an essay on some aspect of the issues discussed will further develop your analysis and synthesis skills. The topic of these assessments will be different from that of your empirical honours thesis, but the analysis and synthesis skills development will be useful for thesis writing as well as for inquiry in other domains.

This unit of study is an alternative to the two Advanced Psychology seminars in the Psychology Honours program. It will provide you with the opportunity to solve a theoretical problem or answer a theoretical question, i. e. , one which cannot be solved or answered by any empirical test, and it culminates in the production of an 8, 000 word thesis. You will receive individual weekly supervision and will learn the research methods involved in conceptual analysis and advanced critical thinking. Your research will examine a concept, theory, model or general approach that is currently influential but requires evaluation. It will involve outlining any relevant history, analysing conceptual problems, drawing conclusions and making recommendations. The research will greatly enhance your understanding of an area in Psychology and the ethics of argumentation, your critical thinking abilities, information literacy, your ability to plan and work independently, and your ability to communicate in writing to a professional standard. It will also help the thinking and writing of your empirical thesis.

This unit of study functions to extend PSYC4107 beyond semester 1 through to August. During this period, you will complete the research undertaken for PSYC4107, finish the writing of your theoretical thesis and prepare it for submission.

This research project is arguably the culmination for your undergraduate studies. Not only will you apply the content knowledge, research skills, and statistical acumen you have gained in your other psychology units of study, you will also create your own independent research question. Specifically, you will participate in all of the steps involved in research including formulation of research questions, the design of the study including selection of appropriate methodology, and the collection and analysis of data to test the research question. Most importantly, you will interpret the findings and write a thesis reporting all phases of the project. By doing this you may create new knowledge, and you will improve your research skills, cultivate your critical thinking, and demonstrate your ability to carry out a substantial research and writing project.

This research project is arguably the culmination for your undergraduate studies. Not only will you apply the content knowledge, research skills, and statistical acumen you have gained in your other psychology units of study, you will also create your own independent research question. Specifically, you will participate in all of the steps involved in research including formulation of research questions, the design of the study including selection of appropriate methodology, and the collection and analysis of data to test the research question. Most importantly, you will interpret the findings and write a thesis reporting all phases of the project. By doing this you may create new knowledge, and you will improve your research skills, cultivate your critical thinking, and demonstrate your ability to carry out a substantial research and writing project.

This research project is arguably the culmination for your undergraduate studies. Not only will you apply the content knowledge, research skills, and statistical acumen you have gained in your other psychology units of study, you will also create your own independent research question. Specifically, you will participate in all of the steps involved in research including formulation of research questions, the design of the study including selection of appropriate methodology, and the collection and analysis of data to test the research question. Most importantly, you will interpret the findings and write a thesis reporting all phases of the project. By doing this you may create new knowledge, and you will improve your research skills, cultivate your critical thinking, and demonstrate your ability to carry out a substantial research and writing project.

This research project is arguably the culmination for your undergraduate studies. Not only will you apply the content knowledge, research skills, and statistical acumen you have gained in your other psychology units of study, you will also create your own independent research question. Specifically, you will participate in all of the steps involved in research including formulation of research questions, the design of the study including selection of appropriate methodology, and the collection and analysis of data to test the research question. Most importantly, you will interpret the findings and write a thesis reporting all phases of the project. By doing this you may create new knowledge, and you will improve your research skills, cultivate your critical thinking, and demonstrate your ability to carry out a substantial research and writing project.

All students in Science Honours must enrol in this non-assessable unit of study in their final semester. This unit will contain your final Honours mark as calculated from your coursework and research project units.