Bachelor of Social Science – Behavioural Studies

About this unit

This unit will introduce fundamentals of communication and learning in an online environment. Students will gain increased capability in a range of skills such as online written communication, collaboration in individual and group work, and critiquing and analysing a variety of information sources. Students will be encouraged to draw on their own understanding and experience while contributing and sharing ideas with peers.

Content

• Social media and communication technologies
• Models of online communication
• Current and evolving learning theories
• Identifying and evaluating sources of knowledge
• Critical analysis skills
• Referencing and attributing sources
• Creating and publishing in the online environment
• Strategies for reflecting on your own and others work

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About this unit

This unit aims to provide students with an introduction to the foundations of the discipline of sociology. Successful completion of this unit will prepare students to undertake study in the discipline at more advanced levels through their understanding of the sociological imagination and central sociological theories as applied to a range of current events and issues. Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

• Apply a sociological perspective to the social world around them
• Identify and differentiate between the major theoretical perspectives employed by sociologists
• Define and use a range of key sociological concepts to appraise the ways in which social processes and social structures shape individuals and groups in contemporary society
• Discuss and critique published work and communicate this through informed written argument
• Undertake successful library-based research
• Identify and utilise the referencing style required by this discipline.

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About this unit

This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of different research designs and research methods for psychology and health sciences. Students will gain familiarity with the scientific method, ethical issues in research, measurement, research design, and research methods. Students will be given the opportunity to develop professionally relevant knowledge in the selection and evaluation of research designs and methods and how to collect data that will address specific research questions.

Content

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

• Describe the scientific method and scientific thinking principles
• Demonstrate knowledge of the ethical issues in research
• Describe the main concepts of measurement and various sampling methods
• Explain the general concept of an experiment and a quasi-experiment and outline uses of these designs in research
• Describe a range of research methods and be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each method
• Select appropriate research designs and research methods to address hypothetical and real world problems.

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About this course

This unit examines contemporary culture as a construct through initiating the education of students in Indigenous issues. With particular focus on the world’s oldest living, continuing culture, students learn concepts of imperialism and colonialism, the diversity of Indigenous Australian people and culture, and a basic understanding of issues that define our experiences as Australian citizens in a postcolonial society. Fundamental Indigenous concepts are introduced, including respect and relationships, connection to country spirituality, and kinship. Students will learn to challenge existing knowledge of Indigenous cultures and encouraged to form their own connections to help underpin their knowledge of contemporary culture.

Content

• The roles of colonialism and imperialism in Australian society
• Culture as a construct; the role of race and racial identity
• Diversity within Indigenous cultures
• Connections to country and local Wurundjeri culture
• Sovereignty of Indigenous cultures and knowledges
• The roles of narrative and storytelling in cultural identity
• Concepts central to Indigenous culture including The Dreaming, kinship structures, non-linear time and gendered knowledges
• Indigenous cultures in contemporary society

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About this unit

This unit of study aims to provide a critical and analytical introduction to the Australian political system in an international context and the challenges it faces from globalisation, oppositional social movements and growing discontent among voters.

Content

Students will acquire a body of knowledge about the system of government in Australia in an international context. This will include the basic organising principles of the system, the institutions that express those principles and the processes by which voters elect representatives to transfer the people's will into responsible government. As students move through the unit, it will be apparent that the organising principles of the system do not always deliver their intended outcomes. By examining some contemporary political issues such as citizenship and republicanism, industrial relations, the role of political parties in expressing voters' aspirations and the electoral system's ability to deliver workable parliamentary representation, the unit will test the effectiveness of those principles and assess in general terms how the system is working. It also explores the reasons many citizens have turned away from institutional politics and engaged in political activism through social movements and other organisations in civil society. The unit will offer a broad, long-term perspective against which students can analyse and interpret not just current policy issues, but the effectiveness of the whole system. View further information on this unit.

About this unit

This unit introduces students to the structure and function of the brain and how it interacts with the external world to generate thoughts, emotions and behaviour. Applications in health and mental illness are also introduced as well as ethical practice in psychological research.

Content

• Sensation and perception
• Biological aspects of psychology
• Consciousness
• Motivation and emotion
• Neuropsychology
• Health and abnormal psychology.

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About this unit

The aim of this unit is to provide a theoretical introduction to counselling psychology. In the profession of counselling, theory, process and research are intertwined. The unit content, readings and online activities will give students the opportunity to develop their knowledge of the application of counselling theory to the therapeutic process. Major therapeutic approaches will be covered including, psychoanalytic, existential, person-centred, behavioural, cognitive behaviour, family and solution-focused therapy, as well as coverage of the research and ethical issues involved in counselling.

Content

After successfully completing this unit, students will be able to:

• Appraise the eleven different theoretical counselling approaches
• Identify and evaluate the different approaches and their application to counselling
• Demonstrate understanding of research and ethical issues and how they inform both theory and practice in counselling
• Reflect on and write critically about how the research, process and theory are intertwined.

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About this unit

This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of the psychological issues related to infancy and early childhood, including prenatal development, social development, cognitive development, and brain development. The unit will also focus on the psychology of parenting and explore cultural issues related to early human development.

Content

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

• Explain how an understanding of infancy is of key importance to our understanding of the overall human condition
• Evaluate and integrate multiple sources of information to develop practical and conceptual understanding of issues relating to social, cognitive, and brain development in infants and young children
• Describe the impact of cultural and global issues on key psychological constructs, ethics and values relating to early human development
• Discuss the implications of existing and emerging technologies for psychological research and practice relating to early human development.

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The aim of this unit is to introduce students to basic principles, concepts, theories and research in social psychology, and to explore how this knowledge can be applied in real-world contexts such as the law, health, sports, the environment, education, and work.

Content

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

• Describe methods used in social psychology for the development of basic and applied knowledge
• Explain how social psychology theories apply to social issues and contexts
• Apply social psychological knowledge critically to real world problems
• Analyse social problems with the use of concepts and theories from social psychology
• Identify cultural and cross-cultural differences in the understanding of social issues.

Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO)

On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:

• ULO1: Critique methods used in social psychology for the development of basic and applied knowledge
• ULO2: Explain how social psychology theories apply to social issues and contexts
• ULO3: Apply social psychological knowledge critically to real world problems
• ULO4: Analyse social problems with the use of concepts and theories from social psychology
• ULO5: Identify cultural and cross-cultural differences in the understanding of social issues

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About this unit

This unit aims to:

• Acquaint students with a range of sociological approaches to ‘deviance’
• Equip students in how to use these approaches and to familiarise them with a number of contemporary social problems and controversies over social control
• Develop students’ understanding of the ways in which individuals and their actions are defined as socially unacceptable
• Analyse major forms of social control – in particular the legal system and social responses to crime and punishment – in addition to analysing the forces that construct notions of social conformity
• Familiarise and respond to differential power structures and the relativity of crime and criminal behaviour
• Demonstrate the ways in which sociological insights can inform policy formulation and social engagement in these area.

Content

• Traditional sociological explanations of deviance
• Sociological evolution of deviance
• Rules and the normative dimension: 'kinds of people'; 'kinds of rules', notions of difference
• The modern context: the death of deviance
• Surveillance: Foucault and the postmodern world of post-deviance
• Feminism and deviance
• Law and deviance
• Crime, punishment and deviance
• Bodies and deviance
• Sex, sexuality, gender and deviance
• Minds and deviance
• Institutions: the church and the state and deviance

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About this unit

This double unit examines the dynamics of positive psychology and gives students a deep understanding of using interventions to improve people’s well-being. This is a highly sought-after skill which will help students prepare for their professional ventures. This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of how the scope of psychology has recently been broadened beyond the identification of pathology and treating or preventing disorder. The unit will provide students with an in-depth view of the field of Positive Psychology, and contribute to their understanding of core human character strengths and virtues. This unit is experiential and project-based. Students will be given the opportunity to develop professionally relevant skills and experience in the Positive Psychology field.

Content

After successfully completing this unit, you should be able to:

• Appraise the theory, methodology and practice of positive psychology
• Analyse and evaluate the various issues pertinent to positive psychology (e.g., wellbeing, character strengths, personal values, improving health)
• Examine and explain the various factors that contribute to or decrease subjective wellbeing
• Design and construct an intervention using elements of the positive psychology approach
• Work collaboratively in a team to achieve project outcomes
• Critically evaluate the research literature in the area of positive psychology
• Demonstrate scientific writing skills within the context of psychology.

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About this unit

This unit of study aims to provide students with a broad introduction to the main theories of developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology. This unit also provides students with training in psychological research methods.

Content

This unit concentrates on intelligence, motivation and emotion. Other topics covered include personality, sexuality, stress and coping and psychopathology. Students are also introduced to social and developmental psychology. View further information on this unit.

About this unit

This unit provides an overview of the discipline of Criminology through a presentation of the major theoretical models as well as the application of these models to a variety of criminal justice settings. Students learn the breadth of the field of criminology as well as the importance of theoretical models when developing research and programming within the criminal justice system.

Content

• What is crime?
• What is criminology?
• The Australian criminal justice system
• Measuring and reporting crime
• Classic theories of crime (classicism; biological positivism; the Chicago School)
• Crime and Society: Anomie and Strain
• Social and self control
• Victimology
• Young people and crime
• Feminist Criminology
• Crimes of the powerful & White Collar Crime
• Green Criminology
• Critical Criminology

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About this unit

This unit focuses on a specific aspect of the criminal justice system, offering students an opportunity for close analytical engagement with the laws, theories and practices pertaining to juveniles who offend. The unit will introduce and challenge students to understand the laws pertaining to juvenile offending and the means of analysis to understand the motivations, which may result in juveniles coming into contact with the criminal justice system. As such, students will become familiar with various statutory regimes that mediate their contact across the states of Australia and also with the theoretical explanations and methodologies to understand and engage in response to this category of crime.

Content

• Criminological theory
• Young people, and law and order
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and the criminal justice system
• Restorative Justice
• Courts and youth
• Law and order regimes and legislative response to youth crime

About this unit

Analyse true crime stories where police investigations have failed to find the perpetrator. You’ll gain an understanding of the field of policing and get a new perspective on police systems. This subject aims to provide students with an overview of criminology and policing. Students will gain an understanding of the breadth of the field of policing and criminology as well as an appreciation of the importance of theoretical models when developing research and programming within policing.

Content

• History of policing in Australia and abroad
• The organisational structure and systems of policing
• Policing, the law, and the constitution
• The role of policing in modern society
• Policing issues in Australia
• Police training and performance
• Police, crime and statistics
• Professional standards and ethics
• Current issues and debates in policing
• The future of policing in Australia

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About this unit

This unit introduces students to fundamental principles involved in research and practice within Forensic Psychology. Students are introduced to the structure of the criminal justice system in Australia and in other countries. They study the methodologies involved in forensic work including interviewing, deception detection techniques and risk assessment. Psychological factors involved in eye-witness testimony and false memories are described and the nature of criminal behaviour explored. Developmental risk factors are also discussed.

Content

• A comparative analysis of the Australian criminal justice system
• Theoretical perspectives in criminology (psychological, sociological, psychiatric)
• Defining and measuring crime: the uniform crime reporting system
• Interviewing and deception detection techniques
• Research methods in forensic psychology
• Risk assessment
• Eye-witness testimony and false memories
• Developmental risk factors for criminal behaviour social risk factors, parental and family risk factors, psychological risk factors

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Elective units are what turn a degree into your degree. They tailor your course to suit your strengths, interests and career goals. Here are the elective units we offer online.

Why do you need to study electives?

Through elective units you can explore subjects of interest that may not be included in the core structure of your degree. The electives you choose will enrich your understanding of your field of study and shape the way you think about the core units in your degree. Electives can be an opportunity to further specialise in a particular area or diversify your knowledge base.

When should you choose your electives?

It’s a good idea to plan your electives at the start of your degree – this way you get a clear idea of what you’ll have completed at the end of your studies. However, if you’re unsure what to choose, or need more time, you do have the option to select them as you go.

How do electives work?

As a student who’s majoring in Behavioural Studies, you can choose twelve elective units. You can approach this in two ways:

• You might like to pick electives from a complimentary field of study. For example, you could choose subjects from another social science major. E.g., if you’re interested in human behaviour, you might like to enrol in units from Criminology major. However, you’ll need to double check the prerequisites to see if you’re eligible. You can do this here.
• OR you could take subjects that are unrelated to social science and give yourself a broad range of knowledge. For example, you could take units from the media and communications faculty, design, education, business, law and technology. To check what is available and whether you are eligible, check the list of units here.