• Offered by Research School of Psychology
  • ANU College ANU Joint Colleges of Science
  • Course subject Psychology
  • Areas of interest Psychology
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Course convener
    • AsPr Mark Edwards
    • Dr Stephanie Goodhew
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in Second Semester 2020
    See Future Offerings

All activities that form part of this course will be delivered remotely in Sem 2 2020.

This course combines two distinct modules, one on visual neuroscience and one on cognitive neuroscience. These two topics are addressed in distinct modules because traditionally these topics have been approached in different ways, but here they are combined into a single course to highlight that considering them in synergy is the most powerful way to understand the nexus between psychological function and the brain.

Topics covered in the visual neuroscience section include: learning the practical skills in designing and running psychophysical studies, understanding the neural machinery underlying the perception of objects, depth, and motion, and an explanation of sensory and perceptual illusions and what they tell us about the brain. The cognitive neuroscience section will focus on contemporary issues and therefore the content is subject to change. Indicative examples of content include using knowledge of brain structure and function to understand visual attention and predict task performance, how the human body alters what we see and how we think, and how cognitive neuroscience can inform our understanding of neurological conditions.


This is an Honours Pathway Course.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

  1. Describe the fundamental concepts and major themes in visual and cognitive neuroscience, and the theories and methods that have been used to address these.
  2. Compare and contrast particular approaches to studying visual and cognitive neuroscience in light of their use to answer a particular research question.
  3. Apply critical analysis skills to design and evaluate research studies and their conclusions.
  4. Use conceptual and critical skills to evaluate existing experimental research within visual and cognitive neuroscience.

Indicative Assessment

  1. Mid semester exam (35) [LO 1,2,3]
  2. End-of-semester exam (35) [LO 1,2,3]
  3. Laboratory report (30) [LO 4]

In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle. 

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester including:

  • Face-to face component which may consist of 1 x 2 hour lecture per week and 4 x 3 hours of laboratories spread across the semester.
  • Approximately 96 hours of self-study which will include preparation for lectures, presentations and other assessment tasks.

Inherent Requirements

To be determined

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must have successfully completed PSYC2008.

Prescribed Texts

N/A

Majors

Minors

Specialisations

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
2
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $4050
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $5760
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
8918 27 Jul 2020 03 Aug 2020 31 Aug 2020 30 Oct 2020 In Person View

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