Undergraduate - UnitPSY3051 - Perception and personality

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

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Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational Unit	School of Psychology and Psychiatry
Offered	Caulfield First semester 2013 (Off-campus) Clayton First semester 2013 (Day) Gippsland First semester 2013 (Off-campus) Sunway First semester 2013 (Day) Peninsula First semester 2013 (Off-campus) South Africa First semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Matt Mundy

Synopsis

The first half of this unit covers sensory processes involved in vision, audition and speech perception. Coding mechanisms common to different modalities are emphasised to help students understand general mechanisms of sensory coding and perceptual processing. The second half covers the following personality theories: psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Jung, phenomenological theories of Kelly and Rogers, three factor theory of Eysenck, five factor model of Costa and McCrae and social cognitive theories of Bandura and Mischel. The development, comparison, application and critical evaluation of these theories are emphasised. Compulsory weekend school for off-campus students.

Outcomes

On the completion of this unit students will

understand the central problem faced by any perceptual system and be able to use this as a framework to think about the evolution of perceptual principles and current theories of perception;
understand the broad principles of perception which apply to all modalities including neurophysiological mechanisms at the levels of receptors, pathways, and brain structures; top-down and bottom up processing, and feature detection, and the constructive nature of perception;
know the sensory and perceptual processes specific to vision, audition and speech perception.
explain the origins and underlying assumptions of the personality theories of Jung, Eysenck, Costa and McCrae, Bandura, Kelly and Rogers;
understand the practical applications, experimental procedures and research interests associated with each of the above personality theories; and
critically evaluate and compare the above personality theories.

Assessment

Two 2000-word research reports (20% each): 40%E
Exam (3 hours): 50%
Class participation assessments (CPAs): 10%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Matthew Mundy

Contact hours

The School strongly recommends attendance at lectures however, they are optional. Laboratory classes are compulsory in order to complete the assessment associated with attendance.

Off-campus attendance requirements

WESch classes are compulsory in order to complete the assessment associated with attendance. Please refer to the specific unit requirements for more detail. It is common practice, where possible, to timetable at least two WESsch options in each core unit. Sessions may be held at Clayton or Caulfield campuses.

Prerequisites

PSY2031 (or PSY2011)

Additional information on this unit is available from the faculty at:

http://www.med.monash.edu.au/psych/course/ugrad/major-minor.html