units

AZA2015

Faculty of Arts

18 September 2017 22 November 2024

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This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 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.

Monash University

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Arts

Organisational Unit

South Africa School of Social Sciences

Coordinator(s)

Ms Skye Hanekom

Offered

South Africa

  • Second semester 2016 (Day)

Synopsis

The unit explores the neurocognitive foundation of psychological functions. The major themes focus on the anatomy and physiology of the brain functioning; the neural bases of complex behaviours and psychological capacities; the structural and functional organisation of human cognition as well as the aetiology and manifestations of various neurocognitive deficits. The operation of perception, memory, language, reasoning, and attention will be explored with reference to leading theoretical accounts and with specific emphasis on the underlying brain mechanisms and neural processes.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the unit, students should be able to:

  1. describe the physiological mechanisms of the brain and the nervous system;
  2. conceptualise the brain structures and their respective functions in cognitive processing and regulatory functions;
  3. distinguish the role of the neurotransmitters and hormones in the nervous system, brain and the rest of the body;
  4. understand and examine the structure and operation of the cognitive functions (i.e., memory, language, reasoning and attention);
  5. describe and conceptually integrate the neuroanatomical and neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie both the typical and atypical occurrence of the core cognitive functions;
  6. demonstrate advanced skills in critical analysis and report/essay writing.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 50%
Exam: 50%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Maria Damianova

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Psychology - South Africa

Prerequisites

AZA1019 and AZA1020

Co-requisites

AZA2455, AZA2490 and AZA2495