UnitLevel 1Undergraduate

PSY1011 Foundations in psychology

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

PSY1011 Foundations in psychology is a level 1, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, offered in 2025 in Summer A and Semester 1 at Clayton and Malaysia. It has no prerequisites and unlocks 8 units.

Credit points: 6
Offered in 2025: Summer A, Semester 1; Clayton, Malaysia
Assessment: Exam 30%; and 2 other tasks

This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.

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Requisites

Before PSY1011

No prerequisites or corequisites.

After PSY1011

8 units list PSY1011 as a prerequisite or corequisite.

Overview

This unit provides you with an introduction to the broad foundations of psychology as a scientific discipline.
It begins with an exploration of psychology's historical origins. The unit introduces theories related to cognitive and biological psychology, and you will be familiarised with key aspects of cross-cultural psychology.
Concepts related to mental health (psychological disorders, stress, motivation, emotion, etc.) will also be introduced.
Finally, you will learn academic writing and presentation skills to formulate evidence-based reasoning from multiple scholarly sources.

Offerings in 2025

Teaching period	Campus	Mode
Summer semester A	Clayton	Online
First semester	Clayton	Flexible
First semester	Malaysia	On campus

Assessment

Group Debate (10 minutes)Presentation
30%
Argumentative essay (2,500 words)Written
40%
End of semester exam (1 hour 40 minutes)Examination
30%

Learning outcomes

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1
Describe the key stages in the development of approaches to modern psychology
2
Compare and contrast psychological theories related to a core body of knowledge in psychology and link them to real world settings
3
Explain the neurobiological basis of psychology and its application to learning and memory
4
Outline a range of psychological disorders and how they impact mental health and wellbeing
5
Effectively communicate psychological ideas with diverse audiences, across various modes

Workload and teaching

Seminars24 hours
Lectures-
Tutorials21 hours

Two hours of seminars per week.
Two hours of tutorials 10 times per semester.
Induction tutorial: One hour in Week 1 of semester.
Eight hours background reading/preparation for seminars, tutorials and assessment tasks per week.

Learning resources

Required resources

See Moodle for details about required resources.

Where it fits

PSY1011 is part of 6 areas of study in the 2025 handbook.

Contacts

Unit Coordinators: Dr Yap Wai Meng; Dr Christopher Siva
Chief Examiners: Dr Swati Mujumdar

Common questions

What are the prerequisites for PSY1011?

PSY1011 has no prerequisites.

What can I take after PSY1011?

PSY1011 is a prerequisite or corequisite for 8 units, including PSY2041, PSY2042, PSY2112, PSY3032, PSY3190 and PSY3214.

When is PSY1011 offered?

In 2025, PSY1011 runs in Summer A and Semester 1 at Clayton and Malaysia, with an online option.

Does PSY1011 have an exam?

Yes. The exam is worth 30% of the final mark, alongside 2 other tasks.

Which majors and minors include PSY1011?

PSY1011 is part of Behavioural commerce, Behavioural studies and Psychology.

More details

Credit points: 6
Level: 1
Study level: Undergraduate
Faculty: Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational unit: Psychology

Type: Coursework
EFTSL: 0.125
Student contribution: SCA Band 4
Study abroad: Available
Handbook years: 2020 2021 2022 2023 202420252026 2027