Required texts

Essential:

             Rieger, E. (2017). Abnormal Psychology (4th ed.). North Ryde, NSW: McGraw-Hill Education (Australia). 

Optional:

             American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5^th ed.)  Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Black, M.D. & Grant, J.E. (2014) DSM-5 Guidebook. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Lewis (2023). Eating disorders. A practitioner's guide to psychological care. Queensland: Australian Academic Press. https://www.australianacademicpress.com.au/books/details/352/Eating_Disorders_A_Practitioners_Guide_to_Psychological_Care

Lewis, V (2016). No Body's Perfect: A helper's guide to promoting positive body image in children and young people. Queensland: Australian Academic Press. 

 Resource for working with indigenous cultures. "Working together" 

All texts will be available for loan from the University Library.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Submission of assessment items

All written assessments must be submitted electronically via CANVAS by the due date/time to avoid late penalties. Submit your electronic submission to the CANVAS dropbox for that assignment. You are likely to encounter delays uploading written assignments to CANVAS. You should aim to load your assignment at least an hour before it is due. If you do not know how to submit your assignment electronically, please ensure that you allow ample time in order to receive help from CANVAS support () or the Library services. 

Formatting Requirements

All written assignments must be submitted as Word.doc files. Oral presentations must be submitted as PowerPoint or PDF (1 slide per page) files. Files not in this format will be returned to students for reformatting before marking, and late penalties will apply if the resubmission is past the due date / time. Referencing and other aspects of assignment formatting should conform to the APA 7^th edition guidelines. Further information can be found in the following reference which will be available for short-term loan from the UC library:

American Psychological Association (2019).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7^th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Word count penalties:

For written assignments over the word limit, markers will stop reading at 10% over the word limit and award a mark based on what has been read to that point only. The word count for all written assignments is calculated from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. Thus, it excludes the reference list, but includes in-text citations.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and may result in failure of the assessment and/or the unit. Students suspected of plagiarising, intentionally or unintentionally, the work of other students, or copying material without acknowledgement from journal articles, textbooks, the internet, or any other sources, will be referred to the Associate Dean (Education) of the Faculty of Health who will decide on the penalty to be applied.

Academic integrity is highly valued in the Faculty of Health.  Plagiarism can be detected through a range of methods, such as staff familiarity with the subject area and random searches on internet search engines using key phrases from student work.  Students are encouraged to undertake the Academic Integrity Module (AIM).

The 91Porn has available, through CANVAS, text-matching software that helps students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understandings of academic integrity.  The software matches submitted text in student assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals, and previously submitted student texts.  It is expected that all written assignments for this unit (i.e. the Case Study Assignment) will be submitted for checking by text-matching software.

Return of Assignments: 

Students who submit their assignments by the due date will receive their marked assignments in approximately three weeks after submission, via CANVAS.  Late assignments will be returned at a later date and with reduced feedback.

Extensions:

Please read the above information carefully regarding extensions and late penalties. In addition to the above, please note the following:

1. Students are expected to work on the assessment items throughout the teaching period. Early communication of problems is strongly advised. Students should assess early in the teaching period whether they have a reasonable likelihood of being able to complete the unit and should consider withdrawing by the census date, if required.
2. Completed Assignment Extension forms should be emailed to the unit convener along with supporting documentation (please put "Extension request" in the subject line) .
3. The unit convener will consider your request, determine the length of the extension to be granted and email you advising whether your request is approved or declined. If approved, the new due date will also appear on your CANVAS site where your assignment is submitted.
4. Assignments submitted after the due date, regardless of whether an extension was granted, will be returned at a later date than those submitted on time.

Note: In order to pass this unit, students must submit/attempt ALL three assessment items.  Students must also achieve an overall mark of at least 50% in order to be eligible for a pass in this unit.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and 91Porn (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Students are expected to contribute in tutorials to maximise learning. Students in the online tutorials are strongly encouraged to have their video on in order to increase user engagement. Students presenting their oral assignment in the online tutorials must have their video on.

During online lecturers and tutorials students are encouraged to use the chat facility within Canvas and ask questions when prompted but discouraged to use the chat (as this is distracting) when the presenter is speaking unless the presenter asks a question to the audience. 

Participation requirements

Students are encouraged to participate in all lectures and on line and in person tutorials.  When participating in lectures and tutorials, it is expected that students be mindful of others' rights to teach/learn, be respectful of staff and fellow students by having mobile phones switched off or to silent mode, and that personal/private conversations be conducted outside the classroom.

During online lecturers and tutorials students are encouraged to use the chat facility within Canvas and ask questions when prompted but discouraged to use the chat (as this is distracting) when the presenter is speaking unless the presenter asks a question to the audience. 

Required IT skills

No special IT skills are required for this unit, although it is expected that all students will have basic word-processing skills, be able to perform literature searches using databases, be able to use Canvas, and have basic familiarity with the use of Microsoft Powerpoint.  Regular access to Canvas is a requirement for students enrolled in this unit to enable access to announcements, discussion forums and for online submission of assignments. Students who are unfamiliar with searching specialist data bases for accessing Psychology Journals are encouraged to consult the UC library site for details of training sessions:  http://www.canberra.edu.au/library/research-gateway/research-skills-training

For the Online Tutorials, this involves online meetings in real time using the Blackboard Collaborate tool. Blackboard Collaborate provides a virtual classroom or meeting room where you can communicate in real time with your lecturer/tutor and other students. To participate verbally, rather than just typing, you will need a microphone. For best audio quality we recommend a microphone and speaker headset. For more information and to test your computer, please visit the LearnOnline Student Help and click on the link to Blackboard Collaborate. 

In-unit costs

The essential text for this unit is available on line for purchase from the publishers

Students may find the text discounted elsewhere. 

Rieger, E (2017). Abnormal Psychology: Leading Researcher Perspectives, 4th Edition.  

(Note: To calculate your unit fees see: .

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

Additional information

Communication with staff is to be via email or through the Canvas discussion forums.  Communication with fellow students should be via the Canvas discussion forums.  During this unit, you are encouraged to engage in discussion and activities via forums on Canvas.  Please be respectful to all participating in the forums by ensuring that you use appropriate forms of communication.  Announcements made in lectures, and/or via Canvas, will be deemed to have been received by all students.

Email Communication

The Unit Convenor receives numerous emails each day.  To assist with providing a timely response to all student queries, please consider whether the question can be addressed via Canvas, if the unit convenor is the appropriate person to contact, and if the information has been provided in the unit outline. Students should also try and stick to consultation times for the tutor/lecturer. 

Academic Skills Centre

The Academic Skills Centre seeks to enable any student in the University to acquire and enhance the skills needed to succeed in their studies. In workshops, tutorials and individual consultations, students are taught to use strategies and techniques which will enable them to participate fully in the life of the university and the conventional discourse of their chosen disciplines. The Academic Skills Centre is located in Building 5, Level A, Room 13 (Ph: 6201 2205).  Further information can be obtained from:

• Semester 1, 2024, Flexible, UC - Canberra, Bruce (217839)
• Semester 1, 2023, Flexible, UC - Canberra, Bruce (212283)
• Semester 1, 2022, Flexible, UC - Canberra, Bruce (206853)
• Semester 1, 2021, Flexible, UC - Canberra, Bruce (200572)
• Semester 1, 2020, Flexible, UC - Canberra, Bruce (197416)