96840 Society, Psychological Health and Wellbeing
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 96832 Introduction to Psychology Foundations AND 96833 Introduction to Psychological Science
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
Health, wellbeing and behaviour are influenced by a combination of biological, psychological, social and cultural factors. In this subject, students develop an understanding of how human life is profoundly shaped by our connections to others and to our context and that by using psychological knowledge we can begin to take steps towards changing our lives, contexts and communities. As part of this learning, students critically reflect on and evaluate the influence of our social connections and context on our health and wellbeing. They explore ways to prevent or resolve interpersonal and intercultural conflict; to promote health and wellbeing; and to critically reflect on and respond to health inequality within our community.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| 020. | Analyse how psychological factors interact to influence health |
|---|---|
| 050. | Articulate and demonstrate the value of interacting sensitively with people of diverse abilities and backgrounds |
| 052. | Critically reflect on the impact of social context on individuals and communities |
| 054. | Evaluate challenges with, and develop ideas aimed at reducing prejudice and discrimination |
| 059. | Apply advanced knowledge and skills that are responsive to cultural diversity, including Indigenous Australians and Indigenous Australian contexts |
| 062. | Validate how psychological science can promote civic, social, and/or global outcomes that benefit others |
| 088. | Analyse problems that develop when working with teams and implement possible solutions |
| 097. | Justify how psychological intervention strategies can be adapted for use across various contexts |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
The learning outcomes for this subject are as follows:
- Culturally Appropriate: Evaluate knowledge and skills required for research and professional practice that is sensitive to diversity of individuals, culturally appropriate, and cognisant of the impacts of ongoing colonisation on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. (1.1)
- Psychological Literacy: Apply psychological science to meet personal, professional, and societal goals. (2.1)
- Interpersonal and Teamwork: Practice effective intrapersonal, interpersonal, and teamwork skills. (2.3)
- Values, Skills, and Ethics: Employ appropriate knowledge, values, and ethical standards in psychological research and practice. (4.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
This subject contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes:
Culturally responsive
Graduates of the Graduate Diploma in Psychology are culturally responsive professionals, able to reflect on and explain their own cultural perspectives and cultural differences, particularly in the context of working with and for Indigenous Australians.
Psychologically and technologically literate
Graduates of the Graduate Diploma in Psychology understand psychology and behaviour from an evidence-based perspective, can apply psychological science to real-world problems, and are competent in the analysis and critique research.
Global citizen
Graduates of the Graduate Diploma in Psychology possess respectful attitudes that allow them to contribute meaningfully to society as global citizens who promote and support fairness and social justice, and who are sensitive to the diversity of individuals.
Teaching and learning strategies
Orientation activities
Preparation for the session - You are expected to undertake activities during orientation week. These activities are designed to introduce you to the subject and your peers and will assist you to prepare for the subject's assessment tasks.
Independent learning activities
Relevant readings, videos and activities will be made available online relevant to the topic of the week. This will support your ability to progress successfully throughout the subject and complete assessment items effectively. The online material aims to enhance your understanding of the topic or delve deeper into a more specific area, compare experiences and ideas with others and gain feedback. Information and links to all these learning activities can be accessed via Canvas as well as the subject outline.
Zoom meetings
You are strongly encouraged to attend all scheduled Zoom meetings as they will prepare you for the subject’s assessment tasks. Additionally, they provide opportunities for group activities, discussion, self-assessment, peer review and formative feedback from the subject coordinator and your teaching team. The schedule for this subject’s zoom meetings is available on Canvas.
Feedback
Feedback in this subject takes several forms including self-assessment, peer review, automatic feedback from interactive activities and from the teaching team. Formative feedback throughout the subject aims to increase your performance in summative assessments.
Feedback and changes from previous subject offering
This is the first offering of this subject, we will be collecting feedback from you in several forms to evaluate the design, relevance and depth of the content and its delivery. We appreciate you taking part in this process to ensure we are delivering subjects that are contemporary and meet your needs.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Promoting positive change
| Intent: | Psychology students understand the influential role of society and context. This task will enable students to critically reflect on the impact of social context on the individual and community. A further intention of this task is for students to apply advanced knowledge of how psychological science can promote positive change. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 052 and 062 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 4.1 |
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 20% |
| Length: | 500 words |
| Criteria: | Marking criteria are available on Canvas |
Assessment task 2: Social Intervention
| Intent: | The intention of this task is to gain experience working in a team to build a social intervention with real world applications. A further intention of this assessment is to use reflective and reflexive practice to build insight into team dynamics. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 054, 088 and 097 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 2.3 and 4.1 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Group, individually assessed |
| Weight: | 50% |
| Length: | Part A: 7 minutes (30%) Part B: 500 words (20%) |
| Criteria: | Marking criteria are available on Canvas |
Assessment task 3: Working with and for clients
| Intent: | Students gain experience applying advanced analytical skills to the interaction between society, culture and psychological and their influence on health and wellbeing. A further intention of this task will be for students to demonstrate critical reflective and reflexive skills relevant to implementing culturally responsive practice when working with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task is aligned with the following subject learning objectives: 020, 050 and 059 This task is aligned with the following course learning outcomes: 1.1, 2.1 and 4.1 |
| Type: | Case study |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | 5-minute video |
| Criteria: | Marking criteria are available on Canvas |
Recommended texts
American Psychological Association (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.
Brannon, L., Crandell, M and Updegraff, J. (2021). Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behavior and Health (10th ed.) Cengage
Kassin, S., Fein, S., Markus, H. R., McBain, K. A., and Williams, L. A. (2019) Social Psychology Australian & New Zealand Edition (2nd ed.). Cengage.
References
University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). (2020). Assessment of coursework subjects policy and procedures, UTS.
https://gsu.uts.edu.au/policies/coursework-assessments-policy.html
A comprehensive list of references and other resources are available in this subject in Canvas.
Other resources
UTS Student Centre
Building 10
Monday to Friday: 9am - 5pm
Tel: 1300 ASK UTS (1300 275 887)
Details for student centres: www.uts.edu.au/current-students/contacts/general-contacts
For other resources/ information refer to the Faculty of Health website ( www.uts.edu.au/about/faculty-health) and Canvas at:
https://canvas.uts.edu.au/.
UTS Library
The Library has a wide range of resources, facilities and services to support you including textbooks, subject readings, health literature databases, workshops and bookable study rooms. There is also a team of librarians to help you with your questions available via online chat, phone and in person. W: lib.uts.edu.au, Facebook: utslibrary, Twitter: @utslibrary Tel: (02) 9514 3666.
Improve your academic and English language skills
Marks for all assessment tasks such as assignments and examinations are given not only for what you write but also for how you write. If you would like the opportunity to improve your academic and English language skills, make an appointment with the HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support) Service in Student Services.