Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Psychology School
Enrolment Note:This course has maximum quota of 25 students per semester, seminars with less than 10 students may not run.
Enrolment for Seminars opens in O Week following the Honours Orientation information session. Enrolment will close once the quota has been reached.
This course provides students with the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of the primary research literature within the context of the wider theoretical framework in relation to relevant topics that vary from year to year.
The Psychology of Ageingﾠ
Brains and bodies age together, but an old brain has an important advantage over an old back or knee in that the accumulated experience that resides in the mind can help the brain compensate for neurobiological losses brought about by senescence. As a consequence, the psychological changes that emerge with age paint a complex picture of loss, gain, and stasis, as diminished functioning in some domains offset or interact with enhanced knowledge and abilities in others. In this course we will examine some key topics in the psychology of adult ageing. These include memory changes across the adult lifespan, social cognitive ageing, differentiation of normal versus pathological age‑related decline, and the role of environmental and biological influences in understanding both of these types of decline.
Course Co-ordinator and Lecturer: Professor Julie Henry
Julie is a Professor in the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland, and is also an Affiliate Professor at The Queensland Brain Institute as well as The Mater Research Institute. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and of the Association for Psychological Science.
Julie leads a group that particularly focuses on how social cognition and prospection are disrupted by normal adult ageing and clinical illness. Social cognition refers to how we perceive, process, and interpret social cues in our environment. Good social cognitive skills are therefore key to mental health and wellbeing because they provide the foundation on which strong social relationships are built. Prospective memory plays a different but equally important role in our everyday lives, critical if we are to appropriately anticipate, plan and/or act with the future in mind.
Julie has published more than 250 peer‑reviewed papers which appear in prestigious outlets that include Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Annual Review of Psychology, Cognition, Psychological Bulletin, Cortex, Developmental Science, Psychology and Aging, Emotion, Brain, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, and Nature Reviews Neurology. Her work has been cited > 20,000 times in Scopus and > 38,000 in Google Scholar. In 2021 and 2022, The Australian identified 40 Lifetime Achievers who are “Superstars of Research”. These are “chosen for the consistent excellence of their work and the impact they had in their fields.” In both years Julie was identified as a Lifetime Achiever and one of the top five researchers in Social Science across all of Australia. Julie has also appeared on Stanford University’s list of the top 2% of science researchers in the world every year since the list was first published in 2019.
Julie has also received continuous prestigious and highly competitive research funding. This includes two ARC Fellowships and eight ARC Discovery Projects, seven of which she has led as first-named CI. Between 2011 and 2017, Julie was Editor in Chief of the British Journal of Clinical Psychology, and she is currently an Associate Editor for both Gerontology and Psychology and Aging. Julie has been the recipient of many prestigious awards. This includes the Research Higher Degree Supervision Award (2016) and the Research Mentorship Award (2022) from the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, competitive across the Faculty’s six schools and three research centres. In 2023, Julie was also the sole recipient of The UQ Award for Excellence in Graduate Research Training - Supervision, competitive across all UQ, for “outstanding and exemplary supervisory practice”.
Julie is Director of The Queensland Multidisciplinary Initiative for Neurocognitive Difficulties (The QLD MIND Project) and President of The Australasian Society for Philosophy and Psychology.
Course requirements
Assumed background
There is no assumed background knowledge for this seminar.ﾠ
Restrictions
BPsySc(Hons), BSc(Hons) in Psychology, BA(Hons) in Psychology students only.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to develop skills in critical evaluation and to deepen understanding of contemporary research on a topic in psychology.
ﾠ
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate a critical and in-depth understanding of key topics in an area of psychology.
LO2.
Demonstrate an ability to communicate orally and in writing about a topic in an area of psychology.
LO3.
Demonstrate an understanding of how different types of research methods can contribute to our understanding of an area of psychology.
LO4.
Effectively engage with others to discuss and evaluate empirical research.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation | Seminar presentation on a selected topic | 40% |
13/03/2025 - 29/05/2025
You will present in the week you are assigned in the first class. |
| Essay/ Critique | Essay on a selected topic | 40% |
21/05/2025 2:00 pm |
| Participation/ Student contribution | Attendance and Participation | 20% |
27/02/2025 - 29/05/2025
Throughout the semester |
Assessment details
Seminar presentation on a selected topic
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Presentation
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
13/03/2025 - 29/05/2025
You will present in the week you are assigned in the first class.
Task description
Marking criteria will be provided and discussed during the class. For the presentation, a minimal attempt to be eligible to pass the course is 20 minutes with presented illustrations on the selected topic (audio-visual material or written handouts). An electronic copy of your presentation must be sent to the Course Coordinator (julie.henry@uq.edu.au) the day before your presentation is scheduled to be given.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
If you are unable to complete your presentation you should submit appropriate documentation (as per the extension policy) to your course coordinator to arrange for an alternate time to complete your presentation. However, please be aware that timing of presentations is tight and that we may not be able to accommodate extension requests, or provide you with an alternative time.
Essay on a selected topic
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
21/05/2025 2:00 pm
Task description
Each student will submit an essay ~1,500 words (+/- 150 words) on a selected topic. A list of possible essay topics will be made available via the Course Handout. Students can pick any topic they like but it must be different from their oral presentation topic.
Essays should include:
- An introduction to the topic (i.e., establish importance of research topic, build rationale for research question, define key terms)
- A presentation of theoretical and empirical evidence to answer the question of interest (including a critical evaluation and analysis of the evidence)
- A conclusion (i.e., pulling everything together, providing an answer to the question based on the evidence)
All essays are expected to have a logical and coherent structure, and show evidence of independent thought. Essays should be free of spelling and grammatical errors, and APA 7th formatting should be used consistently throughout the essay.
Submission guidelines
Via Turnitin in Word format.
NOTE: You will no longer receive an automatic submission receipt from Turnitin confirming your assignment has been received. You should download a copy of the digital receipt from the Assignment Dashboard and keep this as a record.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
For full details please review the School of Psychology Student Guidelines - Extensions and Deferred quiz/exam.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Attendance and Participation
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Participation/ Student contribution
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
27/02/2025 - 29/05/2025
Throughout the semester
Task description
Students are required to attend the weekly seminars and engage in class discussion.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 29.99 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 30 - 46.99 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 47 - 49.99 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64.99 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74.99 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84.99 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Additional course grading information
Attendance – students must attend at least 6 of the seminar presentations in order to pass the course as a whole. Students must attend their presentation on their assigned day for a guaranteed opportunity to gain the marks for the presentation.
ﾠ
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Attendanceﾠ– studentsﾠmust attend at least 6ﾠof the 10 seminar presentations to pass the course.ﾠIf a student cannot attend a seminar, they should contact the course coordinator.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (24 Feb - 02 Mar) |
Lecture |
The psychology of ageing (Introduction) |
Week 3 (10 Mar - 16 Mar) |
Lecture |
Ageing is inevitable - what can we expect? |
Week 4 (17 Mar - 23 Mar) |
Seminar |
The many faces of ageism |
Week 5 (24 Mar - 30 Mar) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
No class: Independent Study |
Week 6 (31 Mar - 06 Apr) |
Seminar |
Neurobiological and motivational influences |
Week 7 (07 Apr - 13 Apr) |
Seminar |
Normal vs abnormal cognitive decline |
Week 8 (14 Apr - 20 Apr) |
Seminar |
'Tip of the tongue' and other memory failures |
Mid-sem break (21 Apr - 27 Apr) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Mid-semester break |
Week 9 (28 Apr - 04 May) |
Seminar |
Acting with the future in mind |
Week 10 (05 May - 11 May) |
Seminar |
Can we 'train' an ageing brain? |
Week 11 (12 May - 18 May) |
Seminar |
Emotion regulation across the adult lifespan |
Week 12 (19 May - 25 May) |
Seminar |
How do core social cognitive skills fare? |
Week 13 (26 May - 01 Jun) |
Seminar |
Empathy and making up |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: