Compared to other units I've completed, this assessments of this unit were actually beneficial. For example, the 2 quizzes were really good motivators for getting me to catch up with my lectures before I had to do the quiz which is really good because then when it comes time for the final exam (which is worth much more), I'm pretty much caught up with my lectures by wk 12/13 and have plenty of time before the final exam to review the content and even do some of the readings I couldn't complete earlier. Readings are also rlly helpful with understanding content btw. Handing in a draft method and results + the peer-review was something I also liked since you could essentially say that it "prepares" you for procrastination? In the sense that, by assigning a small weighting of 5% to handing in a draft method and results, I worked on my methods and results as if it was my final draft (essentially tricking my brain into thinking that the deadline is on that day) even though technically its due with the full report later on. Basically helped with getting those parts done earlier, so I could focus on the introduction and discussion later (which I did procrastinate, but at least only 2 parts of the report to do). I was really happy overall with the structure and organisation of this unit. I could tell that the unit convenor Patrick (who I think just started being a unit convenor this year) truly wanted whats best for the students and to help them, which is rare to see. The lectures are split into biopsychology (pre-semester break) and learning (post-semester break). As someone who did COGS1000 as an option elective during first year, there was personally no new content overall that I had to familiarise myself with. All of the concepts are topics you would've covered before, except they're obviously explored in more depth (e.g. classical conditioning, operant conditioning, action potentials, types of neurotransmitters etc.). Not an EASY unit persay, but not hard to do well in if you WANT to do well

The content was a bit difficult for me personally. The unit staff was very lovely tho and I enjoyed the tutorials!

I thoroughly enjoyed this unit - the biopsychology part more than the learning part, if I am honest! The final exam was VERY difficult but the research report and quizzes weren’t too bad. I suggest taking the practice exam more than once as you revise. The senior tutor (Katherine) was such a big help and provided very insightful responses to the discussion forum questions (and there were like hundreds)! She was just amazing and so lovely! I highly recommend attending her tutorials too as she is very engaging and explains the topics to such a high standard. The lecturers were great too although the content can be very dry. Lectures and tutorials were well-delivered.

Yikes, warning that the final exam is very hard. Biopsychology lectures were shorter than the learning ones however the bio exam questions were more specific and required a greater understanding of more aspects of the content. I appreciate that both the lecturers seemed to genuinely like the content they were teaching but I found this unit pretty dry and hard to engage with.

Learning is mostly easy, biopsychology? Not so much. Although the biopsychology lectures are typically much shorter than that of learning, expect that you'll need to attend FAR more time studying that component of the unit. Some background in neuroscience will assist you greatly here. Research report was quite easy to perform well on, and the 10% of quizzes are free marks that I really wish I paid more attention to (I missed nearly half of them). Just be mindful that the final exam is very difficult.

Cramming two topics (which both have enough content to fill 12 week each) into one unit is insanity! Both very interesting topics, both had great lecturers, and both were well organised. But the overwhelming amount of information was stressful. Agree with a previous comment that having just two assessments also created increased levels of unnecessary stress - would be much better to have weekly quizzes or two assignments and an exam. I struggled in the exam.... when I opened the paper after hours and hours of study.... I had to check the front whiteboard to make sure I was in the correct exam room. I felt that they were trying to trick you or game the exam.

This unit is notorious for being both very very easy and very very hard at the same time due to the jump from learning to biopsychology. To be honest, I really only appreciated it once I finished the course because I could see how the puzzles fit into the big picture. That being said... most of the time you are left puzzled! Both learning and biopsychology are hugely interesting, although their presentation can be a bit dry... so I recommend forming STUDY GROUPS for this unit! They will make it 10X more enjoyable.

Learning has the potential to be very interesting and I think the content is very important, but I found the lectures dull. Did we really need 3 hours just on classical conditioning? The assignment was very poorly organised and explained, especially considering it was worth 40%. The tutorials were super interesting, though, I really enjoyed them! Biopsychology is something I love and that part of the course was great! It's a lot of content but the lectures were great and everything was explained well. You definitely need to keep up with the content because there's a lot, but it's more enjoyable than the learning part of the unit. The tutorials are essential and my tutor (Jasmina) was very helpful with the content! Having only two assignments (40% assignment, 60% exam) was horrific and far too much stress. The practice exam is a lifesaver! I'd give learning 2-3 stars and biopsych 4-5 stars.

the learning component was alright but the biopsychology part was very HARD and a lot to take in!! I would recommend going to all of the pracs, they're only every 2 weeks and contain a lot of information but it's so much better talking through it with a tutor - and they were very good with examples and answering questions. The 40% assignment was an absolute joke, i don't think Julia even understood what was going on. All things considering you can still get decent marks. Also, do the practice exam!! it will help a lot with the final exam

I dropped biology in high school, yet somehow biopsychology has become one of my favourite psychology subjects. It is a lot of work, but I really loved Sarah’s style of teaching - she was very clear and thoughtful in the way she worded concepts or processes to enable our understanding. For both biopsychology and learning, it was very clear on what we were expected to know to do well in the course. I enjoyed the tutorials (I had Nick who was really good!)