Conservation Psychology

Course aim

To enable students to critically explore conservation issues from a psychological perspective, and apply psychological principles of advertising and behaviour change to facilitate behaviour change in support of conservation of threatened species and environments.

Assessments in this course provide evidence that students have demonstrated achievement of Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) Foundational Competency 1.1: Comprehend and apply a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology, with depth of understanding of underlying principles, theories and concepts in the discipline, using a scientific approach (Accreditation Standards for Psychology Programs Effective 1 January 2019, Version 2).

Course content

Students will develop an advanced understanding of the conservation and biodiversity crisis in the 21st century; and theories and psychological principles of behavioural change and ethical issues associated with the application of these principles. They will apply their understanding of wicked problems in conservation to develop new ways of thinking to address these problems by the use of science and communication through new media to portray conservation issues accurately and effectively in order to facilitate community action and behaviour change to support conservation of threatened species and environments. They will develop the ability to tailor messages to suit expert and lay audiences.

Textbook(s)

Clayton, S., and Myers, G. 2015, Conservation Psychology: Understanding and Promoting Human Care for Nature. , 2nd edition, Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, New Jersey

McKenzie-Mohr, D. 2010, Fostering Sustainable Behavior: Community-Based Social Marketing., McKenzie-Mohr, D., free: http://www.cbsm.com/pages/guide/preface/

Prerequisite(s)

Bachelor of Psychology students are required to have completed the listed prerequisite plus one Level 2 psychology course. Students completing the Conservation Psychology, Sustainability and Wellbeing minor only need to complete the specified prerequisite course.

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Case study, Presentation, Proposal

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 4Y)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
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Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.