Psychology for Society provides the requisite knowledge to support success in the Stage 3 courses of the Graduate Diploma in Applied Psychology. The course begins with an introduction to psychology as a science and emphasises the importance of culture to psychology in Aotearoa. Several applied fields are then introduced, followed by a focus on the practical aspects of psychological research and application. This includes coverage of ethics, cultural responsibilities and practices, basic research skills for data collection and analysis, and the formalities of presenting research information.

Course learning outcomes (CLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• explain the aims of psychology, its scientific basis, and the key concepts and approaches relating to various areas of applied psychology.
• find, evaluate and communicate psychology research in an accessible manner.
• explain the foundations of psychology research, its outputs, and the role of ethics.
• discuss and apply Māori health models, concepts and theory to diverse health-practice and research related settings.
• evaluate, select and apply appropriate research, data-collection and analysis techniques in various real-world settings.

• Module 1: Psychology, science and culture
• Module 2: Applied psychology 1 – Speech, mental health and understanding behaviour
• Module 3: Applied psychology 2 – Health, education and psychology in the workplace
• Module 4: Developing academic skills 1 – Writing, reading and consuming research
• Module 5: Developing academic skills 2 – Presenting research
• Module 6: Ethics
• Module 7: Introduction to research
• Module 8: Psychology research in Aotearoa New Zealand
• Module 9: Kaupapa Māori research
• Module 10: Qualitative research
• Module 11: Quantitative research 1
• Module 12: Quantitative research 2