Psychology FAQs

General

When will my lecture notes or podcasts be made available on online?

Whether these are made available online or not will depend on the unit coordinator.

How do I access MyLearn?

Log on to your Units via myUNE

How do I apply for advanced standing?

Please see the Student Central.

Examinations

When will I get my examination results?

Results information can be found at www.une.edu.au/exams

Can I check my examination results online?

Yes, results can be checked in myUNE

Can I see past examination papers in my PSYC unit?

No, past exam papers are not available in psychology. This applies not only for psychology at UNE but at other universities within and outside Australia as well to our knowledge. Some units may use textbooks that come with multiple choice tests (e.g., CD-ROM) these can be used as a study tool.

Textbooks, resources and handbooks

Which text books do I need?

You will see the required textbooks in the UNE Course Handbook by searching for your Unit code eg. PSYC101

Where can I download forms and handbooks?

Please see our download page.

Where can I find software to view forms and handbooks?

Please see our download page.

Some Common Problems in Student Writing

What is the difference between the words "affect" and "effect"?

The words "affect" and "effect" are often confused with each other. This is because both words can function as nouns and as verbs. Here's how they work in each of those ways:

AFFECT as a noun (stress on the first syllable)
Affect is another term for emotion or feeling. It is the base for the term affection. Thus one can find reference to affect and affective reactions in psychological and related literature, as distinct from, say, cognitive reactions.

AFFECT as a verb (stress on the second syllable)
To affect something is to influence it. Thus one can speak about a stimulus or agent affecting someone or some animal in a particular way. Thus: "Exposing the animal to a barbiturate solution can affect the speed of its responses."

EFFECT as a noun (stress on the second syllable)
This is where the confusion with affect comes in strongly, because "effect" as a noun is closely linked to "affect" as a verb. The effect of, say, a stimulus is the consequence of its action upon someone or some animal. Thus: "The effect of exposing the animal to the barbiturate solution was to change the speed of its responses."

EFFECT as a verb (stress ALSO on the second syllable)
To effect something is to bring it about; relates to the concept of effective. Thus "They effected a change in the animal's response speed by administering a barbiturate solution."

What is happening to the words data and criteria?

If you have been exposed to the "classical languages" of Greek and Latin, you may well observe that terrible things are happening to these words.

Data is Latin, and is the plural of datum. Strictly speaking, then, data takes a plural verb ("The data show ..." etc.; "This datum indicates ...") But increasingly in popular writing and speech, the word data is understood as a singular noun. In published writing in Psychology, the word data is still understood as a plural noun, and our emphatic advice is that you use it that way.

Criteria is Greek, and is the plural of criterion. "The primary criterion for inclusion in the treatment group was ..."; "The three criteria for selection of subjects were ..."

While we're at it: Phenomena and stimuli

Phenomena is Greek, and is the plural of phenomenon (it means anything consciously experienced). "The phenomena of thought disorder and imaginary voices are often observed together." "Dizziness is the phenomenon commonly resulting from over-stimulation of the vestibular system." Stimuli is Latin, and is the plural of stimulus. "We applied the visual and auditory stimuli simultaneously."; "A tonal stimulus occurred one second after the warning light was flashed."

What is happening to apostrophes?

Some say, with glad cries, that apostrophes are atrophying and should be got rid of completely. If you, like me, prefer to hang on to these little markers of possession you need to know how to use them. A singular noun that does not end in s takes an apostrophe before the s that signals possession: "Henry's glove", "the snake's armpit". A plural noun that does not end in s ditto ("the women's team"). A singular noun that does end in s can be handled in one of two ways: "James' glove" or "James's glove". A plural noun ending in s takes the apostrophe after the final s: "snakes' armpits".

Personal pronouns do not take apostrophes: thus hers, yours, ours and theirs is correct, to conform with mine and his (and the impersonal pronoun, its, ditto: "The child thrown overboard by the would-be illegal entrant had its needs properly attended to in detention", as a certain Minister of the Crown might put it).

Apostrophes are also used to signal deletion of letters from a word or phrase: can't (cannot), didn't (did not), it's (it is). You are not encouraged to use such forms in your writing in Psychology, except when directly reporting from a transcript or similar.

"The grocer's apostrophe"--so-called because it seems especially favoured by sellers of food ("Tomatoe's, $2/kg")--is the insertion of an apostrophe in pluralisation, thus is incorrect.