Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Martin Whiting martin.whiting@mq.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 10
Prerequisites	Prerequisites
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit is suitable for all students interested in behaviour. It covers a range of topics relevant to today's society in a manner accessible to all students. Basic mechanisms are covered, together with function and evolution. Lecture topics include explanations of behaviour, evolution, evolutionary origins of behaviour, basic neuroscience, perception, learning, brain and behaviour, and topics in animal behaviour. Lectures culminate with some reflections on the lives of humans in our modern world and the role of culture in human evolution.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

ULO1: Describe the basic functioning of the nervous system in animals, including the senses
ULO2: Explain the principles of evolution by natural selection and sexual selection
ULO3: Understand basic concepts and principles in genetics, epigenetics, perception, learning, human evolution, explanations in animal behaviour, and the topics on the nature of science, ethics, study skills, animal behaviour and on evolution and human behaviour presented in the unit
ULO4: Understand collected scientific data including those presented in graphic form
ULO5: Extract key points from scientific papers and other forms of presentation and accurately communicate these to a general audience
ULO6: Comment critically on scientific papers and other forms of presentation with regard to life on our planet today

General Assessment Information

To pass this unit you must attain a mark of at least 50%

Late Assessment Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/ exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration.

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by shortterm circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Visualising data	5%	No	2024-08-26
quizzes in textbook	26%	No	Every 1.5 weeks
Commentary	30%	No	2024-10-14
Practice Based task	4%	No	Weekly x 10
final examination	35%	No	Exam Period

Visualising data

Assessment Type ¹: Quantitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task ²: 5 hours
Due: 2024-08-26
Weighting: 5%

You will collect data during a practical and graph that data.