About this assessment
You will submit a laboratory report in which you will have written the introduction leading into a research question, the method, results, and discussion sections.
PSYC214 Learning And Behaviour In Psychology Assignment-Australian Catholic University.

The lab report is designed to achieve two main outcomes.
1.This assessment provides an opportunity to understand applications of
behavioural models of decision making to the study of pro-environmental
behaviour. In particular, the research explores the usefulness of models of
delay discounting, and the associated measures of impulsivity, to understand pro-environmental behaviour.
2.In addition to this, the lab report is designed to support the development of your research skills.

In order to complete this task, you will need to complete the sub-tasks listed below. Tutorials in Week 4 – 7 will explicitly focus on the Lab Report.

The Week 4 – 7 tutorials are designed to support you in completing the Lab Report.Preparing in advance to make the most of these tutorials will maximise their effectiveness.

Completing the PSYC214 Lab Report
1.Introduction
o You will be provided with a set of basic readings and are asked to source two more readings (at least) that are relevant to the research topic (see links at end of document).
o You should read the assigned readings by Week 4. In Week 4 and 5 tutorials, the readings will be discussed and the discussion will lead to the development of the general research question of interest.
o You will be provided with other materials to support your analysis and
understanding of the assigned readings (available on LEO).
o We advise you to look for the two extra readings after the discussion in Week 4.
o After this session, and after finding and reading (a minimum of) two more readings,you will be ready to write the introduction section to your lab report.

PSYC214 Learning And Behaviour In Psychology Assignment-Australian Catholic University.

2.Method:
o In Week 5’s tutorial session, you will be provided with a list of the relevant measures included in the study as well as the steps involved in the procedure. You will use this list to write the measures and procedure subsections of the method.
o For the ‘participants’ subsection, you will be provided with the participant
information from the data file, with support from your tutor, in the tutorial session of week 5/6.
o After these tutorial sessions, you will be ready to write this section.

3.Results and Discussion:
o In week 6, the tutorial session will be devoted to presentation and discussion of the quantitative data. You will be provided with advice on how to write a results section, but you will not be told what to write.
o Your results section MUST include descriptive and inferential statistics.
o Together, students and tutors will look at the numerical results and interpret them in the context of the research question. You should bring your introduction and methods section to Week 6 tutorials, so the research question/hypothesis and procedure are readily available to support the discussion of results. By this time, you should have a clear understanding of what it is you expect to find in general terms.
o Although the discussion of the results during the week 6 tutorial may provide you with ideas for the discussion (if you come prepared), the purpose of the tutorial is not to give you direction on the writing of your discussion section. The discussion section is your opportunity to show independent thought and critical analysis.
o After completion of the Week 6 tutorial you will be ready to write the results and discussion sections.

4.Abstract and References sections
o You will write these independently, but you may bring questions on this, should you have any, to the week 7 tutorial session.

Formatting instructions
Word count: 2000 words
o The word count excludes the title page, abstract and references section.
o You should indicate the number of words in your assignment at the bottom of the title page.
o Please note, there is no +10% tolerance: you will be penalised if the word
count exceeds 2000 words. This is because writing for psychology includes
developing succinct and precise written communication skills.
o Adhere to all formatting conventions specified in the APA manual. When the manual is ambiguous on what you should do, you can ask your lecturer or tutor what to do. You may use APA 6 or 7, but you must be consistent.
o Note that your lecturer should not be your first point of call for formatting issues: if you are asking a question that can be answered by looking at the manual, you will be redirected there.

PSYC214 Learning And Behaviour In Psychology Assignment-Australian Catholic University.

Submission instructions
You will submit your report electronically using the Turnitin portal set up on LEO for this purpose.
You can use Turnitin to submit early versions of your work so that you can see the Turnitin reports on these versions. That is, you can upload and re-upload documents until the due date.
Your submission must be either in word format, and your file should be called “S1234567 lab report” (where S1234567 is your student number).

Help with the lab report
As you are no doubt aware, writing Lab Report is not a reflex action or a modal action pattern – it’s a learned behaviour! Writing Lab Reports can be complex, as there are lots of things to consider: from the theories and hypotheses, to the measures and data, through to interpreting the results, and how to communicate all the information in clear and precise
ways, and in line with APA conventions.

This is a core skill in psychology.

As you can see in the previous page, the semester is structured so that you can receive assistance during tutorials with the completion of the report.

In addition to this, a specific Lab Report Questions forum will be available on LEO on the Communication tile. In this forum, you can ask questions and either the tutor or the lecturer will answer them. Please ask your questions about the lab report in the LEO forum, or in tutorials. The advantage of using this forum is that everyone gets access to the same information. That is, the forum ensures equity of access to information.
Please note: lecturers will not be answering emails about the lab report: tutorials, LEO forums and zoom consultation times (listed on LEO) are the appropriate place for questions about assessments.

A final word on the end goal
Of course, the details of the assessment matter, but sometimes it’s helpful to keep the bigger picture in mind. Long after you complete PSYC214, the skills you develop in this unit will be useful to you.

PSYC214 Learning And Behaviour In Psychology Assignment-Australian Catholic University.

When you complete your psychology degree, you will not only have developed a body of knowledge of psychology-related theory that you can bring to your work and to your life; you will also have developed skills in critical thinking, clear and precise writing and a capacity to find and critique empirical literature. With these skills, you can identify problems, consider ways to investigate and solve them, and communicate your findings to others.

These skills are useful (and empowering!). You will be able to bring them to whatever you do after university!
We wish you all the best as you put your skills in to action for this lab report! We are excited to read your work!