Motivation and Emotion (7124.4)

Please note these are the 2022 details for this unit
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Motivation and Emotion
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
Online real-time
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Health
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Psychology Level 3 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit Band 1 2021 (Pg Clinical Psychology)
Band 2 2021 (Prof Pathway Psychology-After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 2 2021 (Prof Pathway Psychology-Before 1 Jan 2021)
Band 2 2021 (Standard Course Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
Band 4 2021 (Standard Course Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
This unit covers theories of motivation (such as brain processes, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, goal-setting, and the self) and emotion (including biological and cognitive perspectives, core emotions, and emotional regulation) and considers their application to everyday life.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Identify the major principles of motivation and emotion;
2. Integrate theories and current research towards explaining the role of motivation and emotions in human behaviour; and
3. Critically apply knowledge of motivation or emotion to an indepth understanding of a specific topic in this field.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology


Prerequisites

4309 Psychology 101 OR 11399 Understanding People and Behaviour
AND
4310 Psychology 102 OR 10444 Foundations of Psychology

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2027 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 On-campus Dr James Neill
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 Online real-time Dr James Neill
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 09 August 2027 Online real-time Dr James Neill
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 09 August 2027 On-campus Dr James Neill
Not available

Required texts

Required textbook

Reeve, J. (2024). Understanding motivation and emotion (8th ed.). Wiley.

Access options:

A list of the required textbook chapters for each lecture is available via the unit's UCLearn site.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Artificial intelligence

  • Permitted - The ethical use of GenAI is allowed in completing the topic development and book chapter.
  • Restricted - The use of GenAI is NOT allowed in completing the exam.
  • More detailed information can be found at GenAI and Assessment at UC and the unit's using generative AI guidelines.

Special assessment requirements

Extensions for this unit
For this unit, submit extension requests using the online Extension Application Form in the Assignments section of the unit's UCLearn site.

Major project
The major project provides a scaffolded "capstone" experience which is scaffolded into two stages:

  • Topic development
  • Book chapter

This project applies psychological science to real-world problems to produce open educational resources. It helps students bring together and demonstrate their psychological knowledge and skills to produce useful real-world resources.

You can showcase this work in your resume and ePortfolio.

Alternative assessment
The major project uses Wikiversity, a collaborative, online, public platform. Use an anonymous Wikiversity account if you have privacy concern. Students retain the intellectual property of their work. Contributing to Wikiversity requires the work to be licensed under the Creative Commons Sharealike 4.0 license, which is irrevocable.

Students who have reasonable grounds for not completing the Topic Development and Book Chapter assessments on Wikiversity may request an alternative assessment that addresses the same learning outcomes and graduate attributes. Requests should be made by email to the Unit Convener as early as possible. If no request is made, students are expected to complete the standard Wikiversity-based assessments.

Final marks
Partial final marks will be rounded to the nearest whole. For example:

  • less than or equal to 64.49% will be rounded down to 64%
  • greater than or equal to 64.50% will be rounded up to 65%

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Allocate approximately 10 hours per week over 15 weeks to complete this unit.

This table summarises the estimated time required to complete each of the assessment items, inclusive of lectures and tutorials:

  • Topic development: 15 hours
  • Book chapter: 75 hours
  • Exam: 60 hours

Participation requirements

Engagement by attending and interacting during lectures and tutorials is strongly recommended but not compulsory. 

Non-engagement is likely to make successful completion of the assessment more difficult because:

  • Lectures and tutorials discuss content which is assessed in the exam
  • Tutorials develop skills for the major project (topic development and book chapter) assessment exercises

If you are unable to attend your scheduled tutorial, attend a tutorial at a different time or access the online recording.

Required IT skills

Required information technology skills (how to edit Wikiversity) will be taught in the unit.

This unit involves online classes using the Virtual Room in the UCLearn site. The Virtual Room allows real-time text, audio, and video communication with your lecturer and other students.

For best audio quality, a microphone and headset is recommended. For more information and to test your computer, go to the Virtual Room in your UCLearn site and "Join Course Room". This will trigger a tutorial to help familiarise you with the functionality of the Virtual Room.

In-unit costs

The required textbook can be accessed at no cost through the UCLibrary (3 simultaneous e-copy users and 2 paperback copies in short-loan).

Alternatively, personal e-text access costs $114.95 or the paperback costs $177.95.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None