Motivation and emotion/About/Welcome and getting started

Welcome

Welcome aboard the good ship, "Motivation and Emotion" sails from the port of University of Canberra in August each year, with ~150 voyagers on board. Lead by skipper James Neill, we journey the high seas of psychology in search of "why people do what they do" and "why people feel the way they feel" according to psychological science. Voyagers return and share their discoveries through an online book chapter and multimedia overview. Read on to learn about what's on board, some places we'll visit, and how to get started.

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This undergraduate psychology unit is about core aspects of human beings that most people find fascinating, namely:

• Motivation – what are the reasons for people's behaviours?
• Emotion – why do people feel the way they do about what happens within and around them?

For most people, these are naturally fascinating topics which open doorways to understanding yourself and others from a psychological science perspective.

The psychology of motivation and emotion applies to everyday life. But it is also applied to help treat mental health problems, foster productive work, enhance learning, improve relationships, and unlock human potential.

The array of theories and intriguing research findings help to make studying motivation and emotion a highlight for many psychology students.

The journey ahead won't always be easy, but an open mind and willingness to engage are the keys to success.

Structure

This unit has a T-shaped structure.

The horizontal part of the T represents breadth of knowledge. The main reading for the unit is a textbook called “Understanding motivation and emotion” by Johnmarshall Reeve. Lectures discuss the textbook concepts and their application in the real world. Tutorials explore extended concepts in an interactive format.

The vertical line of the T represents depth of knowledge. This unit challenges you to take a deep dive to explore a specific motivation or emotion topic. The major project is to create and publicly share an online book chapter and a multimedia overview.

Main topics

Check out the lecture and tutorial pages to learn about key topics:

Getting started

Here's a step-by-step guide to getting started:

1. Get an overview:
   1. About this unit
   2. Unit outline
2. Enrol in
   1. the unit
   2. a tutorial
3. Check the timetable (for lectures and tutorials) and put the schedule in your calendar
4. Materials - get access to:
   1. The textbook
   2. An audio headset (with headphones and microphone) is recommended for:
      1. recording the multimedia presentation assessment exercise
      2. participating in online virtual tutorials
5. Assessment
   1. Check out the assessment and note the due dates
   2. Learn about Wikiversity and how to use it
      1. Create a Wikiversity account - choose a user name appropriate to your privacy requirements (can be based on your real name or a pseudonym).
      2. Practice editing in a sandbox.
      3. Describe a little about yourself and areas of interest on your Wikiversity user page.
      4. More information about using Wikiversity will be provided during lectures and tutorials (e.g., see Tutorial 01, but you can also teach yourself by exploring and experimenting). For more info, see Wikiversity - Help.
   3. Browse the previous book chapter topics. Think about what chapter topic you would like to contribute to the current book chapter table of contents.
6. Discuss with others via:
   1. UCLearn Discussion
   2. Wikiversity talk pages
   3. #emot24 hashtag on X
7. For more assistance, see help