Psychcast

models of behaviour change with reference to the transtheoretical model including the stages of pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance/relapse.

resilience as a positive adaption to adversity including the relative influence of protective factors with reference to: adequate diet and sleep (biological); cognitive behavioural strategies (psychological); support from family,friends and community (social)

evidence-based interventions and their use for specific phobia with reference to: the use of short-acting anti-anxiety benzodiazepine agents (gamma-amino butyric acid [GABA] agonists) in the management of phobic anxiety and relaxation techniques including breathing retraining and exercise (biological); the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and systematic desensitisation as psychotherapeutic treatments of phobia (psychological); psychoeducation for families/supporters with reference to challenging unrealistic or anxious thoughts and not encouraging avoidance behaviours (social).

the relative influences of contributing factors to the development of specific phobia with reference to: gamma- amino butyric acid (GABA) dysfunction, the role of stress response and long-term potentiation (biological); behavioural models involving precipitation by classical conditioning and perpetuation by operant conditioning, cognitive bias including memory bias and catastrophic thinking (psychological); specific environmental triggers and stigma around seeking treatment (social)

the distinctions between stress, phobia and anxiety; variation for individuals with stress, phobia and anxiety on a mental health continuum

the concept of cumulative risk.

the influence of social risk factors including disorganised attachment, loss of a significant relationship and the role of stigma as a barrier to accessing treatment

the influence of psychological risk factors including rumination, impaired reasoning and memory, stress and poor self-efficacy

the influence of biological risk factors including genetic vulnerability to specific disorders, poor response to medication due to genetic factors, poor sleep and substance use

the distinction between predisposing risk factors (increase susceptibility), precipitating risk factors (increase susceptibility and contribute to occurrence), perpetuating risk factors (inhibit recovery) and protective factors (prevent occurrence or re-occurrence)

ethical implications in the study of, and research into, mental health, including informed consent and use of placebo treatments.

the typical characteristics of a mentally healthy person, including high levels of functioning, social and emotional well-being and resilience to life stressors

mental health as a continuum (mentally healthy, mental health problems, mental disorders) influenced by internal and external factors that can fluctuate over time

the interventions to treat sleep disorders including cognitive behavioural therapy (with reference to insomnia)and bright light therapy (with reference to circadian phase disorders).

the distinction between dyssomnias (including sleep-onset insomnia) and parasomnias (including sleep walking) with reference to the effects on a person’s sleep-wake cycle

the effects of partial sleep deprivation (inadequate sleep either in quantity or quality) on a person’s affective (amplified emotional responses), behavioural and cognitive functioning

changes to a person’s sleep-wake cycle and susceptibility to experiencing a circadian phase disorder, including sleep-wake shifts in adolescence, shift work and jet lag

the differences in sleep across the lifespan and how these can be explained with reference to the total amount of sleep and changes in a typical pattern of sleep (proportion of REM and NREM).

theories of the purpose and function of sleep (REM and NREM) including restoration theory and evolutionary (circadian) theory

sleep as a regular and naturally occurring altered state of consciousness that follows a circadian rhythm and involves the ultradian rhythms of REM and NREM Stages 1–4 sleep excluding corresponding brain wave patterns and physiological responses for each stage

the effects on consciousness (cognition, concentration and mood) of one night of full sleep deprivation as a comparison with effects of legal blood-alcohol concentrations.

changes in levels of alertness as indicated by brain waves patterns (beta, alpha, theta, delta) due to drug-induced altered states of consciousness (stimulants and depressants)

changes in a person’s psychological state due to levels of awareness, controlled and automatic processes, content limitations, perceptual and cognitive distortions, emotional awareness, self-control and time orientation

the measurement of physiological responses to indicate different states of consciousness, including electroencephalograph (EEG), electromyograph (EMG), electro-oculograph (EOG) and other techniques to investigate consciousness (measurement of speed and accuracy on cognitive tasks, subjective reporting of consciousness, including sleep diaries, and video monitoring)

consciousness as a psychological construct that varies along a continuum, broadly categorised into normal waking consciousness and altered states of consciousness (naturally occurring and induced)

the reconstruction of memories as evidence for the fallibility of memory, with reference to Loftus’ research into the effect of leading questions on eye-witness testimonies.

the factors influencing a person’s ability and inability to remember information, including context and state dependent cues, maintenance and elaborative rehearsal and serial position effect

the effects of brain trauma on areas of the brain associated with memory and neurodegenerative diseases, including brain surgery, anterograde amnesia and Alzheimer’s disease

methods to retrieve information from memory or demonstrate the existence of information in memory, including recall, recognition, relearning and reconstruction

interactions between specific regions of the brain (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, amygdala and cerebellum) in the storage of long-term memories, including implicit and explicit memories.

the multi-store model of memory (Atkinson-Shiffrin) with reference to the function, capacity and duration of sensory, short-term and long-term memory

the ‘Little Albert’ experiment as illustrating how classical conditioning can be used to condition an emotional response, including ethical implications of the experiment.

observational learning as a method of social learning, particularly in children, involving attention, retention, reproduction, motivation and reinforcement

operant conditioning as a three-phase model (antecedent, behaviour, consequence) involving reinforcers (positive and negative) and punishment (including response cost) that can be used to change voluntary behaviours, including stimulus generalisation, stimulus discrimination and spontaneous recovery (excluding schedules of reinforcement)

classical conditioning as a three-phase process (before conditioning, during conditioning and after conditioning) that results in the involuntary association between a neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response, including stimulus generalisation, stimulus discrimination, extinction and spontaneous recovery

the role of neurotransmitters and neurohormones in the neural basis of memory and learning (including the role of glutamate in synaptic plasticity and the role of adrenaline in the consolidation of emotionally arousing experiences).

neural plasticity and changes to connections between neurons (including long-term potentiation and long-term depression) as the fundamental mechanisms of memory formation that leads to learning

context-specific effectiveness, coping flexibility and use of particular strategies (exercise and approach and avoidance strategies) for coping with stress.

models of stress as a psychological process, with reference to Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (stages of primary and secondary appraisal)

models of stress as a biological process, with reference to Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome of alarm reaction (shock/counter shock), resistance and exhaustion, including the ‘fight-flight-freeze’ response and the role of cortisol

sources of stress (eustress and distress) including daily pressures, life events, acculturative stress, major stress and catastrophes that disrupt whole communities

the effects of chronic changes to the functioning of the nervous system due to interference to neurotransmitter function, as illustrated by the role of dopamine in Parkinson’s disease.

the role of neurotransmitters in the transmission of neural information between neurons (lock-and-key process) to produce excitatory effects (as with glutamate) or inhibitory effects (as with gamma-amino butyric acid [GABA])

the role of the neuron (dendrites, axon, myelin and axon terminals) as the primary cell involved in the reception and transmission of information across the synapse (excluding details related to signal transduction)

the distinction between conscious and unconscious responses by the nervous system to sensory stimuli, including the role of the spinal reflex

the roles of different divisions of the nervous system (central and peripheral nervous systems and their associated sub-divisions) in responding to, and integrating and coordinating with, sensory stimuli received by the body