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Course information

There are two pathways to enter the Honours in psychology at ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´.

The Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) is a one-year degree for high-achieving students who have completed a Bachelor's degree that included an APAC accredited three-year sequence (Level 1) in psychology.

The Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) is a 4-year degree which includes APAC accredited degree three-year sequence (APAC Level 1) in psychology and, for those that meet the progression requirements, an honours year (APAC Level 2).

Students completing the honours year will:

• learn more about neuropsychology and personality assessment tools as well as evidence-based approaches to psychological interventions
• delve into professional issues and ethics as well as practical issues such as interviewing, report writing, supervision and case preparation
• gain experience in researching human behaviour. This includes all steps of the research process from formulating research questions and hypotheses to data collection, analysis and detailed reporting of research findings.

Honours in Psychology will give you an edge in an increasingly competitive job market and will also equip you for further study at a higher degree level.

Check the relevant handbook for details of the Honours program

Projects for 2026 will be announced at the beginning of the academic year

Projects offered in previous years in Melbourne

Please note that this is only a sample of some of the projects from previous years.

• Young people's and mental healthcare professionals' explanations of the current "mental health crisis"
• Internalised weight stigma and weight loss
• Motor and Psychosocial Outcomes in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
• Drinking Behaviour and Attitudes toward Non-drinking
• The Social Determinants of Health
• Well-being in the Helping Professions
• Being open to being open: Understanding the transition to being non-monogamous
• Developing STEM Interests and Predicting Long-Term Choices
• A qualitative exploration of the orgasm gap in bisexual women
• A quantitative exploration of implicit (non-conscious) Internalised Sexual Prejudice
• Investigating key clinical processes involved the Moderated Online Social Therapy (MOST) system
• The Impact of Cognitive Representations of God on Attitudes towards the LBGTQA+ Community
• Who wants, has, or has had non-traditional intimate relationships? An individual differences approach
• ADHD, eating behaviours and food preferences in adults
• Parental Anti-fat attitudes, eating behaviours, social media use and child feeding practices
• Visual behaviours of children pedestrians using a 360-video virtual reality pedestrian street crossing task
• Investigating the cerebral cortex in cannabis dependence and related mental health problems: a high-resolution structural MRI study
• Parental Accommodations for child anxiety post COVID
• Provisional psychologists’ experiences of their 6th year internships and intention to remain in the sector

Project titles offered in previous years in Strathfield

• Machiavellianism and Intimate Partner Violence
• Experiences in Online Dating
• Meat attachment and reduction of meat consumption
• Eco-anxiety: Climate action or climate apathy?
• Misophonia and Dysfunctional Appraisals
• Misophonia, Intolerance of uncertainty, and emotional and behavioural responses
• Improving the wellbeing of staff and residents in aged care
• Exploring the association between bereavement grief and hoarding behaviours: A longitudinal study
• Predictors of Athlete Burnout
• Perinatal Mental Health
• Understanding the skills of hazard perception and gap acceptance in drivers across the lifespan
• Staying mobile and living well: Understanding the perspectives of older adults

Recent Honours student publications

Below are recently published articles from previous honours student projects. Honours students are highlighted in bold.

2026

Dingle, E., & Anderson, J. R. (2026). A scoping review exploring LGBTQIA+ student perspectives on the inclusivity and effectiveness of school-based sexuality education in Australia. Journal of Homosexuality, Manuscript in press.

Kwok, E., Whyte, D., Deans, C. (2026). Social Support and the Military-to-Civilian Transition: A Scoping Review of Methodological Approaches and Measures. Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health. Manuscript in press.

Lorenzetti V., Sehl H., Honnedevasthana A.A., McTavish. E., Clemente A., Thomson H., Quinones-Valera M., Gaillard A., Beyer E., Thomson E., Cousijn J., Labuschagne I., Rendell P., Terrett G., Suo C., Greenwood L.M., Manning V., Poudel G., (2026) The Neurocircuitry of Cannabis Cue Reactivity in Cannabis Use Disorder: A Functional Neuroimaging Study, Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, 6(1) .

Say, A.M.D., Werner, L.M., de la Piedad Garcia, X., Mallan, K.M. (2026). Differential associations between overt and covert restrictive feeding practices and children's eating behaviours and dietary intake. , 217. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2025.108330

Song, W., Tziliaskopoulos, R., & Willis, M. L. (2026). The relationship between narcissism and alexithymia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 253, 113617.

2025

Bennett, J. M., McGuckian, T. B., Healy, N., Lam, N., Lucas, R.,Palmer, K., Crowther, R. G., Greene, D. A., Wilson, P., & Duckworth, J. (2025). Development of a virtual reality pedestrian street-crossing task: The examination of hazard perception and gap acceptance. Safety Science, 181, 106706.

Beaton, L., & Modesto, O. (2025). Fun with Friends? Participation in the Gay Community Predicts Alcohol and Drug Consumption for Gay and Bisexual Men. Journal of Homosexuality, 1–21.

Branch, S., Espinosa, N., McKinnon, A. C., & Bennett, J. M. (2025). The relationship between brain structure and function and driving performance in older adults with and without cognitive impairment: A systematic review. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 109, 1523-1541.

Carpenter, J., Koppel, S., & Bennett, J. M. (2025). Understanding the relationship between driving cessation and depressive symptomology in older adults: A systematic review. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 114, 535-549.

Carrigan, A., McGuckian, T. B., Prabhakharan, P., Tasnim, N.,McCracken, G., & Bennett, J. M. (2025). Towards a model for understanding the pedestrian behaviours of older adults with and without cognitive impairment: A systematic review. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 114, 1142-1160.

De Puit, J. K., & Challinor, K. L. (2025). Critical Review of Neurobiological Evidence for Relationships Between Social Isolation, Loneliness and the Risk of Developing of Alzheimer's Disease: A New Model. Journal of Aging research, 2025, 9924448. https://doi.org/10.1155/jare/9924448

Fitzhardinge, M., Blackman, L., & Pilkington, P.D. (2025). Adverse Childhood Experiences and emotional exhaustion in therapists: The mediating role of early maladaptive schemas. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 32, 4: e70115.

Hudson, A., Batalha, L., & Ciarrochi, J. (2025). Higher-Weight Social Identity as a Risk and Protective Factor in the Negative Health Consequences of Weight Stigma: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Obesity, 49(7), 1209-1228. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-025-01755-z

McCole, A.R., Thai, M., & Anderson, J. R. (2025). “An extra set of bits for your fantasy”: A qualitative exploration of bi+ women’s fetishization experiences. Journal of Bisexuality, 25(4), 696-718. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2025.2481610.

McCole, A. R., & Anderson, J. R. (2025). “Not queer enough”: A systematic review of the literature exploring experiences of bi-erasure. Journal of Bisexuality. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2025.2498757

Mercieca, B., & Anderson, J. R. (2025a). “I’d rather be dead than gay:” A qualitative exploration of the lived experiences of sexually and gender diverse Christians in Australia. Psychology & Sexuality.

Mercieca, B., & Anderson, J. R. (2025b). A systematic review of identity management strategies for religious people who are sexually and gender diverse. Psychology & Sexuality, 16(2), 454-472.

Saunders, A., Anderson, J. R., & Hinton, J. D. X. (2025). When their experience becomes mine: Re-conceptualising and measuring LGBTQ+ vicarious discrimination with the Vicarious Discrimination Scale (VDS). Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, Advance online publication.  

2024

Beyer, E., Poudel, G., Antonopoulos, S., Thomson, H., Lorenzetti, V. (2024) Brain reward function in people who use cannabis: a systematic review. Front Behav Neurosci. 2024 Feb 6;17:1323609. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1323609.

Blackman, L., Pizarro-Campagna, E. and Pilkington, P. (2024). Early maladaptive schemas and dissociative symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 31: e70026.

Blanks, L.N., Carrick, Z.T., McGuckian, T. B., & Bennett, J. M. (2024). The efficacy of training to improve road safety in elderly pedestrians: A systematic review. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 207, 107735.

Bondarchuk-McLaughlin, A., & Anderson, J. R. (2024). A systematic review on differences in women’s sexual satisfaction as a function of their sexual identity. Psychology & Sexuality, 1-33.  

Burstall, J., Tan, K. J., de la Piedad Garcia, X., & Anderson, J. R. (2024). Experiences of body image in the gender non-binary communities: A qualitative analysis. Body Image, 51, 101762.

Lorenzetti, V., McTavish, E., Broyd, S., van Hell, H., Thomson, D., Ganella, E., Kottaram, A.R., Beale, C., Martin, J., Galettis, P., Solowij, N., Greenwood, L.M. (2024) Daily Cannabidiol Administration for 10 Weeks Modulates Hippocampal and Amygdalar Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Cannabis Users: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Open-Label Clinical Trial. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 9(4). doi: 10.1089/can.2022.0336.

McGuckian, T. B., Laracas, J., Roseboom, N., Eichler, S., Kardas, S., Piantella, S., Cole, M. H., Eldridge, R., Duckworth, J., Steenbergen, B., Green, D., & Wilson, P. H. (2024). Portable Touchscreen Assessment of Motor Skill: A Registered Report of the Reliability and Validity of EDNA MoTap. Assessment, 32(2), 269-282. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911241266306

Pehlivanidis, S. G., & Anderson, J. R. (2024a). A qualitative exploration of the motivations and implications of chest binding practices for transmasculine Australians. International Journal of Transgender Health, 1-14.  

Pehlivanidis, S. G., & Anderson, J. R. (2024b). A scoping review of the literature exploring experiences in the trans and gender diverse community with chest binding practices. International Journal of Transgender Health, 1-27.  

Werner, L.M. & Mallan, K.M. (2024). Associations between restrictive feeding practices and children's dietary intake: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Appetite, 200. .

2023

Delios, M.S., Kehoe, C.E., Pizarro-Campagna, E. (2023). The role peer responses to adolescent expression of emotions plays in their emotion regulation: As systematic literature review. Mental Health Prevention, 32, 200299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2023.200299

Folli, M., & Bennett, J. M. (2023). Factors that predict hazard perception in older adult road-users: A systematic review. Transportation research part F: traffic psychology and behaviour, 99, 19-35.

Lim, C. J., Pizarro-Campagna, E., Havighurst, S. S., Zhang, X., Radovini, A., & Kehoe, C. E. (2023). The role of parent and peer emotion socialization and emotion regulation in the development of internalizing problems in adolescents. Mental Health & Prevention, 30, 200278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2023.200278

Lorenzetti, V., Gaillard, A., Beyer, E., Kowalczyk, M., Kamboj, S.K., Manning, V., Gleeson, J. (2023) Do mindfulness-based interventions change brain function in people with substance dependence? A systematic review of the fMRI evidence. BMC Psychiatry 23(407).

Lorenzetti, V., Gaillard, A., Thomson, D., Englund, A., Freeman, T.P., (2023) Effects of cannabinoids on resting state functional brain connectivity: A systematic review, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 145, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105014.

Nicholson, M., Bennett, J.M., Modesto, O., & Gould, R. (2023). Understanding university students during COVID-19: A longitudinal mixed-methods analysis of their experiences of online learning, mental health, academic engagement and academic self-efficacy. Psychopathology, 1-17.

Oliver, E., Coates, A., Bennett, J. M., & Willis, M. L. (2023). Narcissism and Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse.

Say, A., de la Piedad Garcia, X., Mallan, K.M. (2023). The correlation between different operationalisations of parental restrictive feeding practices and children's eating behaviours: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Appetite, 180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2022.106320

Trachtenberg-Ray, D., Modesto, O. Attachment and Relationship Satisfaction Among Gay Men: the Mediating Role of Well-Being. Sex Res Soc Policy 20, 453–464 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00634-2

Valos, N., & Bennett, J. M. (2023). The relationship between cognitive functioning and street-crossing behaviours in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Transportation research part F: traffic psychology and behaviour, 99, 356-373.

Willis, M. L., Oliver, E., & March, E. (2023). Dating in the dark: Vulnerable narcissism predicts inauthentic self-presentation in online dating. Telematics and Informatics, 81, 101985.

2022

Falls, T., & Anderson, J. R. (2022). Attitudes towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia: A systematic review. Australian Journal of Psychology, 74(1), 2039043.

Thomson, H., Labuschagne, I., Greenwood, L. M., Robinson, E., Sehl, H., Suo, C., & Lorenzetti, V. (2022). Is resting-state functional connectivity altered in regular cannabis users? A systematic review of the literature. Psychopharmacology, 239(5), 1191-1209.

2021

D’Rozario, A.B., & Pilkington, P.D. (2021). Parental separation and divorce and adulthood attachment: The mediating role of the abandonment schema. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 29, 664-675.

More information

If you have any other questions in relation to completing an honours degree in psychology at either the Melbourne campus, or the Strathfield campus, please contact Dr Thomas McGuckian, Course Coordinator via email: Thomas.McGuckian@acu.edu.au