Overview
The concept of wellbeing is central to Positive Psychology and it has been explored across many disciplines, cultures and spiritual traditions. In this unit, you will take a critical approach to cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural and spiritual theories and research on wellbeing. Through this exploration you will develop a holistic understanding of wellbeing concepts and practices. You will gain an understanding of how wellbeing is determined in different cultural and spiritual settings and across a range of academic disciplines and the implications for Positive Psychology.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator's observations.
The inclusion of First Nations' knowledges in the unit content was well received and many students engaged with this material in rich and nuanced ways.
Unit Coordinator will continue to revise, review and enhance the First Nations' knowledges in the unit materials.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator's observations.
Students continue to engage with the assessments exploring their own and other culture's perspectives on wellbeing in ways that demonstrate good critical thinking and positive change.
Unit Coordinator will continue to revise and review unit material to support growth in critical thinking in relation to culture.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator's observations.
Some students taking this unit have underdeveloped research and writing skills which can impact their understanding of assessment tasks.
Unit Coordinator to request the Academic Learning Centre to provide a tutorial on research and writing skills and how to understand assessment tasks.
- Evaluate wellbeing theories, research and practices in different disciplinary, spiritual and cultural systems
- Apply knowledge of different approaches to wellbeing to generate comprehensive, holistic models of wellbeing
- Apply communication skills to translate complex knowledge and ideas about wellbeing to a variety of audiences.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||
| 2 - Presentation - 35% | |||
| 3 - Creative work - 35% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||
| 2 - Communication | |||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||
| 4 - Research | |||
| 5 - Self-management | |||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||
| 7 - Leadership | |||
| 8 - First Nations Knowledges | |||
| 9 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||||||||
| 2 - Presentation - 35% | |||||||||
| 3 - Creative work - 35% | |||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.irwin@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 14 Jul 2025Module/Topic
Positive Psychology perspectives on wellbeing
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 21 Jul 2025Module/Topic
Culture, diversity and meaning-making
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 28 Jul 2025Module/Topic
The ADDRESSING framework of culture
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Workshop 1: Thursday 31 July 2025, 6.30 to 8pm AEST
Week 4
Begin Date: 04 Aug 2025Module/Topic
Privilege, strengths and culture
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 11 Aug 2025Module/Topic
Comparing and connecting wellbeing perspectives
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 18 Aug 2025Module/Topic
No topic this week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 25 Aug 2025Module/Topic
Indigenous perspectives on wellbeing
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Workshop 2: Thursday 28 August 2025, 6.30 to 8pm AEST
Assessment 1
Critical self-reflection Due: Week 6 Monday (25 Aug 2025) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 7
Begin Date: 01 Sep 2025Module/Topic
Sexual orientation, gender identity and wellbeing
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 08 Sep 2025Module/Topic
Spiritual and religious perspectives on wellbeing
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 15 Sep 2025Module/Topic
Existential Positive Psychology perspectives on wellbeing
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 2
Presentation comparing cultural perspectives on wellbeing Due: Week 9 Monday (15 Sept 2025) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 10
Begin Date: 22 Sep 2025Module/Topic
Philosophical perspectives on wellbeing
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Workshop 3: Thursday, 25 September 2025, 6.30 to 8pm AEST
Week 11
Begin Date: 29 Sep 2025Module/Topic
Sociological perspectives on wellbeing
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 06 Oct 2025Module/Topic
Summary/review
Chapter
Resources provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 3
Mapping academic theories of wellbeing Due: Week 12 Tuesday (7 Oct 2025) 5:00 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 13 Oct 2025Module/Topic
No exam in this unit
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 20 Oct 2025Module/Topic
No exam in this unit
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Critical self-reflection on Indigeneity, culture and wellbeing
This assessment is designed to facilitate understanding of the role of culture in our life circumstances and understandings of wellbeing, with a focus on First Nations wellbeing.
The task has three (3) parts:
Part 1: ADDRESSING Self-Assessment
Complete three (3) criteria of the ADDRESSING framework in the ADDRESSING Self-Assessment tables (the tables are provided on Moodle).
a. One (1) of these criteria must be Indigeneity.
b. Choose another two (2) you’d like to explore.
c. Complete the sections of the relevant table (i.e., either the table for Dominant or non-Dominant group membership depending on which you belong to) for each of these criteria.
Part 2: Comparative analysis
Write a 1,000 word (+/-10%) comparative analysis of Australian First Nation's and non-First Nation's perspectives on wellbeing:
The analysis considers how wellbeing is defined from the perspectives of:
o First Nation Australians
o Non-First Nation Australians
Explore the differences and similarities between these perspectives on wellbeing. Consider these differences at both the surface and worldview/ideological levels.
You will draw on quality research literature which also meets quality criteria for writing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Information about these quality criteria is provided on Moodle.
Part 3: Reflection
Write a 500 (+/-10%) critical reflection on:
a. The thoughts and feelings that arose in completing the Assessment table and the comparison
b. How your thinking about culture and life experiences, in particular Indigeneity, changed through these exercises
Word count
There is no word limit for the self-assessment (Part 1). Please use the example provided on Moodle and in the reading on completing this table as a guide for information to include.
The maximum word count for the comparative analysis together with the reflection (Parts 2 and 3) is 1,500 words (+/- 10%). This word limit includes in-text citations but excludes any reference section. Meeting the word count is included as a part of the marking criteria in your marking rubric on Moodle. See the Psychology Word Count Information document on Moodle for a rationale for using this type of word limit restriction.
Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 3: You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You
must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Please refer to the unit Moodle site for further details on permissible uses of Generative-AI tools for this
assessment task.
Week 6 Monday (25 Aug 2025) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 8 Monday (8 Sept 2025)
Assessment feedback will be provided within 2 weeks of submission.
The assessment will be evaluated on:
- Ability to accurately identify one's own cultural experiences and coherently and accurately connect these with lived experience of advantages and disadvantages
- Understanding of privilege and disadvantage and how these create challenges and strengths
- Critical insight demonstrated in a comparative analysis of first nations and non-first nations wellbeing worldviews
- Ability to critically self-reflect on changes in thoughts, feelings and actions arising from the exploration of culture, privilege, strengths and limitations
- Use of research, including ability to apply quality criteria (first nations and non-first nations) to resources, and to accurately and coherently overview relevant research findings
- Written communication skills, including adhering to word counts
- Referencing: accuracy, quality, and APA formatting
Detailed information regarding assessment requirements and criteria can be found in the Unit Assessment Guide on Moodle.
- Evaluate wellbeing theories, research and practices in different disciplinary, spiritual and cultural systems
- Apply knowledge of different approaches to wellbeing to generate comprehensive, holistic models of wellbeing
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
2 Presentation
This assessment explores differences in approaches to wellbeing in spiritual and religious perspectives OR in sexual/gender orientation.
For this assessment you will develop a short (minimum 9, maximum 10 minute) audio-visual presentation on EITHER:
a. how a religion/spiritual tradition (one which is different from your own) conceptualises and practices wellbeing OR
b. the wellbeing needs of diverse sexual and gender orientations (LGBTQIA+) (one which is different from your own)
Your choice of tradition or orientation must be one that is different from your own.
Below is what to include in your audio-visual depending on which topic you choose:
| Religion/Spiritual tradition | Sexual/gender orientation | Resource requirements | |
| Definition | Describe the tradition – what it is | Describe this identification – what does it mean, describe any terminology that’s used | Resources written by members of the tradition/community or quality references by reputable and respectful sources. That is, if you were defining what it means to be transgender, look for sources written by transgender people and/or resources from reputable sources (LGBTQIA+ communities, peer-reviewed research literature). You would not use definitions written by people who position themselves as ‘anti-trans’. |
| Wellbeing | How does this tradition define wellbeing? (e.g., connection to the divine) What are the practices that support wellbeing? (e.g., prayer, fasting, pilgrimage) | How do members of this community define wellbeing (e.g., freedom from discrimination, language use, recognition of rights). What are the practices that support wellbeing? (e.g., clothing, community, recognition of rights) | As for the definition – draw on resources written by members of the tradition/orientation and/or reputable academic sources. The definition and wellbeing sections must together include a minimum of 3 quality resources. |
| Research | What does the research tell us about how effective these traditional practices are in enhancing wellbeing? (e.g., does the practice of fasting increase wellbeing?) | What does the research tell us about what increases wellbeing in this community? (e.g., does recognition of rights such as marriage equality affect wellbeing?) | Use a minimum of 6 quality resources which are peer-reviewed academic papers/scholarly books or from reputable government and non-government organisations (e.g., the Australian Bureau of Statistics). These sources must be accurately reported and relevant to the topic. |
| Comparison | How is this definition of wellbeing and these practices different from my own? Look at this from a surface and from an ideological/worldview perspective. | How are the needs of this community different from my own? Look at this from a surface and ideological/worldview perspective. | |
| Reference list |
Includes all sources cited in the presentation and formatted in APA style. Sources for all visual materials must also be cited on slides and included in the Reference list. |
Your presentation will use both images and audio skillfully to make clear points. You will use audio and visuals to create a well-structured, coherent, and well-argued narrative.
You are aiming to presenting ideas and research in an accessible and engaging manner.
Accessibility includes:
- language that is easily understood by people from all walks of life;
- words and images that represent the full diversity of people and experiences;
- respectful terminology which reflects the most recent statements from the community about appropriate language.
LENGTH: Your short film will be a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 10 minutes in length. The time limit maximum for this assessment is 10 minutes. Meeting the time limit is included as a part of the marking criteria in your marking rubric on Moodle. See the Psychology Word Count Information document on Moodle for a rationale for using this type of time restriction.
Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 3: You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You
must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Please refer to the unit Moodle site for further details on permissible uses of Generative-AI tools for this
assessment task.
Week 9 Monday (15 Sept 2025) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 11 Monday (29 Sept 2025)
Assessment feedback will be returned 2 weeks from the date of assessment submission.
This assessment will be evaluated on the student's demonstration of:
- Knowledge of the chosen tradition/orientation
- Use of research evidence to identify effective wellbeing practices in the tradition/orientation
- Depth and breadth of comparison of wellbeing perspectives of one's own and another tradition/orientation
- Written and oral communication skills, including considerations of diversity and accessibility, and adherence to time limit
- Quality of resources and referencing, including use of APA formatting
Detailed information regarding assessment requirements and criteria can be found in the Unit Assessment Guide on Moodle.
- Evaluate wellbeing theories, research and practices in different disciplinary, spiritual and cultural systems
- Apply communication skills to translate complex knowledge and ideas about wellbeing to a variety of audiences.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Self-management
3 Creative work
This assessment brings together perspectives on wellbeing from different academic disciplines and philosophical positions to develop a holistic view of wellbeing. It uses a mind map to help you visually connect and contrast two wellbeing theories and their associated wellbeing practices.
It has two parts: a mind map and a critical reflection.
First, choose one of the topics below:
- Compare two of the philosophers: Aristotle, Epicurean, Stoic
- Compare a philosophical approach (Aristotle, Epicurean, Stoic) and existential positive psychology
- Compare subjective well-being (SWB) and objective wellbeing (specifically, Nussbaum’s capability theory of wellbeing)
Part 1: The Mind Map
You will construct a mind map of the comparison you have chosen above. The mind map will include:
- The central concept, which is wellbeing
- Two main branches each representing a theory
- Child branches showing the key concepts of each theory
- Further child branches for each concept showing the practices of wellbeing connected with that concept
The mind map should help you organize the theories and the associated wellbeing practices each suggests. The aim is to use this map to gain a clearer perspective on wellbeing that highlights the different ways it is conceptualized and practiced.
Presentation of the mind map:
You can draw by hand or use a computer program to design your mind map.
Use images to help you illustrate the words you have used to summarise each element of the theory and its associated practices.
We’re aiming for clarity and accuracy in the mind map. Keep it as simple or complex as you like, just bear in mind that a reader will need to be able to identify the key elements set out above in order to grade the mind map.
Part 2: The Critical Analysis
Use the mind map to develop a written critical analysis (1,000 words +/- 10%) of the similarities and differences between the theories, and the research support for each. Meeting the word count is included as a part of the marking criteria in your marking rubric on Moodle. See the Psychology Word Count Information document on Moodle for a rationale for using this type of word limit restriction.
In the critical analysis, you will:
- Compare and contrast the definitions and practices of wellbeing from each theoretical perspective taking both a surface and worldview/ideological perspective.
- Use research evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of the suggested wellbeing practices from each theory.
- Bring the theories together:
- Using the research evidence you’ve summarized, decide which ideas and practices from both theories are important for improving wellbeing
- Are there places where their worldviews/surface differences are incompatible
- What insights does bringing the theories together create for you in understanding wellbeing more holistically
You need to reference the critical analysis and provide a separate References list as part of your submission.
Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 3: You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You
must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Please refer to the unit Moodle site for further details on permissible uses of Generative-AI tools for this
assessment task.
Week 12 Tuesday (7 Oct 2025) 5:00 pm AEST
Exam Week Tuesday (21 Oct 2025)
Assessment feedback will be returned 2 weeks from the date of assessment submission.
The submission will be evaluated on your demonstration of:
- The ability to use a mind map to coherently organise information relevant to each wellbeing theory and practices
- Identifying, critically analysing and summarising research evidence to argue for the most effective elements of each wellbeing theory and practices
- Applied knowledge of the surface and ideological/worldview differences of each theory in a critical comparison
- Critical innovative thinking in bringing the two theories and practices together to create new insights into how best to support wellbeing
- Overall comprehension, clarity and quality of written component
- Referencing quality, accuracy and formatting
- Adherence to word limits
Detailed information regarding assessment requirements and criteria can be found in the Unit Assessment Guide on Moodle.
- Apply knowledge of different approaches to wellbeing to generate comprehensive, holistic models of wellbeing
- Apply communication skills to translate complex knowledge and ideas about wellbeing to a variety of audiences.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
