Community and Health - PSYCHOLOGIST
Healthy
Minds
Psychology of Buying -
Designer Jeans
Psychology of Buying
Why are westerners so reluctant to eat seaweed?
What is a Crime Scene?
Compare and Contrast
Primary
Middle
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Personal and social capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Critical and creative thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Numeracy
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding
Philosophy
Cooperative
Learning Activity
1. In an episode of BTN in 2015, Kirrilie, a Child Psychologist had some good strategies for students to do when they were:
- Worried
- Mad
- Sad
2. Look at the Healthy Minds episode and with a partner discuss the strategies that Kirrilie and the students involved recommend. Are they strategies that you use? What other strategies do you use to keep a healthy mind?
3. In 2015, BTN ran a Happiness Survey.
In 2020, in conjunction with the University of Melbourne, BTN ran another Happiness survey.
What were the results each time?
4. In groups of 4 - 5, you are to develop your own survey on Survey Monkey for students at your school from Years 3 - 8.
It is important to ask questions that will help you compare to the Happiness Survey but also extend it to questions that you think are important.
5. Class discussion:
From your survey has there been a change from 2015, 2020? Why do you think this is the case?
Psychology of Buying - Designer Jeans
(This activity is also under the
LOTJ - Marketing Officer)
Primary
Middle
Secondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Personal and social capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Information and Communication Technology Capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Numeracy
Cooperative
Learning Activity
1. As a group of 4 - 5 students, you are to design a survey investigating why school students brought or didn't buy designer jeans, or designer clothes. You will need to consider the following:
a. Type of clothing
b. Cost
c. Satisfaction
d. Reasons for buying or not buying
as well as other factors to find out why students brought or didn't buy designer clothing.
2. Use Survey Monkey to design your questions
3. Analyse the responses of the students you surveyed remembering that you need to survey at least 20 people.
4. What were the results? Are they similar to Paris Touma's results?
5. Go to the Shop Ethical! website.
"The real issue is not consumption itself but its patterns and effects.
Inequalities in consumption are stark. Globally, the 20% of the world’s
people in the highest-income countries account for 76.6% of total private
consumption expenditures – the poorest 20% a minuscule 1.5%. ….
We consume a variety of resources and products today having moved beyond basic needs to include luxury items and technological innovations to try to improve efficiency.
Such consumption beyond minimal and basic needs is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, as throughout history we have always sought to find ways to make our lives a bit easier to live. However, increasingly, there are important issues around consumerism that need to be understood.
For example:
-
What is a necessity and what is a luxury?
6.
In your group, debate this question:
"What is a necessity and what is a luxury?"
7. Action: How would you bring the purchasing of designer jeans and their impact on the world to the forefront of other students at your school?
Secondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Personal and social capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Numeracy
1. Read the
following article in
Psychology Today, "7 Reasons Why We're
Irrational Shoppers" Published on September 25, 2013 by Alain Samson, Ph.D.
in Consumed
2. Paris Touma found that: “Australian consumers spend a total of $9 billion per annum on the purchase of genuine luxury goods. This includes $2.61 billion on designer clothing, $2.34 billion on designer footwear and $1.44 billion on beauty products. More relevant to this study is $1.62 billion worth of consumer spending on designer luggage and handbags."
And, in the 2014 Budget, nearly $8 billion in Foreign Aid was cut from the Australian Budget.
3. Develop a conversation about the ethics behind these two positions - buying designer goods vs Foreign Aid.
Updates:
March 2025
Why are westerners so reluctant to eat seaweed?
Middle
Secondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Critical and creative thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Literacy
Cooperative
Learning Activity
Teacher
This activity involves using the Actitude Analysis Strategy. To investigate this strategy further click on the link.
Subject areas: Hospitality, Food Science, Commerce (Marketing), Science, Biology, Psychology,
Target group: Years 9 - 12
Students
Introduction
"Actitude analysis" is a combination of "act" and "attitude," referring to an analysis of how actions and attitudes are related. This involves examining the link between people's behaviours and their underlying beliefs, values, and feelings.
It also involves exploring how attitudes influence actions and how actions can shape attitudes.
You are going to examine the eating of seaweed in the West and then how you could influence your year group to taste seaweed.
Use the following template for this analysis.
| Actitude Analysis
of Seaweed eating |
|
| Summary |
|
| Attitudes/Values | Action / Practices |
1. Form groups of 3 - 5 students.
2. Divide up the reading between the group so you only have ONE article to read and take notes.
The Conversation 14 August 2025
The Conversation 6 September 2021
The Conversation 22 August 2024
The Conversation 2 August 2024
3. Use the template (above) to examine each article.
4. Share with each other in your group - your findings, attitudes, and, the action you think your group should take to inform the school.
5. Share with another group. What do they think? How would they act?
6. What is the resolution in the class? What action will the class take?
What is a Crime
Scene? Compare and Contrast
Middle
Secondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Critical and creative thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Literacy
Cooperative
Learning Activity
1. Form groups of 3 - 5 students. You are going to investigate What is a 'crime scene' really? comparing the real life crime scene with that portrayed in TV shows like CSI.
2. Read the following article from The Conversation.
The Conversation 29 January 2025
3. First, you note down the similarities. Compare within the group. Are the similarities all the same? Come to some agreement.
4. Consider the differences, making sure to indicate on what criteria you are drawing out the dissimilarities. Note these differences and then compare them within the group. Are the differences the same?
5. State the criteria for evaluating the ideas – feasible, appropriate and specific.
6. With another group, share your similarities and differences.
7. As a class, share your similarities and differences between a real crime scene and a TV show like CSI.
