Mood changes synchronised to the seasons exist on a continuum between individuals, with anxiety and depression increasing during the winter months. An extreme form of seasonality is manifested as the clinical syndrome of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) with carbohydrate craving, hypersomnia, lethargy, and changes in circadian rhythms also evident. It has been suggested that seasonality and the symptoms of SAD may be due to changing levels of vitamin D3, the hormone of sunlight, leading to changes in brain serotonin. Forty-four healthy subjects were given 400 IU, 800 IU, or no vitamin D3 for 5 days during late winter in a random double-blind study. Results on a self-report measure showed that vitamin D3 significantly enhanced positive affect and there was some evidence of a reduction in negative affect. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for seasonality, SAD, serotonin, food preference, sleep, and circadian rhythms.

Using a double-blind procedure, 24 non-smoking subjects chewed either 2 mg nicorette gum or a placebo for 20 min, before completing a Stroop test on three occasions. Colour-word reading and simple colour naming times were consistent across repeats, and were unaffected by nicotine. However, the time taken to name the colour of incongruous colour word stimuli declined across trials. This increase in speed across repeats was significantly greater in those subjects who had received nicotine. These data are consistent with previous reports of a decreased Stroop effect following nicotine administration, but are not compatible with a simple model which assumes that nicotine alters the way in which information is filtered by selective attentional mechanisms. The present results can be explained by postulating that nicotine influences either the rate at which colour naming become more automatic, or changes the way in which resources are allocated to non-automatic processes.

This paper outlines the background, process and outcomes for a project that delineated a set of graduate attributes of the 4‐year Australian undergraduate psychology program. The nature of the current undergraduate psychology program and its quality assurance system is described, followed by a consideration of current issues in psychology education and training. The processes involved in delineating the six graduate attributes (i.e., knowledge and understanding, research methods, critical thinking, values, communication, and application) are then described. Some issues and suggestions related to their implementation are then outlined. Finally, the authors summarise what has been accomplished in delineating the graduate attributes, and what still needs to be achieved.

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