Psychology

Assessment

Assessment is comprised of three examinations at the end of two years’ study. Progression to year two will be dependant on successful completion of the first year taking into account Internal Progression Examination results and the Key Assessment Profile throughout the first year. Paper 1: Social Influence, Memory, Attachment, Psychopathology You will learn about issues such as why people conform or give in to group pressure. You will also look at why humans obey orders, even those that will inflict harm on others. This unit considers how memory works, why we forget certain things and whether eye witness accounts of crimes can be trusted. Human attachment is also investigated including the reasons why we attach to our parent or caregiver. Lastly you will look at what is abnormal behaviour, what causes it and how is it treated? Paper 2 : Approaches in Psychology, Biopsychology, Research Methods. In this unit you will learn about different psychologists’ views on human behaviour, their arguments and debates. Biopsychology considers the role our biology plays in influencing our behaviour. You will consider how the brain transmits messages and how we study the brain in a scientific way. You will also look at the body’s natural biological rhythms and their effect on our lives, and learn how to investigate human behaviour in a scientific way. Half of this paper is research methods e.g., statistics & experimental designs. Paper 3 : Cognition & Development, Schizophrenia, Forensic Psychology, Issues and Debates In Cognition, you will consider how children develop intellectually. You will consider the symptoms and types of schizophrenia, its cause and possible treatments. In forensic psychology you will consider different approaches to offender profiling and offender behaviour including theories as to how to deal with offender behaviour. Issues and debates are also considered, for example, is our gender biologically created or environmentally made.