Psychology

Course summary

YEAR 12 COURSE CONTENT Memory: In this topic, we study how psychologists think memory is organized in the brain and theories of why we forget things. We also study the fascinating topic of Eye Witness Testimony, if it is reliable and what factors might make such memories unreliable. Social Influence: In this topic, we study the influence other people have on our behaviour. We study classic experiments from the past but also use case studies from social history to illustrate the power of minorities e.g. the Suffragettes. Psychopathologies (Mental Health): Topics here include the causes and treatments of common disorders such as depression, OCD and phobias. We also discuss what we mean by mental illness in psychology. Forensic Psychology: A topic about crime, answering some of society’s most difficult questions: What makes a criminal and how can society best deal with criminal behaviour? Approaches in Psychology: An overview of all the main perspectives in psychology e.g. cognitive, and biological. Research Methods: This topic is about how psychologists work, how they gather information about human and animal behaviour. We will complete practical work of our own. The focus in year 12 is on experimental methods and correlations. It also includes how this information is analysed and presented using statistics. YEAR 13 COURSE CONTENT Biopsychology: We study the science behind sleep and also other biorhythms, neuroscience and brain scanning. We investigate if areas of the brain have special functions such as language. Gender: This subject is very topical and is new to the syllabus. It explores where our gender identity comes from using different perspectives and applies what we know to real-life problems such as Gender Identity Disorder. Schizophrenia: This topic studies the causes of this mental illness and evaluates current treatments available using real-life case studies. This topic is also a basis on which to explore the nature-nurture debate. Attachment: In this topic, we study infant psychology and what we know about the science of “bringing up baby”. Crucial to this is studying what the effects of deprivation and privation on later relationships. This is also a topic that includes animal research. Research Methods: This is a continuation of year 12 work but expanded to include more methods and more types of statistical analysis. Practical work continues but is designed to be completed more independently. Issues and Debates: A synoptic unit bringing together everything we have studied over the two years using themes and issues in psychology. Examples would be cultural bias, the nature-nurture debate and ethical issues.