Psychology

Course summary

Course Outline This is a two year A level course which broadly divides into two sections: compulsory content which looks at the various strands of Psychology such as Research Methods, Social Psychology and Development Psychology, and the optional specialised units such as Gender, Schizophrenia and Forensic Psychology. Paper 1: Introductory topics in psychology – This paper asks the following questions: Why do we conform to the obvious wrong answer? Why does anonymity lead to conformity?- Why do we forget? What are the effects of childhood deprivation? Does early attachment influence later adult relationships? What are the characteristics of obsessive compulsive disorders? Can drug therapy help people with phobias? Paper 2: Psychology in context – this paper asks the following questions: Can non-scientific research methods generate data that explains human behaviour? What types of questions would you include in a questionnaire? Do role models influence our behaviour? Can the environment influence behaviour? Can animal behaviour explain human behaviour? Which areas of the brain are responsible for speech, language and spatial tasks? Paper 3: Issues and options in psychology – this paper asks the following questions: What explains the acquisition of human behaviours like depression – is it nature or nurture? What is the role of hormones & chromosomes in sex and gender acquisition? What influences our gender identity? What is schizophrenia? Can schizophrenia be treated with drugs? How is a crime measured and recorded? Who commits criminal acts? Why do people commit crimes?