Psychology
The increasing interest in Psychology reflects the realisation that an understanding of people's behaviour is essential in our fast-paced complex and often violent society. Students of this subject will be well placed for employment in a wide variety of professions from Human Resource Management to Psychiatry and Criminology. At the very least pupils will gain a greater insight into their own behaviour and strengthen their armoury against future problems via greater knowledge and understanding.
The study of Psychology is clearly fascinating in itself. However, it assists with the development of critical thinking skills through its essay and research approach. Developing a clear structured argument based on sometimes equivocal evidence is a skill that has to be mastered rapidly. At times it becomes quite philosophical, as in its coverage of topics such as 'free will'. Our main aim with all students is to produce individuals who are prepared to critically analyse everything they are presented with, accept nothing on faith, and think rather than simply memorise.
It is important to note that Psychology is a Science and as such requires a reasonable level of scientific analysis and application of research methodology.
The course followed is that of AQA Specification A. This is a modular course assessed entirely through examination. The module contents are:
AS:
Unit 1 (January Examination)
Cognitive Psychology: studying memory, forgetting and the problems associated with eyewitness testimony.
Developmental Psychology: studying sociability and attachment, deprivation, privation and the possible effects of day care on cognitive and social development.
Research Methods: building an understanding of experiments, correlational analysis, naturalistic observations, questionnaire surveys and interviews.
Unit 2 (June Examination)
Physiological Psychology: studying stress as a bodily response, sources of stress and the field of stress management.
Individual Differences: studying the ways in which we can define abnormality and treat and explain mental illnesses.
Social Psychology: studying social influence, obedience to authority and conformity.
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A2:
Unit 4 (January Examination)
Anomalistic Psychology: studying the paranormal and whether it can be scientifically established. The topic looks at areas such as Near Death Experiences, Mediumship and Psychic Healing.
Psychopathology: carrying out in depth study of a mental illness (either Depression, Schizophrenia or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).
Research Methods: studying in depth the scientific method, exploring the application of statistical tests and being able to evaluate and create experimental designs.
Unit 3 (June Examination)
Relationships: studying how relationships are formed, evolutionary and psychological explanations of attraction and why relationships break down.
Gender: studying whether there are significant gender differences, evolutionary and psychological explanations for gender differences and gender abnormalities.
Aggression: studying the biological, social and evolutionary explanations for aggression.
The entry qualifications for this course are a minimum of grade B in GCSE Mathematics, English and one science.
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