Psychology was introduced
into the sixth form in September 2001. It can be
defined as the study of mind and behaviour. It
covers an enormous range of research and discovery and
is relevant to everyone. All
the teaching is done by John Pearson, the Director
of Studies.
The specification is AQA A. This involves
3 modules at AS:
Module 1 taken
in the January of year 12:
Cognitive, where we learn about memory, forgetting
and how far we can rely on eye witness testimony and...
Developmental, where we learn about emotional attachments,
what happens when a baby suffers deprivation and what
makes for good day care
Module 2 taken
in the summer of year 12
Physiological, where we look at stress, what causes
it and how to manage it and...
Individual differences, where we consider what is
abnormal, how we define it and how we help people,
and especially the problems associated with eating
disorders
Module 3 also
taken in the summer of year 12
Social, what influences people, why we conform, how
far we would go in obeying evil orders, ethical issues and
....
Research methods, how do psychologists go about their
work, how reliable are their findings
and then 3 more modules at A2:
In Module 4,
taken in the January of year 13, we currently cover:
Biological rhythms, why we sleep and why we dream plus...
Evolutionary psychology, what can non-human animals
tell us about the way we behave, the way we choose
our partners, the pressures behind mental disorders,
how intelligence developed and...
Relationships, what attracts us to certain people,
how relationships are formed, maintained and often
dissolved, what is love, how do other cultures see
it, what about same sex relationships and electronic
cyber-affairs
In Module 5 taken
in the summer of year 13, we currently cover:
Psychopathology, that is mental disorders such as
depression, schizophrenia, phobias and post-traumatic
stress disorder and...
Issues such as the treatment of non-human animals,
how we deal with sensitive social issues and comparisons
between cultures plus...
How psychology would explain particular conditions
and problems.
Module 6
is an
individual investigation which is conducted after the
AS examinations at the end of year 12 and then written
up as a formal psychological report for submission
in the January of year 13.
Projects this time have
included:
An investigation into the effects of physical exercise
on rating the attractiveness of photographs
An experiment to see if more words are recalled when
people are asked to fit them into a sentence than when
they are asked about what they rhyme with
An experiment to see if a task is performed better
while listening to a personal music cassette than while
working in silence
An investigation to see if there is a correlation
between people’s willingness to answer a questionnaire
and the amount of sunshine
An investigation to see if a general knowledge of
football improves people’s ability to recall
football results
An investigation into automatic and controlled processing
A study of similarity between couples.
The course develops a range of skills – accurate
analysis, logical thinking, interaction with others – that
will be an asset in a great many careers. It
will also improve your understanding of yourself and
others.
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