Term 1

Research Methods

Students will gain an introduction to Research Methods, including the processes involve in designing studies and analysing any results obtained.

Memory

Students will begin to study human memory , including models of memory, why we forget and the reliability of eye witness testimony.

Attachments

Students will begin to study Theories of Attachment and Cross Cultural differences in attachments. They will also look at the role of the father in child development and the impact of institutionalisation

Term 2

Revision

Students will also spend the first part of this term revisiting previous units, in preparation for their mock exam

Social Influence

Students will then study the Social Influence unit- looking at conformity and obedience, in addition to deindividuation and crowd behaviour. They will look at reasons why people may resist social pressures and examine the process of social change through minority influence

Psychopathology

Students will study mental health in this unit, including the diagnosis and prevalence of mental health conditions and progressing to study, in depth, 3 mental health disorders- OCD, Depression and Phobias. Students will examine the causes and the treatments of these disorders and assess the impact that they have on the people that are diagnosed with them

Term 3

Approaches

Students will study 5 main approaches to understanding human behaviour, including the Biological approach, the Behavioural Approach, Cognitive Approach, Psychodynamic Approach and finally the Humanistic Approach. Students will learn the key assumptions, in addition to looking at research support, and an assessment of their worth as an explanation of human behaviour

Research Methods (Data analysis)

Students will learn the basics of probability, and understand which statistical tests to use on different types of data. They will learn how to calculate the sign test as part of this unit

Term 1

Biopsychology

Students will be introduced to biopsychology in this unit, covering neurons and synapses, and the processes of synaptic transmission. They will also look at plasticity and localisation, in addition to functional recovery and brain scanning .

Issues and Debates

Here students will cover the main issues and debates in psychology, specifically gender and culture bias, and ethics. With regards to debate, students will look at nature v nurture, free will v determinism, holism v reductionism and idiography v nomothetic approaches. Students will apply these issues and debates to 2 topics that they have studied and assess their strengths and limitations against eachother.

Addiction

Students will study addictive behaviour, namely smoking and gambling, with some reference to other addictions. The focus will be on causes of these addictions, in addition to treatments, with a focus towards the end of the unit on theories of behaviour change that can help addicts to recover

Term 2

Revision

Students will also spend the first part of this term revisiting previous units, in preparation for their mock exam

Gender

Students will study Sex and Gender, looking at the differences between the 2 concepts, in addition to theories of gender development. Some lessons will be spent looking at gender dysphoria, in addition to androgyny and also the cultural and media influences on our gender development

Schizophrena

Students will explore this mental health condition in depth, looking at the classification and diagnosis of the disorder in addition to possible causes. Treatments will then be explored, and an assessment of their effectiveness analysed.

Term 3

Revision

This term will be dedicated to the structured revision of previous units.