Welcome to A Level Psychology Yvette Brown

What is Psychology? Brainstorm everything you know (or think!) about what Psychology is Think about… What is it the study of? What are psychologists interested in? What are similar subjects?

What is Psychology? It is ‘the scientific study of brain, behaviour and experience’ Psychologists are interested in finding out about many different aspects of human and non-human behaviour, for example : How can we improve our memory? Does day-care make children more sociable? Does watching violent TV affect levels of violence on the streets?

How do Psychologists find out about behaviour? They carry out scientific research. These are carefully designed research studies which test predictions. Usually these are well conducted but as we go through the different topics you will see that some behaviours are very difficult to study scientifically (can you think of some examples?)

What do Psychologists do? ‘Psychology, like all other sciences, can be misapplied. But, rightly used psychology can make an immense contribution to human happiness’ (Rex and Margaret Knight 1959) Psychologists carry out research, apply psychological knowledge to their day-to-day work or teach the subject in schools and universities. There are many occupations which use applied psychology

Applied Psychology Clinical psychologists – work in hospital, health centres and mental health services and provide a range of therapies for the treatment of psychological disorders. Educational psychologists – work in schools colleges, children’s homes and nurseries where they assess, diagnose and treat educational, emotional and behavioural problems. They also provide advice to parents and teachers on how to support children and young people.

Applied Psychology Forensic/criminal psychologists work in the criminal justice system and may work in prisons, rehabilitation centres or for the probation service Health psychologists usually work in hospitals focusing on the causes of health and illness. They are concerned with health promotion and apply psychological principles to improve people’s health and well-being (e.g. Smoking cessation programmes, weight loss programmes)

Applied Psychology Occupational psychologists provide advice and guidance on work-related issues such as working conditions, matching the person to the job, vocational guidance and training needs. In the UK any one who wishes to practice as a psychologist has to be ‘chartered’ through the British Psychological Society. This is the only professional body for psychologists in the UK and ensures they are adequately qualified to be working in their field.

AQA A Level Course: Brand new for 2015 Topics: Social Influence Memory Attachment Psychopathology 3 papers sat at the end of year 2. Exams are 30 minutes longer than the AS exams, require more detail, numeracy and contain some additional content. Topics: Research Methods Bio Psychology (with additional content) Inferential Statistics Three Option Topics: e.g. Gender Schizophrenia Forensic Psychology Issues and debates Items in red are Year 2 topics

What will the exams look like? At A Level all exams are 2 hours long and contain multiple choice, short answer and extended writing questions worth up to 16 marks Assessment Objectives (AO’s) But in order to fully understand the requirements of the exam we need to know how you are being assessed. These are called Assessment Objectives (AO’s) which assess the skills that you need to demonstrate in Psychology We will have a look at these now…Handbook!

Skills skills skills!!! These are the skills we are going to use to structure our lessons The higher the skills you demonstrate on the ladder, the more likely you are to achieve the top grades ! But how what do these mean and how do they fit in with Psychology? Remember Understand Apply Analyse Evaluate Create

One way in which I will support the development of these skills is regular assessments… this could be in the form of homework or even a “test” in class There will be regular tests in lessons! Another way is by developing your ability to self mark and peer mark – I will support you with this don’t worry! Reading around the subject will help you understanding and remember the content Discussions in lessons with peers with help you realise whether you understand – and identify gaps in your knowledge Pre reading and consolidation are essential As there are no external exams until 2017 there will be college based exams and mock exams

Year 1 overview Social Approach - Social Influence including conformity and obedience Cognitive Approach – Memory and Forgetting Developmental Approach - Attachment in childhood Other Approaches in psychology – including the Learning approach (behaviourism) and the Biological approach Research Methods – The methods used by psychologists Psychopathology – The psychology of abnormality Internal exam (similar to a mock) Biopsychology and start of Year 2

Homework… See Blog