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Psychology

"The purpose of psychology is to give us a completely different idea of the things we know best."
Paul Valery (1871-1945)

Aims of the department

Aims of the psychology department are to give students a range of insights and explanations into human behaviour and thinking processes. Students will study how psychologists observe behaviour, create a theory or hypothesis to explain the behaviour and then test this using a variety of research methods. Students will also develop evaluative and analytical skills in order to understand the validity of the research and theories.

A-Level Psychology is classified in the Sector Subject Category of Science.

Why study psychology?

The skills gained from studying psychology give students the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of others and themselves. It can be studied alongside arts, humanities and science subjects. Psychology is an important part of many careers, including: law and criminal justice, medicine and health care, sport and exercise science, social care, teaching, media and journalism and human resources, amongst many others.

In order to get the most out of studying psychology, students should be prepared to do a lot of reading both inside and outside of the classroom, be able to express themselves both in written and oral communication and be able to think from a broad and multi-dimensional perspective about humankind.

The specification followed is AQA ‘A’

AS Level:

Unit 1 Cognitive Psychology; Developmental Psychology and Research Methods

Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology deals with the mental processes that perhaps we take for granted most of the time, such as memory, attention, language, thinking and perception.  In this unit, the process of memory is studied and you will come to know what memory is, how it can actually be measured, how we forget and how memory can be improved. It also focuses on how research into memory has helped in the area of eye witness testimony.

Developmental Psychology
This is an area of psychology that looks at how we develop as individuals from cradle to grave.  The unit examines in particular how children become attached to others in infancy and tries to answer whether children suffer in later years if they have been separated from their mothers at an early age. It also looks at the effects of divorce and day care arrangements on children’s development.

Research Methods
This topic looks at how researchers go about setting up a study to look at how each process affects an individual. Psychologists may set up laboratory experiments to try and study behaviour under tightly controlled conditions, or they may go “into the field” to set up a situation and study behaviour in real contexts as it occurs. Rather than set up experiments, the psychologist may observe people’s behaviour, often covertly, and sometimes as a member of the very group being studied. Then, of course, there are the use of questionnaires and interviews to elicit the views, opinions, attitudes and beliefs of people on various topics. These different ways of setting up a study will be explained, and you will have the opportunity to design your own study or experiment, carry it out and tell us what you learned from it! The data collected by psychologists may be quantitative or qualitative, and you will have opportunities to carry out investigations that allow you to collect both types. Finally, one thing of vital importance in any psychological research is that what is carried out is ethical, and this will be looked at in depth too.

Unit 2 Physiological Psychology; Individual Differences and Social Psychology

Physiological Psychology
This is sometimes known as biological psychology but mean the same¼it is an area which examines the physical basis of psychological issues.  In particular, the unit explains what stress is, its relationship to many physical illnesses, types of personality and stress at work.  The focus in this unit is on how to employ strategies to manage and combat stress.

Individual Differences
As the section heading suggests, this unit looks at what makes us different from each other and how these differences affect us.  In particular, we will be looking at the idea of abnormality and trying to decide if there is such a thing and if so, how is it measured or categorised?  The unit focuses on the approaches to treating psychological disorders and the issues surrounding their use, such as their effectiveness or the ethical questions that are raised.

Social Psychology
Social psychology looks at individuals within society, how they interact with the world around them and how they influence each other’s behaviour.  This unit looks in particular at how this kind of social influence by others may occasionally lead us to the point of total obedience, which may have disastrous consequences. The focus point of this unit is in the way these issues are studied, what we think we have learned about the use and abuse of power, and the ethical problems researchers must deal with when looking at such sensitive and potentially damaging issues.

A2 Level

Students who continue the subject to A2 level will study a further two units:

Unit 3
Students will develop knowledge, understanding and skills of analysis and evaluation in relation to three topics:

• Biological rhythms and sleep: This topic investigates how our biological rhythms can influence our physiological and psychological functioning. There is particular focus on the function of sleep, sleep disorders, and the consequences of disrupting sleep.
• Relationships: This topic investigates why humans need positive social relationships for their psychological well-being, and how relationships are formed, maintained and sometimes breakdown.
• Eating behaviour: This topic investigates dysfunctional eating behaviour such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Conditions such as obesity are also looked at and the possible biological and psychological factors involved are explored.

Unit 4
This unit is divided into three sections:

Section A – Psychopathology
Students will develop a knowledge and understanding of the biological and psychological factors involved in one of the following disorders:

• Schizophrenia
• Depression
•  Anxiety disorders (e.g. obsessive compulsive disorder and/or phobias)

Section B – Psychology in Action
Students will develop knowledge, understanding and critical thinking in relation to one of the following contemporary applications of psychology:

• Media psychology and celebrity culture;
• The psychology of addictive behaviour;

Section C – Psychological Research and Scientific Method
Students will be expected to:

• Extend their knowledge, understanding and skills of research design, data analysis, and data interpretation and reporting gained at AS
• Develop an understanding of the nature of science and scientific method

Useful websites:

http://www.bps.org.uk  (The British Psychological Society)